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Mexican wolf program making strides after 25 years
On a frigid morning in late January, biologists set out in a helicopter to begin the annual Mexican wolf population count with hopes of finding at least one more wolf than last year. Their painstaking work helps identify the number of wolves in Arizona and New Mexico and is vital to the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program that began 25 years ago when the animals were nearly extinct.
Bitter cold, snow blast Southwest; Arizona highways closed
Bitter cold, rain and snow blew across much of the Southwest U.S. on Tuesday, closing stretches of interstate and state highways in northern Arizona where as much as a foot (30 centimeters) of snow was possible and even colder weather on the way.
Arizona ranchers to be paid for removing livestock carcasses
The Arizona Livestock Loss Board is implementing a new incentive program that will compensate ranchers for removing livestock carcasses to locations where they aren't accessible to Mexican wolves.
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.
Rain, snow won’t be enough to end West’s drought
The West has been slammed by wet weather this winter: An “atmospheric river” has pummeled California with weeks of heavy rain and the Rocky Mountains are getting buried with snow. That’s good news for the Colorado River, but climate scientists say the 40 million people who use the river’s water should take the good news with a grain of salt.
In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation
Exposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) powerhouse of the West flows through the region's dams, reservoirs and open-air canals.
AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks
Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government's retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.
Navajo Nation rescinds mask mandate on vast reservation
The Navajo Nation has rescinded a mask mandate that's been in effect since the early days of the Covid pandemic, officials announced Friday, fulfilling a pledge that new tribal President Buu Nygren made while campaigning for the office.
Ignoring gas planning means utility customers lose
It is time for Southwest Gas to let the public in on its infrastructure plans before the Arizona Corporation Commission allows customers to be charged hundreds of millions of dollars that may have otherwise been avoided.
US border authorities roll out updated pursuit policy
U.S. border authorities announced changes to their policy for pursuing smugglers and other crime suspects on Wednesday, following an extensive review and criticism by immigrant advocates who pointed to cases in which passengers died when drivers fled law enforcement.
Buu Nygren sworn in as next Navajo Nation president
Buu Nygren was sworn in Tuesday as the next president of the vast Navajo Nation, a job that will test his ability to make good on promises to deliver water, electricity and broadband to tens of thousands of residents who don't have it.
Biden inspects US-Mexico border in face of GOP criticism
President Joe Biden walked a muddy stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and inspected a busy port of entry Sunday on his first trip to the region after two years in office, a visit shadowed by the fraught politics of immigration as Republicans blame him for record numbers of migrants crossing into the country.
