Nature and Environment

File image of a cliffside at Lake Mead.

Drought persists in Southwest despite summer rains

Sep 17, 2021 Forecasters predict hotter than normal temperatures and lower than normal snow and rain through the end of the year.

The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise that lives in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. It is considered the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world.

USMCA commission asks Mexico to respond to alleged lack of protection for endangered porpoise

Sep 15, 2021 Officials in Mexico have 60 days to respond to a petition alleging the country is failing to enforce environmental laws meant to protect the vaquita marina porpoise.

The proposed site of the Rosemont Copper Mine.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife rejects Rosemont Copper petition to shrink critical jaguar habitat

Sep 3, 2021 Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals sought to deem a portion of the Santa Rita range no longer essential for jaguars.

Mated pair of Great Plains toads (Anaxyrus cognatus) in the floodplain of the Santa Cruz River.

The Desert Blooms in a Bountiful Monsoon.

Sep 1, 2021 Also on Arizona Spotlight: Why the music of the rock group Fanny is rocking a whole new generation!

Waters from monsoon storms filled the Rillito River. July 2021.

Judge strikes down Trump-era water regulation that limited protections

Sep 1, 2021 Two local tribes were part of the effort to restore broader definitions of protected waterways in the Clean Water Act.

Tucson uses recharge techniques to get water back into its underground aquifers.

Award recognizes Tucson Water's sustainability

Sep 1, 2021 Twenty years ago, Tucson was the largest American city entirely reliant on groundwater.

Rain clouds near Tubac, July 2019.

Flood watches blanket Arizona because of tropical moisture

Aug 31, 2021 Flood watches issued for all of Arizona effective from late Tuesday morning until late Wednesday evening.

The short story “A White Heron” was written in 1886 by Sarah Orne Jewett, and adapted for radio by Cynthia Meier in 2021.

The Rogue Theatre presents "A White Heron".

Aug 25, 2021 Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Bisbee Bloomers' annual garden tour returns; and remembering drumming legend Charlie Watts.

A Border Patrol vehicle drives along a section of fence at the Organ Pipe National Monument, west of Lukeville, Arizona, on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018.

Federal judge says Customs and Border Protection broke environmental law

Aug 24, 2021 Lawsuit accused the agency of failing to assess how ramped up border enforcement would impact the borderlands and endangered species that live there.

The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Arizona faces cut in water supplies as shortage is declared on Colorado River

Aug 16, 2021 Arizona will lose 18% of its share of Colorado River water next year, with cuts falling largely on farmers.

Grass mitigation efforts on A Mountain.

A Mountain closed for buffelgrass maintenance

Aug 13, 2021 Buffelgrass on the southern slope with be sprayed with herbicides Friday and Monday to reduce fire danger.

Saguaro National Park employees climbing up a hill within the park to find and spray bunches of buffelgrass with herbicide August 2021.

How one grass at Saguaro National Park shows push and pull of climate change

Aug 12, 2021 If left unchecked, buffelgrass poses a tremendous fire danger to native plants and the homes nearby.

Soldier Canyon in the Catalina Mountains.

Measuring the Monsoon.

Aug 11, 2021 Also on Arizona Spotlight: 'Tis the season for mushroom hunters on Mount Lemmon; and "Gloria: A Life" returns to The Invisible Theatre.

Lake Pleasant, north of Phoenix, is a major reservoir for Colorado River water. Each summer the lake is pumped down to send water to Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties. July 2021

Water cutbacks coming to Arizona

Aug 9, 2021 A decades-long drought means less water from the Colorado River.

Canada del Oro wash looking east from the bridge on La Cholla during Monsoon 2021.

July was wettest on record for Tucson

Jul 29, 2021 Drought persists but recent rain has impact across Arizona

Member of the Navajo Nation retrieving clean, drinking water at the local well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Newly introduced bill aims to increase access to clean water in tribal lands

Jul 27, 2021 If passed, the bill could provide billions across a variety of federal programs to improve water infrastructure and operation.

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