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Oak Flat, east of Superior, Arizona. A company proposes to build one of the world's largest underground copper mines at this location.

Land swap of Oak Flat due to start Friday

Jan 12, 2021 The transfer is opposed by San Carlos Apache tribal members who do not want it become a copper mine.
President Donald Trump stands at a section of border wall on the southern border near Yuma, June 23, 2020.

New letter asks Mexican officials to help stop border wall construction

Jan 12, 2021 As Trump visits the border for the last time in his presidency, groups say they want Mexico to stand against more wall.
The Cameron Peak Fire burned through the headwaters for northern Colorado's Poudre River and many of its small tributaries.

When wildfire burns a high mountain forest, what happens to the snow?

Jan 11, 2021 Researchers are trying to understand the impacts to water sources from large fires.
Construction nears the end on the wall section across the San Pedro River in October 2020.

After Congress approves new border wall funding, environmentalists consider next steps

Jan 8, 2021 The administration said it had completed 450 miles of border wall by the end of 2020.
This stretch of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah is currently in extreme drought.

National Weather Service: Dryness defined 2020 in Southwest

Jan 2, 2021 Record or near-record dryness across Arizona and the region
Lorraine Eiler's great grandfather was one of several Hia C-ed O'odham who used to live at Quitobaquito Springs.

After the wall, border residents take stock of what's next

Dec 25, 2020 The Trump administration is expected to finish 450 miles of wall by the end of the year.
This stretch of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah is currently in extreme drought.

Colorado River watershed forecast looks very dry for start of 2021

Dec 22, 2020 The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs are likely to drop next year if demands stay the same.
Since late June 2019, Tucson Water has been recharging treated wastewater into the dry channel of the Santa Cruz River, creating a riparian oasis.

Checking in on the health of the Santa Cruz River

Dec 18, 2020 Upgrades to the county’s wastewater treatment continue to improve the vitality of the river and the wildlife it supports.
The point on the Santa Cruz River north of downtown where treated effluent from the Agua Dulce flows into the river channel.

State unveils draft legislation to create surface water protections

Dec 16, 2020 The process comes after the Trump administration's rollback of Clean Water Act protections.
John Farley, director of fire test operations at the Naval Research Laboratory, tests the effectiveness of aqueous film-forming foam by spraying it on a gasoline fire. The test took place at the laboratory in Chesapeake Beach, Md. Oct. 25, 2019.

State works to clean up chemical pollutants in Tucson water supply

Dec 11, 2020 ADEQ is addressing PFAS contamination of Tucson backup groundwater wells.
Agnese Nelms Haury

A Tucson Original: Agnese Haury

Dec 10, 2020 Listen to an oral history of Agnese Haury's remarkable life, as told by those who knew and loved her.
The 28,000-home master planned community would be built just south of Benson.

Enviro groups win bid for evidence on approval for Vigneto housing development

Dec 4, 2020 A judge ordered FWS to produce documents related to political interference that greenlit a huge housing development.
Cars driving with downtown Phoenix in the background

Phoenix posts its hottest summer and autumn in city history

Dec 2, 2020 Arizona's capital already has shattered its record for the most days of triple-digit heat in a calendar year.
Rillito River flows after a monsoon storm, July 2020

Major changes in environmental policy expected under Biden

Nov 25, 2020 Reclassifying Arizona waterways is among the items on the new administration's agenda
The Minke whale gets unloaded in Bisbee.

Minke whale skeleton comes to Bisbee

Nov 18, 2020 Students with the Bisbee Science Lab will clean and reassemble the whale for display.
A proposed pipeline project in southern Utah would transport water from Lake Powell to fast-growing communities in the state's southwest corner. The proposal hit political headwinds this year, as other Colorado River users objected to it.

2020 delivers setbacks for some long-planned Western water projects

Nov 17, 2020 Long-planned projects have run into roadblocks.

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