1. News
  2. Water and Environment
  3. Water and environmental news

Water and environmental news

Thirty-foot-high border wall was installed along the border near Sasabe, Arizona, and Mexico in the summer of 2020.

Joe Biden inherits Trump's border wall — and its lawsuits

Nov 16, 2020 Candidate Biden said he would stop construction but never said he would tear down the new border wall.
Allie Young, the founder of Protect the Sacred, leads voters to the polls within the Navajo Nation on Election Day 2020.

Voters in tribal lands 'reclaimed' Arizona in this election, advocate says

Nov 12, 2020 Pandemic experience key to getting out the Indigenous vote, activists said.
The Santa Cruz River flows downstream of the outflow from the Agua Dulce wastewater treatment plant.

State shares framework for new surface water quality protections

Nov 9, 2020 The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is working on regulations to fill the gap left by changes to the Clean Water Act.
Hikers on Mount Lemmon practicing social distancing.

More Santa Catalina trails and campsites reopen

Nov 2, 2020 The Coronado National Forest continues to evaluate safety conditions at trials and campgrounds in the wake of the Bighorn Fire.
Guadalupe Canyon is a remote, rugged area in the Southwest where the Trump administration is currently racing to complete construction of a border wall.

In Arizona, building a wall — and destroying a canyon

Oct 30, 2020 In a mountain range too steep to cross, the Department of Homeland Security is spending millions of dollars on five miles of border wall.
Construction nears the end on the wall section across the San Pedro River in October 2020.

DHS marks milestone as wall construction severs wildlife corridors

Oct 29, 2020 New border wall construction is nearly done in some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Arizona.
Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchlings make their way back to the Sea of Cortez from the shores of El Desemboque in Sonora, Mexico.

Indigenous community in Sonora releases record number of sea turtles

Oct 28, 2020 A coordinator said while the pandemic has been hard on the community, less fishing and tourism has been a boon to turtle nesting season.
A meadow along Canyon Creek, Tonto National Forest.

As Western fires burn, focus narrows on forest management. But it’s easier said than done

Oct 23, 2020 Correcting the mistakes of the past is tougher than it sounds, as managers work to get ahead of coming wildfires and learn from previous ones.
Eighteen plots are laid out on the hillside on Brian Mealor’s property in Sheridan County, Wyo. Mealor is studying how differing amounts of herbicide sprayed at different times of year can be used to manage invasive species.

In grasslands plagued by invasives and drought, wildfires fuel calls for new solutions

Oct 22, 2020 Invasive plants and climate change are changing the relationship between vast rangelands, drought and wildfire.
Fishing boats float on the Sea of Cortez outside the little town of San Felipe, Baja California, in October 2018.

Mexico fishermen scoff at governor's suggestion to switch to taxi driving

Oct 21, 2020 The suggestion comes as fishermen in the Sea of Cortez struggle with increasing restrictions meant to protect a highly endangered porpoise.
Between the High Park and Cameron Peak Fires, a broad reach of the Poudre River’s watershed has burned within the last decade.

For the West’s drinking water, wildfire concerns linger long after smoke clears

Oct 21, 2020 For municipal drinking water systems, fires are felt for years after they’re snuffed out.
Firefighters watch a controlled burn within the Grizzly Creek Fire in Colorado. The fire has burned more than 30,000 acres near Glenwood Canyon. Now, the charred hillsides pose a flood risk for nearby areas.

Homeowners who avoid wildfire damage can find themselves in new flood zone

Oct 20, 2020 Even long after the flames of a wildfire are gone, those who live nearby face a serious increase in the threat of flooding.
A firefighter watches the flames in Yellowstone National Park during the 1988 fires.

In Yellowstone, America's 'first water park,' decades-old blaze marked start of megafire era

Oct 19, 2020 The wildfires ushered in a chapter of massive, frequent blazes as well as a new understanding of the ecological process.
Visitors to Saguaro National Park discovered several vandalized saguaro cactuses around October 3, 2020. Nine of the iconic succulents were chopped down and are believed to be dead. Three others were damaged but may recover.

Saguaros destroyed at national park

Oct 16, 2020 The vandalism happened around Oct. 3, rangers say.
A line of DPS officers forms in front of an Indigenous Peoples' Day Protest north of the Lukeville Port of Entry on Oct. 12, 2020.

'Falling on deaf ears': Tohono O'odham Nation reacts to use of force at Indigenous protest

Oct 15, 2020 Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. says tribal needs along the border are being ignored.
Fire officials say they were able to contain the spread of COVID-19 in crews through commonsense measures as well as some precautions specific to their work, even though it made their jobs more challenging at times.

Fire officials claim success in fighting COVID-19 while fighting fires

Oct 13, 2020 Officials reported only a handful of positive test results on their crews, and they believe many of those came from exposure off the job.

Selected Archive Filters

Environment,
Water
Back to Top
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona