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Mountain West

Feds Bet on Paying for Water Conservation to Protect the Colorado River

Arizona and other states have agreed to use considerably less water from the river through 2026, thanks in part to a wet winter.

By Wyatt Myskow

Lake Powell at sunrise on September 2, 2022 near Page, Arizona. The light colored "bathtub ring" above the waterline was created underwater before record drought reduced the flow of the Colorado River.
Plaintiff Mica Kantor, 14, testifies on the second day of the trial. He shared that he felt like a "prisoner in his own home" when he contracted Covid during an outbreak of wildfire smoke and was forced to stay in his basement alone. He suffers from asthma and must stay indoors when the air quality is poor. Credit: Richard Forbes

In a Montana Courtroom, Debate Over Whether States Can Make a Difference on Climate Change, and if They Have a Responsibility to Try

By Richard Forbes

Lead plaintiff Rikki Held on her family's ranch in southeastern Montana. Behind her, a wildfire burns four miles away. In Summer 2022, this was one of 18 wildfires within 50 miles of her home.

Love of the Land and Community Inspired the Montana Youths Whose Climate Lawsuit Against the State Goes to Court This Week

By Richard Forbes

In an aerial view, ranchers and other participants gather to observe cattle grazing in freshly opened pasture using adaptive grazing at CS Ranch, as they take part in the Soil Health Academy which teaches regenerative agriculture techniques, on June 1, 2022 in Cimarron, New Mexico. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Climate-Smart Cowboys Hope Regenerative Cattle Ranching Can Heal the Land and Sequester Carbon

By Emma Peterson

Aerial view of suburban development named in Chandler, Arizona, featuring lakes, lush golf courses, and water-guzzling lawns. Credit: Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Arizona Announces Phoenix Area Can’t Grow Further on Groundwater

By Wyatt Myskow

Power lines in Flagstaff, Arizona. Credit: Paul S. Howell/Liaison

SunZia Southwest Transmission Project Receives Final Federal Approval

By Emma Peterson

A pontoon boat is tied up at the shore of a recently-revealed beach in one of Lake Powell's side canyons on April 10, 2023. The evening sunlight casts a reflection of the canyon's "bathtub rings" on the still water. Credit: Alex Hager / KUNC

At Lake Powell, Record Low Water Levels Reveal an ‘Amazing Silver Lining’

By Alex Hager, KUNC

A large fracking operation becomes a new part of the horizon with Mount Meeker and Longs Peak looming in the background on Dec. 28, 2017 in Loveland, Colorado. Credit: Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Colorado Frackers Doubled Freshwater Use During Megadrought, Even as Drilling and Oil Production Fell

By Liza Gross

Montana Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte at a fundraiser at The Sport restaurant on Main Street in Livingston, Montana on April 23, 2018. Credit: William Campbell-Corbis via Getty Images

Montana’s New Anti-Climate Law May Be the Most Aggressive in the Nation

By Kristoffer Tigue

Construction continues on a new section for homes at Festival Ranch on Oct. 24, 2022 in Buckeye, Arizona. Credit: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Amid Continuing Drought, Arizona Is Coming up With New Sources of Water—if Cities Can Afford Them

By Wyatt Myskow

Construction workers work on a housing development on May 3, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

Legislative Proposal in Colorado Aims to Tackle Urban Sprawl, a Housing Shortage and Climate Change All at Once

By Wyatt Myskow

Saguaro Cactus near Tucson, Arizona. Credit: Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Climate Change Wiped Out Thousands of the West’s Most Iconic Cactus. Can Planting More Help a Species that Takes a Century to Mature?

By Wyatt Myskow

Clockwise from top left: Amy Green covers climate and the environment in Florida. Wyatt Myskow is a Roy Howard Fellow and Mountain West correspondent based in Phoenix. Aydali Campa recently joined ICN’s Midwest network, covering environmental justice throughout the region from Chicago. Aman Azhar covers environmental justice with a focus on Baltimore and Maryland. Martha Pskowski lives in El Paso and covers climate and the environment in Texas along with Dylan Baddour, based in Austin.

Amy Green Joins Inside Climate News to Cover Florida; Regional and Local Networks Expand in the Southeast, Midwest, Texas and Mountain West

By ICN Editors

In an aerial view, urban sprawl spreads across the desert in Henderson, Nevada on July 1, 2021. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Las Vegas Is Counting on Public Lands to Power its Growth. Is it a Good Idea?

By Wyatt Myskow

A rig provides maintenance on an oil well in the canyon country of Utah. Credit: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A Proposed Utah Railway Could Quadruple Oil Production in the Uinta Basin, if Colorado Communities Don’t Derail the Project

By Wyatt Myskow

John Hornewer climbs down the ladder of his tanker as he fills it up to haul water from Apache Junction to Rio Verde Foothills, Arizona, on Jan. 7, 2023. Credit: Getty Images

After Cutting Off Water to a Neighboring Community, Scottsdale Proposes a Solution

By Wyatt Myskow

Cattle stand in their pasture in rural Lamadera, New Mexico. Credit: Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Amid Drought, Wealthy Homeowners in New Mexico are Getting a Tax Break to Water Their Lawns

By Wyatt Myskow

Solar panels sprawl across the Mojave Desert on Aug. 14, 2022 near California City, California. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Public Lands in the US Have Long Been Disposed to Fossil Fuel Companies. Now, the Lands Are Being Offered to Solar Companies

By Wyatt Myskow

Eric Balken, executive director of Glen Canyon Institute, walks along a sandbar once submerged by Lake Powell. As the reservoir drops to record lows, areas that were underwater for decades have begun to emerge. Credit: Alex Hager

Lake Powell Drops to a New Record Low as Feds Scramble to Prop it Up

By Alex Hager, KUNC

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