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Nature and Environment

An A-10 makes a pass over the runway at Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. July 2021.

Tucson sues U.S. Air Force over PFAS contamination of city water

Dec 20, 2024 City files federal lawsuit to recover costs of PFAS water cleanup.
Governor Katie Hobbs discusses water issues with Willcox Mayor Mike Laws. September 5, 2024.

Willcox Groundwater Basin designated as Arizona’s 7th active management area

Dec 20, 2024 Governor Hobbs uses administrative action to safeguard water in southeastern AZ.

Arizona completes statewide water testing for PFAS ahead of updated EPA regulations deadlines

Dec 19, 2024 88% of water systems sampled meet new federal standards, 12% exceed newly established levels.
Living room fireplace.

Holiday tradition highlights living room dangers

Dec 17, 2024 Fireplace wood burning carries some hazardous health risks.
Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee on a Gaillardia flower (Gaillardia aristata).

AZ bumble bee species could be added to endangered species list

Dec 17, 2024 A public comment period for the Suckley’s Cuckoo Bumble Bee is open Dec. 17.
Monarch butterflies are among the most popular in Arizona and across the United States.

Monarch butterfly population crisis sparks endangered species proposal

Dec 13, 2024 Public input sought on new proposal to protect monarch butterflies under Endangered Species Act.
Brad Biddlecome (left) and Mari White (right) stand outside of ArtWorks. ArtWorks is a day program where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities can practice and learn art.

Artists from ArtWorks bring their ideas of home to "Won't You Be My Neighbor?".

Dec 12, 2024 Also on Arizona Spotlight: How the Tucson Bird Alliance will be making a difference in 2025; and actor and history buff Fred Pitts brings his one-man show "Aren't You..?" to Tucson.
A sign in front of Fondomonte's 10,000 acre farm in La Paz County shows that, as of July 2024, the company is hiring.

AG Mayes sues Saudi-owned alfalfa farm Fondomonte

Dec 11, 2024 The lawsuit alleges that the company has excessively pumped groundwater, causing a nuisance in La Paz County.
<a href="https://map22.epa.gov/cimc/superfundZoom&params=0900684&15" target="_blank" style="font-weight:700;margin-right:6px">VIEW THIS MAP FULLSCREEN IN A NEW WINDOW</a>The ten square-mile Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site is depicted using orange diagonal lines. The site includes Tucson International Airport, Sections of the Tohono O'odham Nation (San Xavier District), Tucson and South Tucson residential areas, and Air Force Plant #44 Raytheon Missile Systems Company (AFP44). The site has contaminated groundwater and soil from former aircraft and electronics manufacturing and aircraft maintenance, fire drill trainings, and the leaking of chemicals from unlined landfills.

New EPA rules phase out toxic chemicals TCE and limits PCE nationwide

Dec 11, 2024 Biden Administration’s EPA advances protections against carcinogens.
Mountain lions can be cornered by hounds in crags and at the edge of rocky cliffs.

Debate heats up in Arizona over using dog packs for hunting

Dec 11, 2024 Game and Fish Commission balances tradition and modern wildlife management.
Arizona Corporation Commission building in downtown Phoenix.

Arizona regulators consider taking over troubled rural water company

Dec 9, 2024 According to Corporation Commission staff, Salome Water Company is out of compliance with several state regulatory agencies.
International scientists, Alexander Werth, from left, professor Joy Reidenberg and Michael Denk study a male spade-toothed whale ahead of a dissection at Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, near Dunedin, New Zealand, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.

Scientists gather to decode puzzle of the world's rarest whale in 'extraordinary' New Zealand study

Dec 2, 2024 The creature, which washed up dead on a beach on New Zealand's South Island in July, is only the seventh specimen ever found.
The city of Tucson is adding a four-block long protected bicycle lane to Stone Avenue that also includes pedestrian crosswalks and planted swales to harvest rainwater.

New protected bicycle lanes opening in downtown Tucson

Nov 28, 2024 Project on Stone Avenue also adds pedestrian crosswalks and landscaping
Kids from the cast of "Cinderella" from Spotlight Community Theater. "Cinderella" plays December 5th through the 8th at the theater.

Spotlight Community Theater's production of "Cinderella".

Nov 28, 2024 Also on Arizona Spotlight: A tale of true love that started in Tucson in 1943 that continues today; and historian David Leighton shares the history of the Reid Park Zoo..
Mountain lions can be cornered by hounds in crags and at the edge of rocky cliffs.

Conservation groups petition Arizona Game and Fish Commission to ban hound hunting practices

Nov 25, 2024 The Center for Biological Diversity and others, call for a statewide ban on using dog packs to hunt wildlife, citing threats to endangered species and fair chase ethics.
The San Pedro River post-Monsoon rain. September 14, 2023.

The Buzz: Arizona's 100-year water supply rule

Nov 22, 2024 Adequate water supply is more commonly becoming a concern for new housing developments.

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