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Colorado River states near historic deal

The three lower basin states of California, Arizona, and Nevada are proposing a plan to voluntarily conserve a major portion of their allocation of Colorado River water in exchange for more than $1 billion in federal funds. The emergency plan is focused on retaining sufficient water levels in both Lake Powell and Lake Mead to ensure that hydropower operations at […]

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Interior clears path for controversial Nevada lithium mine

Interior Department Solicitor Robert Anderson released an opinion on Tuesday clarifying how mining companies can legally store mining waste on public lands. Prompted by recent court decisions regarding the defeated Rosemont Copper mine in Arizona and the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, the new opinion offers guidance for companies to site waste rock and tailings from […]

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Could safety concerns derail Utah oil train?

Until recently, the prospect of large shipments of waxy crude oil traveling from northeastern Utah may not have been top of mind for residents of Mesa County in western Colorado, but that was before a rail car caught fire earlier this month. Jessica Washkowiak and her family had to briefly evacuate their home near Palisade […]

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How culverts hurt fish and why replacing them can help

Protecting migratory habitat and wildlife corridors for big game species has gotten a lot of attention in recent years as the federal government and many Western states look for opportunities to identify, conserve, and restore migratory habitats. Roads can fragment habitat and block big game species from moving along migratory corridors, but they can also block passage for fish […]

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Swimming upstream: Why culverts for fish passage are an important element of wildlife and habitat connectivity

In the Western U.S., migratory habitat and corridors for big game species have gotten a lot of attention in recent years. In 2018, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a secretarial order which directed Interior department agencies to work with Western states to identify, conserve and restore migratory habitats for big game species. Several states soon […]

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Ute Tribe sues over rejected bid to buy back Tabby Mountain

The Ute Indian Tribe is suing the state of Utah for rejecting its high bid to buy back Tabby Mountain, a site that was taken from the Tribe more than a century ago and made part of the Ashley National Forest. The mountain was eventually given to SITLA, the Utah School and Institutional Trust Land Administration, which put […]

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Why you should care about the Rio Grande River

Kate and Aaron are joined by journalist Danielle Prokop and photographer Diana Cervantes to talk about their recent series documenting drought on the Rio Grande River, which runs from Colorado, through New Mexico, to Texas. Danielle and Diana produced the series for Source New Mexico, a statewide non-profit journalism outlet. News Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss […]

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Biden’s opportunity at Molok Luyuk

When President Barack Obama designated the 330,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in 2015, he protected a landscape rich with ecological diversity and recreational opportunities in northern California. But nearly 14,000 acres of public lands just to the east of the monument remain in need of greater protection. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is asking […]

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The phantom ‘non-profit’ run by a shady ex-Trumper

A self-proclaimed watchdog group that has gained notoriety in right-wing circles for its litigation against the Biden administration is largely a phantom. HuffPost reporter Chris D’Angelo revealed that despite its talk of being a champion of transparency, Protect the Public’s Trust has misrepresented itself in public records requests targeting Biden cabinet members. In a May 2021 request to the […]

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Uranium companies come knocking at Bears Ears

Two foreign uranium mining companies have announced plans to drill more than two dozen exploratory wells on the edge of Bears Ears National Monument. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Brian Maffly reports that Atomic Minerals has partnered with Kraken Energy to develop 324 mining claims across more than 6,000 acres of public land in San Juan County, Utah, adjacent to Bears […]

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Entire New Mexico delegation supports protecting Greater Chaco region, again

Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation reintroduced the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, the most recent development in an ongoing push to protect the Chaco Culture National Historic Park from oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Since 2019, Congress has prohibited new leasing on federal lands within the proposed withdrawal area, and the New Mexico State Land Commissioner has […]

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Montana congressman, governor keep trying to defund popular conservation and access programs

Despite the tremendous bipartisan popularity of outdoor recreation, access, and conservation in Montana, Congressman Matt Rosendale has introduced four bills (H.R.2153, H.R.2158, H.R.2169, and H.R.2207) that propose to defund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). First passed by Congress in 1964, LWCF uses royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling to pay for conservation […]

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Senate votes to end protections for lesser prairie chicken

On Wednesday, the United States Senate passed a resolution that denies Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the critically imperiled lesser prairie chicken. The species was listed for ESA protections last fall by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which cited research demonstrating that 90 percent of the lesser prairie chicken’s habitat in the Great Plains has diminished, […]

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Public Lands Rule would level the playing field for conservation

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft rule late last month known as the Public Lands Rule, which would place conservation on equal footing with industrial development and other traditional uses on public lands—a marked shift from the status quo of the past 150 years. Historically, the federal government has incentivized drilling, mining, logging, and livestock […]

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A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mining bill

Kate and Aaron are joined by Alli Henderson, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, and Blaine Miller-McFeeley, a senior legislative representative at Earthjustice, to talk about the recently-introduced Mining Regulatory Clarity Act—or, as Miller-McFeeley has renamed it, the Dirty Mining Trumps All Other Uses Act. They talk about what prompted Senator Catherine […]

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Rafters bring momentum to conservation efforts in Colorado’s Dolores River Canyon

Rafters are flocking to the Dolores River in southwest Colorado as record flows create some of the river’s best rafting conditions in decades. The strong flows are a result of record-high snowpack in the Dolores River Basin, which reached 237 percent of the median snow water equivalent for the month of April. The influx of recreationists brings momentum to ongoing […]

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Fossil fuel-friendly lawmakers tie debt ceiling to handouts for oil and gas industry

Unable to win support in the Senate for their unpopular policies, fossil fuel allies in the House have resorted to trying to use the debt limit fight to pass their massive giveaway to oil and gas companies. Last week, the House narrowly passed H.R.2811, which would lift America’s debt limit, avoiding the economic catastrophe that […]

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Utah politicians visit Israel, gather solutions to rescue Great Salt Lake

For five days in March, 15 Utah politicians visited Israel to gather solutions to reverse declines in the Great Salt Lake. The delegation heard from government officials, tech startup companies, and agriculture producers, all of whom explained the country’s remarkable shift from a nation of water scarcity to water surplus. Since 1948, Israel has had to find […]

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House passes massive giveaway to oil and gas companies

Unable to win support in the Senate for their misguided policies, fossil fuel allies in the House have resorted to trying to use the debt limit to pass their massive giveaway to oil and gas companies. Late on Wednesday, the House narrowly passed H.R.2811 which would lift the debt limit, avoiding the economic catastrophe that would ensue if […]

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Senators rush to keep mining law stuck in the 1800s

On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Jim Risch of Idaho introduced S.1281, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, which would allow mining companies to dump mine waste on public lands where the company has a mining claim but has not proven that valuable minerals exist. Until recently, mining companies relied on an interpretation of the General Mining […]

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