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Nature and Environment

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.
Arizona Department of Safety officers surround and handcuff an Indigenous demonstrator during an O'odham-led blockade at a Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 85 on October 12, 2020.

Indigenous Peoples' Day border demonstration ends with tear gas, arrests

Oct 12, 2020 11 demonstrators taken into DPS custody during a Border Patrol checkpoint blockade in Pima County.
With residences in the foreground, the Bighorn Fire burns in the Santa Catalina Mountains on June 10, 2020.

Homes complicate Arizona wildfire response

Oct 10, 2020 Development in Arizona's wildlands is making fires more expensive, and in some cases, more difficult to prevent.
The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Cochise County, Arizona.

Latest lawsuit against Fort Huachuca over San Pedro water use seeks documents

Oct 8, 2020 A conservation group has again sued over what it says is a failure to protect the river and its dependent species.
Singed trees on the road up Mount Lemmon in early October, months after the Bighorn Fire.

Bighorn Fire marks familiar cycle of renewal amid new chapter of bigger burns

Oct 8, 2020 Fire is a natural process, but it will take decades for some areas to recover or regrow habitat that burned this year.

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