Desert News, 8.19

August 19, 2024

A battle over solar farms and water on Nye-Clark County line

Activists are proposing stronger protection for desert landscapes near the western Nevada town of Pahrump. (For more on this, listen to the upcoming episode of 90 Miles from Needles, the Desert Protection Podcast, out on Aug 20.)

After scrapping Sisolak’s climate plan, Lombardo releases his own

The conservative Nevada governor’s climate plan is short on substance and detail.

Is Lake Powell doomed? And if so, what comes next?

An interview with journalist Zak Podmore, author of “Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River,” out Aug. 27 from Torrey House Press.

Plans for a tower taller than Utah’s tallest building are scrapped after community outcry

A proposal to erect a nearly 500-foot communications tower within the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument has been withdrawn after activists and locals point out scant environmental review.

a large body of water surrounded by mountains

Is Lake Powell doomed? And if so, what comes next?

An interview with journalist Zak Podmore, author of “Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River,” out Aug. 27 from Torrey House Press.

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Plans for a tower taller than Utah’s tallest building are scrapped after community outcry

A proposal to erect a nearly 500-foot communications tower within the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument has been withdrawn after activists and locals point out scant environmental review.

Feds will pay California farmers not to use Colorado River water

An agreement will keep 700,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead that would have been used by the Imperial Irrigation District, which uses more water from the river than any city or farming district in the West. In return, the bureau will dole out millions in federal funds to the influential district and the farmers within it.

A nuclear legacy in Los Alamos

After three cleanups, independent analysis shows 80-year-old plutonium persists in Acid Canyon and beyond. (Featuring research by Chris’ old friend Michael Ketterer, NAU professor emeritus.) See also: The Santa Fe New Mexican covers the same story here.

a view of a large dam in the mountains

Nevada faces Colorado River cuts for 4th straight year

A Tier 1 water shortage will remain in effect for 2025. Based on projections in a two-year forecast looking at lake levels for both Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the nation’s two largest reservoirs — officials determined that more severe restrictions on water use are not needed next year. Tier 1, the least severe shortage condition, allows Southern Nevada 279,000 acre-feet from the Colorado River. That’s a 7% cut from the state’s standard allocation of 300,000 acre-feet.

A New Milestone For Tribes: A Bill For Bahsahwahbee

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto introduced legislation this month that may help Nevada tribes protect a sacred wetland in north-central Nevada. The tribes are asking the Biden administration to establish a national monument.

Herrell affirms support for expanding aid to radiation victims

Republican Congressional candidate in New Mexico comes out in favor of reauthorizing the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which expired earlier this summer

Collapse of iconic arch in Utah has some wondering if other famous arches are at risk

Newsflash: geologic formations erode.

‘A month more 100 degree days’: Climate change will roast Las Vegas

An unsurprising but bleak forecast for the Las Vegas area, which broke an all-time heat record this year: an average temperature increase of seven to nine degrees Fahrenheit over the next couple of decades. The implications for water supply are sobering.