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Congressional watchdog describes border wall harm, says agencies should work together to ease damage
The construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border under former President Donald Trump toppled untold numbers of saguaro cactuses in Arizona, put endangered ocelots at risk in Texas and disturbed Native American burial grounds, the official congressional watchdog said Thursday.
Biden makes Grand Canyon monument designation, citing Arizona tribal heritage, climate concerns
Declaring it good "not only for Arizona but for the planet," President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a national monument designation for the greater Grand Canyon, turning the decades-long visions of Native American tribes and environmentalists into reality.
Interior Department official with key role in Colorado River talks is stepping down
A senior Interior Department official who has had a key role in negotiations over the shrinking Colorado River plans to step down from the job next week.
Grand Canyon gets $27.5 million federal grant for greener shuttle buses
Grand Canyon National Park is getting $27.5 million in federal highway money to upgrade its aging fleet of shuttle buses, which help the more than 4 million people who visit each year get around the huge park.
Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling
It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, after her agency spent many months hosting public meetings and talking with Native American leaders about curbing the pace of oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin and protecting culturally significant sites.
Landless San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe could finally get its own homeland
It’s long past time for Congress to ratify the treaty so that San Juan Southern Paiute tribal members are no longer treated like strangers in their ancestral homeland, tribal President Johnny Lehi Jr. testified on June 7.
Funding to support oral histories in boarding school era
The U.S. government is embarking on an effort to record the oral histories of survivors and descendants of boarding schools that sought to "civilize" Indigenous students, often through abusive practices.
What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
The Biden administration floated two ideas this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people.
Supreme Court hears Navajo water rights case with potentially big impact
When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in Arizona v. Navajo Nation, it will be considering fairly technical legal questions, but the answers could have a large impact on water allocation in the Colorado River basin.
Documentary film works to preserve the legacy of Arizonan Stewart Udall
John de Graaf says there was a time when a list of Arizona political icons would have included Barry Goldwater, John McCain and at least one other – Stewart Udall. But de Graaf worries that Udall, an Interior secretary widely recognized as the modern father of conservation, is being forgotten, a slight that he hopes to reverse with a recently released documentary.
Colorado River water users convening amid crisis concerns
Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for state and federal water administrators, tribal officials, farmers, academics and business representatives, including some from Arizona, meeting about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River.
Biden pledges new commitments, respect for tribal nations
President Joe Biden on Wednesday pledged to give Native Americans a stronger voice in federal affairs, promising at the first in-person summit on tribal affairs in six years that he would foster "respect for Indigenous knowledge and tribal consultations" in government decision-making.
