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Nature and Environment

Maricopa County averages 110 days above 100 degrees Fahrenheit a year, and it recorded 119 heat-caused deaths in 2018, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Heat deaths continue to rise, as federal disaster relief continues to lag

Jan 15, 2020 While weather events like floods lead can lead to relief money, no extreme heat events have been declared a federal disaster.
More than 20 people protested Tucson Electric Power's proposed rate hikes outside of the Arizona State Office Building in Tucson on Jan. 13, 2020.

TEP rate hike proposal draws opposition from climate advocates

Jan 13, 2020 Groups say TEP shouldn't keep investing in fossil fuels. The utility says the plan will enable a transition to more renewable energy.
Boulder Basin at Lake Mead.

Planning for a future with less Colorado River water

Jan 9, 2020 A new book sheds light on mistakes of the past while Arizona gears up for the next round of negotiations.
Construction on new border wall fencing at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in September, 2019.

Grijalva asks feds to 'respect tribal lands' during border construction

Jan 9, 2020 U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva is asking the Department of Homeland Security to formally consult with the Tohono O'odham Nation.
Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, Nevada, serves as the Colorado River's largest reservoir and a key water source for Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico.

Colorado River water forecast lower than normal despite snowpack

Jan 9, 2020 The forecast is mostly due to hot and dry weather in the fall that left soils parched across the region.
The crew of the whaling vessel Pequod, portrayed by Ryan Parker Knox, Christopher Pankratz, Aaron Shand and Eduardo Rodriguez, in The Rogue Theatre's stage adaptation of "Moby Dick".

The great white whale, sighted in Tucson!

Jan 8, 2020 Also on Arizona Spotlight: A conversation with ecologist Brad Lancaster; and the series "Youth Crossing Gender Borders" begins.
The Kanab ambersnail was listed as an endagered species for more than 20 years, but federal officials have proposed taking it off the list after determining it is not a species distinct from other, more common ambersnails.

Feds say tiny snail in Utah, Arizona can no longer be listed as endangered

Jan 8, 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife says the Kanab ambersnail is not actually its own species.
Army Corps of Engineers contractors pour concrete in August for the base of a new section of border wall near Yuma. The Department of Homeland Security waived environmental and other regulations on 90 miles of Arizona's border last year to smooth the way for border wall construction projects.

Feds waived environment, other regs on 90 miles of state border in 2019

Jan 6, 2020 The waivers were aimed at streamlining wall construction on nearly one-quarter of Arizona's border with Mexico.
Larry Schnebly and daughter Lisa Schnebly Heidinger at the Canadian Port of Entry.

The 89-90 Trip: Canada at Last

Jan 3, 2020 The road trip draws to a close with the final destination just around the bend.
A mural of a vaquita mother and calf near the boardwalk in San Felipe, Baja California.

Conservationists: Mexican government failing to protect vaquita

Jan 3, 2020 They say Mexico has not been able to curb illegal fishing in the Sea of Cortez that threatens the nearly extinct porpoise.
Arizona Public Media.

3 mountain lions killed after feeding on human remains

Jan 2, 2020 Authorities said the lions were determined to be a danger because they should no fear of officers.
Dropping Trees off at Rillito.

Tucson offering drop-off recycling for your Christmas tree

Dec 26, 2019 Putting the Christmas tree on the curb won't get rid of it.
Looking upstream Sabino Creek on one of the bridges at the popular recreation site in Tucson in early winter.

Proposed Clean Water Act changes will mean uncertainty, loss of protections for Arizona waterways

Dec 18, 2019 The Trump administration is implementing a new rule defining which waterways are regulated under the act.
A video shot by wildlife biologist Rosemary Schiano of groundwater drilling near border wall construction close to Quitobaquito Springs on Dec. 16, 2019.

Video shows groundwater pumping for border wall near Quitobaquito Springs

Dec 17, 2019 Conservationists worry pumping will harm a rare and critical desert water source.
The midnight sun casts a golden glow on an iceberg and its reflection in Disko Bay, Greenland. Much of Greenland’s annual mass loss occurs through calving of icebergs such as this.

Greenland ice melt matches UN panel's worst predictions

Dec 17, 2019 New research suggests ice loss in Greenland has contributed just over a centimeter of mean sea level rise over 26 years.
Lake Mead outside of Las Vegas.

Interior secretary announces study impacting Colorado River water talks

Dec 16, 2019 States are set to begin negotiations next year over a new set of agreements about the river's future.

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