There are thankful ranchers across Arizona, myself included, after an extraordinary monsoon season that filled our scorched dirt tanks with water and re-seeded our rangelands with knee-high green grass. But well below the surface, and just up-stream, the drought persists.

Add a water shortage with serious implications for Pinal County farmers to the challenges lawmakers will have to deal with when the Legislature comes back in 2022.

Climate change, drought and high demand are expected to force the first-ever mandatory cuts to a water supply that 40 million people across the American West depend on — the Colorado River.

Legislative panels gave initial approval Wednesday to a $100 million plan for fighting fires and their effects, but not before the discussion strayed into the question of climate change and whether humans are responsible for the heat and drought conditions that result in huge blazes.

The mere claim by a farmer or rancher of an intent to make a profit – someday – is enough to qualify the property for a tax break, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

After House Speaker Rusty Bowers created a kerfuffle by pushing a bill that threatened to tank Arizona’s efforts to sign onto a multi-state drought plan and craft a similar intrastate plan, he asked at the last minute for the contentious proposal to be held.

I recommend that the Water Augmentation Council comprise a broad and diverse representation of all stakeholders, including agricultural and climate scientists, public health professionals, and concerned citizens representing our state’s mainstream population, including parents, teachers, community leaders and – yes – our children.

The governor and lawmakers celebrated passage of the Drought Contingency Plan bills as a “historic” moment that showed the state could work together to head off drastic water shortfalls on the Colorado River.

The Gila River Indian Community is threatening to blow up the drought contingency plan because of efforts it says will undermine its claim to water rights.

House Democrats are balking at ratifying a proposed drought contingency plan over what they see as a key missing element.