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Views from the Santa Rita Experimental Range.

UA Santa Rita Experimental Range gets long-term lease

The range was first designated by President Theodore Roosevelt.
The Machida family as they waited for transportation to an internment camp in Hayward, California in May 1942.

"Citizen / Enemy" at the Tucson Desert Art Museum looks at the legacy of Japanese incarcerations during World War II.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Yume Japanese Garden is a dream come true for founder Patricia Deridder; and director Natalia Almada on the connections between humanity, technology & nature in her film "Users."
Savanna brassica, a spinach and mustard hybrid, grows at OnePointOne in Avondale on Sept. 28, 2022.

Vertical farm in Avondale promotes sustainability, technology, water conservation

It uses uses 99% less water than a traditional farm and grows seasonal produce year round – all without soil or anyone driving a tractor.
A harvesting machine pulls pecans from trees at Green Valley Pecan Company in Sahaurita.

Arizona restricts farming to protect groundwater supply

The Arizona Department of Water Resources this week put a limit on the amount of land that can be watered, designating the Hualapai Valley as an irrigation non-expansion area.
Tuesday’s press conference to announce the over $4.7 million USDA grant to UArizona to support and promote 'climate-smart' food production was held at the ENR2’s rooftop garden. The rooftop garden is an example of how native plants can be paired with solar panels to protect plants in an increasingly hot and dry climate while water evaporating from the plants cools and makes the panels more efficient.

USDA awards $4.7 million to new partnership with UA for 'climate-smart' food production

The funding will help farmers reduce water consumption and carbon emissions.
Water levels in Lake Powell, seen here in May 2021, are dipping dangerously low. The federal government has proposed an unprecedented plan to cut back on water supplies for Arizona, Nevada and California. The measure aims to keep water levels high enough to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam.

The Buzz: Looking back on 2022

Newsworthy interviews and topics that we addressed this year.

Fighting Foodborne Illness

Sadhana Ravishankar has spent her career keeping agricultural products in Arizona safe, and was recently awarded Inventor of the Year by Tech Launch Arizona for developing natural antimicrobial washes.
The seven states in the Colorado River basin couldn't agree on a plan to conserve unprecedented amounts of water before a federal deadline. Meanwhile, grim projections for the future of water levels in Lake Mead have forced mandatory cuts to water for some users in the lower basin. Federal authorities are trying to prop up levels in the nation's largest reservoir before they dip too low to generate hydropower or allow the passage of water.

The Buzz: How will more Colorado River water cuts affect Southern Arizona?

Tucson's rights means municipal users aren't likely to feel the pinch, but the same can't be said for agriculture.
A saguaro cactus in the Grand Canyon National Park is in full bloom, displaying beautiful pink flowers.

Arizona Spotlight for August 11th, 2022

Native plants return to Hermosillo's urban landscape; Tucsonan John Rhodes tells about his family's rodeo history; Meet the new CEO of The Western National Parks Association; and a short story by Aurelie Sheehan.
Lake Mead and the rest of the Colorado River system are shrinking rapidly. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has called for new conservation measures, asking states to conserve a tremendously large amount of water, and giving them a 60-day timeline to formulate a plan for those reductions.

What will Arizona do as its share of Colorado River water diminishes?

We hear about efforts to reassess state allocations and what may come of a billion-dollar fund established this summer.
Tucson baker extraordinaire, Don Guerra.

A grassroots Tucson baker wins a national award for excellence.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Renowned author Tom Miller reads from "Where Was I? A Travel Writer's Memoir"; Adiba Nelson shares truth about her first day on the job as a new mother; and remembering cowboy poet & philosopher Baxter Black.
A glass of beer on a table.

Making beer in Southern Arizona

This week, The Buzz focuses on the area's beer business, its growth and how it has felt the pinch of supply chain problems.
Commercial trucks travel through the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

$3.4B in produce came in through Nogales in 2021

After being slightly edged out by Hidalgo, Texas, for tomato imports in 2017, Nogales has maintained the top spot since then.

Arizona Spotlight for January 27th, 2022

With less water on the surface, how long can Arizona rely on what's underground? And, the Pima County Public Library's "Welcome to America Team" is helping Afghan immigrants to find their new home.

Adia Barnes on Teamwork and Motherhood.

Also on Arizona Spotlight:Can new technology save water on farms? Plus Chris Dashiell remembers Peter Bogdanovich, and a short story read by author Michelle Ross.
Precision-cut rows of broccoli grow on a laser-leveled field in Yuma, Arizona. Technological developments in agriculture are helping the industry use water more efficiently, but research shows that some methods are not helping save water on a basin-wide scale.

As the Colorado River shrinks, can new technology save water on farms? The answer is complicated

Agriculture uses about 80% of the water in the Colorado River basin.

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