Forest Service seeks bids to thin AZ forests, avert wildfires

September 20, 2019 1 Comment

FILE - In this April 28, 2015, file photo, a machine stacks logs in the Coconino National Forest just outside Flagstaff, Ariz. The U.S. Forest Service is seeking proposals to remove dense stands of trees in a wide swath of Arizona to help prevent wildfires. The agency is hoping to accelerate the pace of the work that's part of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. It released a request for proposals Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, for parts of the Kaibab, Apache-Sitgreaves, Tonto and Coconino national forests. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca, File)

The U.S. Forest Service, faced with the slow pace of forest thinning, is seeking proposals to remove dense stands of trees in a wide swath of Arizona to help prevent wildfires.

California district stalls West drought plan over lake money

February 26, 2019 Leave a comment

In this April 30, 2015 file photo, a man fishes for tilapia along the receding banks of the Salton Sea near Bombay Beach, Calif. Work on a multistate plan to address drought on the Colorado River in the U.S. West won't be done to meet a Monday, March 4, 2019 federal deadline. A California irrigation district with the highest-priority rights to the river water says it won't approve the plan without securing money to restore the state's largest lake. The Imperial Irrigation District wants $200 million for the Salton Sea, a massive, briny lake in the desert southeast of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

The Imperial Irrigation District wants $200 million for the Salton Sea, a massive, briny lake in the desert southeast of Los Angeles created when the Colorado River breached a dike in 1905 and flooded a dry lake bed.

Grand Canyon celebrates 100 years as a national park in 2019

January 2, 2019 Leave a comment

FILE - In this March 27, 1996, file photo, a mule train winds its way down the Bright Angel trail at Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. The Grand Canyon is celebrating 100 years as a national park in 2019. President Woodrow Wilson made the designation in 1919. But Teddy Roosevelt is credited for preserving the natural wonder as a game reserve and a national monument. (AP Photo/Jeff Robbins, File)

The first European American who reached the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon marveled at what was before him: an astounding system of canyons, profound fissures and slender spires that seemingly tottered from their bases.

Prospective owner, operator of Navajo coal plant end pursuit

September 21, 2018 1 Comment

Two companies that were negotiating to take over a coal-fired power plant on the Arizona-Utah line ended the effort Thursday, saying the challenges were too great.

Arizona commits to drought plan for Colorado River

June 29, 2018 1 Comment

The low level of the water line is shown on the banks of the Colorado River at the Hoover Dam Thursday, May 31, 2018, in Hoover Dam, Ariz. Arizona is renewing a focus on a drought contingency plan for the shrinking supply of Colorado River water, and other Western states are paying close attention. PHOTO BY ROSS FRANKLIN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been prodding Western states to wrap up drought contingency plans, one each in the lower and upper basins.

Sports betting ruling has potential for tribes with casinos

May 18, 2018 15 Comments

Super Bowl proposition bets are displayed on a board at the Westgate Superbook race and sports book Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

American Indian tribes are welcoming an opportunity to offer sports betting in potentially hundreds of casinos across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize it.