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The Colorado River Basin continues to be sapped dry by increasing temperatures and diminished precipitation.

New water year begins with most of the basin in drought

Forecasters think this year will bring “La Niña” conditions, which tends to mean a warmer and drier winter for the Southwest.
A Tucson Unified School District Bus.

Tucson leaders push for electric school buses

Infrastructure bills include billions for zero-emission vehicles
Canada del Oro wash looking east from the bridge on La Cholla during Monsoon 2021.

How the monsoon season impacted life in Southern Arizona, from wildfires to bugs

The National Weather Service said the monsoon season was the third-wettest that Tucson has seen since 1895, and it followed an exceptionally dry year.
Four of Tucson's five new electric buses sit at a Sun Tran depot. They were unveiled on September 30th, 2021.

City of Tucson adds five new electric buses to fleet

City officials said it is part of a push to cut carbon emissions.

State stopped key groundwater monitoring, auditor general says

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has failed for years to monitor groundwater for pesticides and other contaminants, review found.
Crew members from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship in the Sea of Cortez.

Mexico, Sea Shepherd reach agreement to return patrol ships to Sea of Cortez

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s activist crews will once again patrol the Upper Gulf of California for fishing nets considered the leading threat to the vaquita marina porpoise.
Oak Flat, east of Superior, Arizona. A company proposes to build one of the world's largest underground copper mines at this location.

New poll shows strong opposition to the proposed copper mine at Oak Flat

According to the new poll, about 3 out of 4 Arizonans do not support the proposed Resolution Copper at the Apache religious site.
Timber Sale Administrator John Magura, Williams Ranger District, inspects invasive Mistletoe.

Forest Service plan to extend forest maintenance program is put on hold

Lawmakers demanded the agency reverse course, saying the decision is “particularly dangerous” at a time when “wildfire seasons gets longer each year.”
The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise that lives in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. It is considered the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world.

USMCA commission asks Mexico to respond to alleged lack of protection for endangered porpoise

Officials in Mexico have 60 days to respond to a petition alleging the country is failing to enforce environmental laws meant to protect the vaquita marina porpoise.
The proposed site of the Rosemont Copper Mine.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife rejects Rosemont Copper petition to shrink critical jaguar habitat

Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals sought to deem a portion of the Santa Rita range no longer essential for jaguars.
Mated pair of Great Plains toads (Anaxyrus cognatus) in the floodplain of the Santa Cruz River.

The Desert Blooms in a Bountiful Monsoon.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Why the music of the rock group Fanny is rocking a whole new generation!
The short story “A White Heron” was written in 1886 by Sarah Orne Jewett, and adapted for radio by Cynthia Meier in 2021.

The Rogue Theatre presents "A White Heron".

Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Bisbee Bloomers' annual garden tour returns; and remembering drumming legend Charlie Watts.
A Border Patrol vehicle drives along a section of fence at the Organ Pipe National Monument, west of Lukeville, Arizona, on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018.

Federal judge says Customs and Border Protection broke environmental law

Lawsuit accused the agency of failing to assess how ramped up border enforcement would impact the borderlands and endangered species that live there.
Low water levels at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas are prompting water leaders throughout the Western U.S. to undertake negotiations over the Colorado River's future.

Water shortage on Colorado River triggers supply cuts for Arizona

The shortage means Arizona will see its share of water from the river slashed by 18% next year.
Will Thelander, of Tempe Farming Company, grows crops such as cotton and alfalfa but is also experimenting with guayule, a desert native plant that is being studied for the natural rubber it produces.

Arizona farmers prepare for water cuts

A third-generation farmer fears for the long-term sustainability of farming in Arizona.
The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Arizona faces cut in water supplies as shortage is declared on Colorado River

Arizona will lose 18% of its share of Colorado River water next year, with cuts falling largely on farmers.

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