Desert Environmental News, June 16, 2025

Leaders of the state agency that oversees the health of the Great Salt Lake say they're concerned after the lake's levels peaked about 1½ feet below its highest point last year.

More monitors will be installed in communities around the Great Salt Lake to better track and warn people about dust, the head of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality said.

On May 30, the Navajo Nation Council held a public hearing at the Forest Lake Chapter House to solicit community feedback on President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14241, “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” which seeks to expand coal development by revising existing federal regulations.

The company at the center of a controversial green energy project connecting New Mexico and Arizona has changed plans for a key component: A much-debated pipeline that would have carried climate-friendly hydrogen will instead carry natural gas.

The Navajo Nation officially declared a State of Emergency in response to worsening drought conditions across the Nation.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust said the Ranch Fire near Apple Valley has impacted a quarter of a 592-acre protected nature preserve.

Clark County has tallied three heat-related deaths so far in 2025.

The park service made the decision to relocate the bridge after discovering its foundation was shifting during an inspection in May 2023. The park then closed access to the bridge and found that its two concrete abutments on either side of the river were damaged from earth movement.

Democratic lawmakers have urged the Trump administration not to support the exploration and development plan of Australian company Dateline Resources inside Mojave National Preserve.

To talk through the deck park topic, two guests who are focused on the project – but with different views – join the El Paso Matters Podcast hosted by Diego Mendoza-Moyers.

The judge did preclude the U.S. Forest Service from proceeding with the land exchange until 60 days after an environmental review.

A new study in Energy Strategy Reviews has revealed a dark side to the state's breakneck pace for solar investment, deployment, and adoption, taking a first-time look at patterns of public and private sector corruption in the California solar market.

Meta and XGS Energy aim to build a geothermal energy site capable of producing 150 megawatts at a location that has not yet been named.

During Pollinator Week, all ages can take part in a citizen science initiative to help document and raise awareness of pollinator populations in Douglas County. Participants are invited to photograph and record pollinators in their natural habitats and upload that data to their iNaturalist account via smartphone, tablet, or web.

The lab has four containers of the radioactive waste dating back to the Cold War that could explode during transport for disposal.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released the text of its piece of the Senate budget bill Wednesday night. It includes a mandate to sell 2 million to 3 million acres of public lands to help fund a tax break for billionaires.

Standing in front of a crowd of 100 people Saturday, Mike Quigley pointed out into the distance to a nearby copper mine. “We can have that,” he said. Then he gestured to the mountain behind him. “Or we can have this.” 

Dry fuels, carryover grasses from last year, and thunderstorms without significant rainfall are all contributing to wildfire potential.

Nevada is on the list of 11 Western states where land sales could occur, ostensibly to support housing needs.

The potential fees for single family homeowners has become one of the biggest topics during public comment at the Fish and Game Commission meetings.

Zion National Park celebrated a major milestone on Thursday with the 100 millionth rider of the Zion Canyon Shuttle System.

A recent study analyzed National Park Service data from 2007 to 2023, revealing that Texas's Big Bend National Park has the highest summer fatality rate among U.S. national parks, with 1.55 deaths per 100,000 visitors. The primary cause of death was hyperthermia.

As long as anyone can remember, the Western Apache have used a site 60 miles east of Phoenix for a coming-of-age ritual.

One year after Congress allowed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to expire, former Navajo and other Indigenous uranium mine workers, their families and radiation downwinders are urging lawmakers to reauthorize, extend and expand the program.

In the desert of landlocked Arizona, Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it's growing the tropical species barramundi.

A Nevada geothermal giant could have waited years to get federal permits. Under President Donald Trump’s emergency executive order on energy, that process will take 14 days — at most.

A unique rock formation in Texas offers rare insight into ancient seas.

Deserts are not wastelands. We're not as sure about the internet though.

This past week’s California Fish and Game Commission met over two days, with almost the entire first half of Thursday’s meeting taken up with The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan. However, tucked into the consent agenda was a change in status for the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) from “threatened” to “endangered.”

GOP push to sell off public lands revived in Senate. Here's how it could affect Nevada. Read more from The Nevada Independent.

Hundreds in El Paso joined the nationwide "No Kings" protests in opposition to President Donald Trump. The protests were peaceful.

Thousands brave heat for Arizona No Kings protests against Trump immigration raids and deportation policies

Crowds gathered in Downtown Las Vegas Saturday evening as part of demonstrations nationwide for the “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration.

The demonstrations against President Donald Trump's administration were among more than 2,000 planned nationwide

Demonstrators from around the Imperial Valley expressed opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies at the “No Kings” protest at Main Street and Imperial Avenue.

Local leaders and scientists discuss solutions at inaugural Northern Nevada Heat Summit.

Asha, the wayfaring Mexican gray wolf who was captured twice in Northern New Mexico and returned to the subspecies' restricted experimental population area south of I-40, recently set her sights

The plan establishes a long-term framework to guide the coordinated management of the 807-mile trail that spans Arizona, from the Mexico border to Utah, officials said in a press release.

A guided hiking company is redefining outdoor adventure by offering inclusive experiences designed for all ages and abilities.

Family mourns the loss of Afa Ah Loo, the man killed at 'No Kings' protest in Salt Lake City.

Residents in Oro Valley and Tucson came together in a national "No Kings Day of Defiance" protest, to counter the military parade in Washington D.C. to mark the Army's 250th

A batch of 1,000 rare tadpoles raised at the Phoenix Zoo landed in a new home at the Grasshopper Tank in the Tonto National Forest, part of ongoing efforts to boost the population of the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri praised the addition of radiation exposure compensation funds in the Senate version of the budget

A weekend dedicated to celebrating the culture and ecology of the Chihuahuan Desert returned to West Texas this month. The festival brought scholars, anthropologists, archeologists and artists to the region for a series of free talks, tastings and performances.