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- Desert News, 6/17
Desert News, 6/17
Fire, Flood, Stomach Flu, and Mezcal
Beatty official warns of potential flooding if Amargosa River isn’t maintained
Citing floods in the 1960s and early 1970s, Beatty NV Town Advisory Board member Perry Forsyth is urging that Nye County and/or the Army Corps of Engineers remove vegetation from the bed of the Amargosa River to prevent future flood damage in Beatty. Others are pointing out the degradation of habitat for species like desert pupfish and the Amargosa toad that would result from Forsyth’s proposal.
Testing shows no sign of radioactivity in Beatty/Amargosa water
Nye County’s Tritium Sampling and Monitoring Program reports detecting no radioactivity moving off the Nevada Test Site, the eighth straight year of negative results.
Juneteenth a free day at national parks, but mind the heat if you’re going to Death Valley
National Parks across the country will be open for free on Wednesday, June 19, the official day on which Juneteenth is celebrated. Death Valley’s forecast for Juneteenth includes a high of 117°F, so take precautions, possibly including not going.
Lake Mead’s 2-year outlook: A 5-foot drop, then what?
The US Bureau of Reclamation forecasts that Lake Mead’s water level will drop to 1052.62 feet above mean sea level by next summer… but the Bureau’s forecasts have been off by as much as nine feet in the past.
Smoke Alert: Hazy skies in Las Vegas valley due to wildfire smoke from California, Arizona
Smoke from fires in California and Arizona is affecting Las Vegas’ air quality.
Riverside Fire forces Bartlett Lake evacuations and road closures east of Cave Creek
The 60-acre fire in Tonto National Forest has first responders on high alert as they work to knock down the relatively small but extremely dangerous fire.
LETTER: Red Rock development ‘compromise’ is depressing
The writer decries support for a 3,500-unit luxury housing development on the verge of Red Rock National Conservation Area west of Las Vegas, saying “I view this as an example of how one person with deep pockets and persistence can legally diminish a precious National Conservation Area.”
Dozens of hikers became ill during trips to waterfalls near the Grand Canyon
Backpackers and hikers visiting Supai Creek on the Havasupai Reservation are coming down with extreme gastrointestinal sickness similar to norovirus, but county and Tribal officials aren’t sure what the cause of the illness might be. Dozens of people are reporting being sickened.
A national environmental group is taking aim at two federally subsidized farm programs it says are failing to help farmers across the Colorado River Basin adapt to the forces of drought and climate change reducing river flow.
When do tarantulas come out in Texas, and are they dangerous? What to know
May through July is when males emerge from their burrows to look for mates, and no.
People of La Junta for Preservation receive historic Redford land donation
Indigenous-led land trust group receives donation of land near historic mission.
County board sets course of action for colonia water systems
Electeds in Presidio County are working to bring small water companies under the supervision of a county commission to ensure water safety.
It's a butte: Visiting the Rio Puerco Valley volcano necks is like landing on another planet
A nice travel piece to the Rio Puerco Valley with a noted travel author. The Rio Puerco Valley is said to have the largest number of volcanic necks in any similarly sized area in the world.
'Growing green chile to honor our fathers'
Another worthwhile human interest piece. Growing green chile has cultural resonance and significance in a way that the much more lucrative option of cannabis farming doesn’t.
Temperatures above 105 used to be rare in El Paso. Now it’s normal
El Paso is forecast to have more days above 105°F in the remainder of June than the west Texas city did in total in its first 43 years of weather record keeping.
$948K in New River Project Change Orders OK’d Amid Debate
Flooding and endangered species issues are delaying a crucial public health project to reduce harm from America’s dirtiest river.
Nabhan Nabs James Beard Award for Agave Book
Writer/ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan accepts the James Beard Award for his book ‘Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals,’ co-authored by David Sura Piñera.
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