As Lake Powell recedes, river guides race to document long-hidden rapids
Climate change and growing population across the Southwest are pushing Lake Powell to historic lows and revealed some long-lost features along the Colorado River.
Diversifying the pack: Cross fostering helps Mexican wolf population boost genetic mix
ALPINE – With fewer than 200 Mexican wolves living wild in Arizona, biologists on the ground and in Missouri have helped implement a cross-fostering program to increase the genetic diversity of wolf packs.
Biosphere 2 study: Tropical forests may be more resilient to rising temperatures than predicted
PHOENIX – Researchers discovered at Biosphere 2 near Tucson that tropical forests may be more resilient to warming temperatures than originally thought, but they are still facing other negative effects of climate change.
Navajo program again distributes reservation coal to heat tribal homes
WASHINGTON - For the fifth straight year, the Community Heating Resource Program is helping Navajo residents stay warm through fall and winter months by distributing coal to tribe members for free from the Navajo Mine - one ton at a time.
Copper rush: Opponents worry feds have fast-tracked Resolution mine OK
WASHINGTON - Activists worry that the Trump administration has fast-tracked the final environmental impact statement for the massive Resolution Copper mine, a project planned for lands near Superior that are claimed as sacred by the San Carlos Apache.
Coconino official backs bill to burn forest waste for renewable energy
WASHINGTON - Coconino County Supervisor Art Babbott urged senators Wednesday to pass a bill that would let limbs and trees left over from forest maintenance be burned for renewable energy.
Carbon free energy required by 2050 under Arizona Corporation Commission proposal
PHOENIX – The Arizona Corporation Commission has proposed that public utilities be carbon free by 2050, updating a plan enacted in 2006. If approved after hearings and public comment, it would help Arizona catch up with other Southwestern states that already have such regulations.
Mount Graham red squirrel makes comeback, but not out of the woods yet
WASHINGTON - The endangered Mount Graham red squirrel, driven to the brink of extinction by wildfire just three years ago in southern Arizona, has seen its numbers more than triple from 33 to 109 animals, following federal, state and local preservation efforts.
Forecast calls for drier, warmer winter to follow ‘nonsoon’ summer
WASHINGTON - State and federal weather officials are predicting a warmer and drier than normal winter for Arizona, which would come on the heels of the driest monsoon ever recorded in the state.
Burned acreage up sharply, as Arizona 2020 wildfire season winds down
WASHINGTON - The acreage torched by wildfires in Arizona was up sharply this year, but fire officials said it was still not a particularly bad season in terms of lives lost and structures burned in the blazes.
Cannabis farms struggle to survive California wildfires without insurance
LOS ANGELES – Cannabis farms struggle to survive California wildfires without insurance
2020 delivers setbacks for long-planned Western water projects
Proposals to divert water in New Mexico, Nevada and Utah have run up against significant legal, financial and political roadblocks this year.
