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Water and environmental news

Craig Station, a coal fired power plant in northwest Colorado, is slated to close by 2030.

As Western coal plants close, what happens to their water?

Feb 27, 2020 Closures looming, communities are starting to discuss how this newly freed up water should be put to use.
El Pinacate

Conservation groups to UNESCO: Border wall puts Sonora's World Heritage sites 'in danger'

Feb 24, 2020 The groups are urging the agency to declare the cratered landscape known as El Pinacate "in danger" due to border wall construction.
The San Pedro River in late January, 2020.

Groundwater use for Fort Huachuca and the San Pedro River

Feb 21, 2020 A look at the latest legal fight over the groundwater supply shared by Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista and the San Pedro River.
A file image of the Colorado River in Northern Arizona.

Report: Colorado River more sensitive to climate change than previously thought

Feb 21, 2020 A new study says the future water supply of the Colorado River is even more at risk.
After decades of dependency on coal for jobs, the Navajo Nation is turning to renewables.

Navajo Nation wants to provide power To LA

Feb 19, 2020 The deal is the latest attempt to make up for the lack of coal revenue and develop renewable energy projects.
A construction worker works on installing 30-foot bollard fencing along Arizona's border with Mexico in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, February 2020.

Controlled blasts for border wall project draw criticism

Feb 14, 2020 Critics say they threaten cultural sites that belong to the Tohono O'odham Nation.
The International Outfall Interceptor, or IOI, runs under this concrete-lined wash through the city of Nogales, Ariz.

More money possible to help faulty cross-border sewage pipe

Feb 14, 2020 A longstanding Nogales water contamination problem could see more funding under the President Trump's proposed budget.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's patrol ship M/V Farley Mowat in the Sea of Cortez in September 2019.

Conservationist ship attacked in endangered vaquita refuge

Feb 12, 2020 The crew patrolling to protect the endangered porpoise in the Sea of Cortez came under fire by suspected poachers.
The proposed site of the Rosemont Copper mining project is in the Santa Rita Mountains in Southern Arizona.

District judge overturns another part of Rosemont Mine approval

Feb 11, 2020 The judge on Monday threw out the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's approval of the project.
Cottonwoods along the San Pedro River channel cut down for pending border wall construction across the river in February 2020.

Cochise County removes rented dumpsters used for San Pedro River border wall prep

Feb 5, 2020 The contract said the dumpsters were intended for another location, according to the county.
A drought map of the West dated Aug. 28, 2018.

Study: Four Corners drought intensified by human-induced warming

Jan 31, 2020 A researcher said the drought showed what climate change is like "in the here and now."
University of Arizona sophomore Kyle Kline speaks to a crowd gathered at a climate strike protest at El Presidio Park in Tucson on Sept. 20, 2019.

Young activists press for action on climate change

Jan 31, 2020 Inexperience and age aren't stopping young people in Arizona and around the world from demanding action.
Quitobaquito pond is fed from the nearby Quitobaquito Springs. Recent construction activity near the site has drawn concern from environmental groups.

More concern, outrage over border wall's impact on sensitive desert lands

Jan 30, 2020 A recently bulldozed strip of desert has sparked another wave of criticism over the construction of President Trump's border wall.
Demonstrators gather Sunday, Jan. 26 to protest the construction of border wall across the San Pedro River.

Hundreds protest planned border wall across the San Pedro River

Jan 27, 2020 Many are worried about how the proposed barrier would impact a vital waterway and wildlife migration corridor.
Water flows down the face of Sabino Dam after a heavy winter rain. Intermittent waterways like this one will lose federal protection under the Clean Water Act under a new rule put forward by the Trump administration.

Opinions mixed on roll-out of new federal water rule

Jan 23, 2020 The Trump administration released its final rule Thursday redefining which waterways are protected under the Clean Water Act.
U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Todd Esque holds a tortoise shell in the Mojave Desert, south of Las Vegas.

Climate change, and our response to it, is making life hard for desert tortoises

Jan 23, 2020 Tortoises are being hit with a one-two punch of energy projects springing up in a desert that is getting hotter and drier.

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