Desert Environmental News, June 9 2025

In an 8-0 ruling, the Supreme Court endorsed a limited interpretation of a key environmental law as it backed a multibillion-dollar oil railroad expansion in Utah.

The lawsuit calls for the NV Energy line to halt construction until federal laws are followed.

PHOENIX — A federal appeals court is giving the Tohono O'odham Nation and others a new chance to argue that federal officials broke the law in allowing the construction of

The Chisos Basin area of Big Bend National Park will be closed off to visitors for approximately two years starting this fall.

Nevada’s public land hosts mines, recreation, wildlife and renewable energy. Now, it’s being asked to pull more weight. 

More than 500 people died in the Las Vegas heat last year.

Phragmites is an invasive grass threatening wetlands across the continent. Utah ecologists are mapping its spread to help land managers control its growth.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality must now revise an air pollution permit it had previously approved for South32, after the Environmental Protection Agency found the permit didn’t fully comply

Frequent dust storms have turned a remote stretch of I-10 into a hazard zone. As deadly crashes rise, scientists and transportation officials are exploring what can be done.

Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute (BRI), a 2007-established center dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert, received $8 million dollars in funding over the next two years from a recent legislative appropriation. 

It's that time! Every year, something magical happens in Las Cruces when the Rio Grande, often a dry expanse of sandy riverbed, is revived with the release of water. It brings life to the land …

Environmentalists want to raise net metering payments to solar panel owners. But the subsidies were unfair to other ratepayers, regulators say. (The regulators are wrong.)

As conservationists know, these clever dam-building rodents are a boon to recovering wetlands. But they can also contribute to flooding that causes catastrophic damage to acequias, which are crucial to traditional farmers in villages like Chimayó, New Mexico

A man walking his dog shot a mountain lion that attacked him May 25 in Verrado. Here's what officials want the public to know about lion encounters.

Homeland Security waives environmental laws to build more barriers along Cochise County border, says Secretary Noem. Additional wall and road to run from border monument 99 in Hereford for 33.4 miles west.

Monday’s close of session means dozens of bills now await Gov. Joe Lombardo’s signature. Since entering office, Lombardo has generally stayed quiet on environmental issues

Local water districts are asking people to start reducing their outdoor water use to avoid problems later on.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are each about 32% full as of June 4.

Nevada leaders brainstormed solutions at the University of Nevada, Reno, this week.

Extreme heat makes summertime travel especially hazardous.

Conservatives in Western states see an opportunity in the Trump administration to privatize wide swaths of public lands.

Public outcry was swift and forceful after a U.S. House committee last month hastily approved an amendment directing the federal government to sell off more than half a million acres

Grand Canyon National Park rangers have already conducted 13 helicopter evacuations and summer hasn't even officially started.

Heat, invasive species and fires are eroding habitat for the western Joshua tree

Senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Martin Heinrich, and Jared Huffman expressed serious concern over the Bureau of Land Management’s unlawful approval of mining inside the Mojave National Preserve.

To help prevent incidents in dry and drought-prone southern Utah, federal and state fire officials implemented fire restrictions on most federal, state and private land in unincorporated areas in Washington, Kane and Garfield counties.

Tortugas Mountain, bearing a gigantic letter A commemorating the New Mexico State Aggies, is a familiar part of the landscape east of Las Cruces.

Janelle Stanley arrived promptly at 8 a.m. for the grand opening of the light rail in south Phoenix on a toasty Saturday morning, her smile wide on her face. She stood hand in hand with her grandson, eager to be the first ones to jump aboard the light rail.

In May, billboards appeared in Reno depicting Death Valley National Park. Their purpose was to encourage public interest in fighting back against the recent DOGE cuts.

Residents of Forest Lake, a Navajo community, lived through years of nearby coal mining, and they say they are not interested in reviving the industry as the president has ordered.

As conservationists and Oro Valley officials gathered recently to celebrate the success of wildlife crossings on Oracle Road, work was continuing in Marana on a new project.

A controversial pipeline meant for a water-strapped but rapidly growing Iron County community is back on the table.