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Rillito River flows after a monsoon storm, July 2020

Major changes in environmental policy expected under Biden

Reclassifying Arizona waterways is among the items on the new administration's agenda
The Minke whale gets unloaded in Bisbee.

Minke whale skeleton comes to Bisbee

Students with the Bisbee Science Lab will clean and reassemble the whale for display.

Wildlife and the Bighorn

A look at some of the specific wildlife species that live in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson and how wildfire impacts their existence. (07:17)

After the Burn

In the aftermath of the Bighorn Fire, researchers see a unique opportunity to better understand how fire impacts southern Arizona's delicate sky island ecosystems. (07:07)
Thirty-foot-high border wall was installed along the border near Sasabe, Arizona, and Mexico in the summer of 2020.

Joe Biden inherits Trump's border wall — and its lawsuits

Candidate Biden said he would stop construction but never said he would tear down the new border wall.
A proposed pipeline project in southern Utah would transport water from Lake Powell to fast-growing communities in the state's southwest corner. The proposal hit political headwinds this year, as other Colorado River users objected to it.

2020 delivers setbacks for some long-planned Western water projects

Long-planned projects have run into roadblocks.
The Santa Cruz River flows downstream of the outflow from the Agua Dulce wastewater treatment plant.

State shares framework for new surface water quality protections

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is working on regulations to fill the gap left by changes to the Clean Water Act.
Hikers on Mount Lemmon practicing social distancing.

More Santa Catalina trails and campsites reopen

The Coronado National Forest continues to evaluate safety conditions at trials and campgrounds in the wake of the Bighorn Fire.
Guadalupe Canyon is a remote, rugged area in the Southwest where the Trump administration is currently racing to complete construction of a border wall.

In Arizona, building a wall — and destroying a canyon

In a mountain range too steep to cross, the Department of Homeland Security is spending millions of dollars on five miles of border wall.
Construction nears the end on the wall section across the San Pedro River in October 2020.

DHS marks milestone as wall construction severs wildlife corridors

New border wall construction is nearly done in some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Arizona.
Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchlings make their way back to the Sea of Cortez from the shores of El Desemboque in Sonora, Mexico.

Indigenous community in Sonora releases record number of sea turtles

A coordinator said while the pandemic has been hard on the community, less fishing and tourism has been a boon to turtle nesting season.
Fishing boats float on the Sea of Cortez outside the little town of San Felipe, Baja California, in October 2018.

Mexico fishermen scoff at governor's suggestion to switch to taxi driving

The suggestion comes as fishermen in the Sea of Cortez struggle with increasing restrictions meant to protect a highly endangered porpoise.
Between the High Park and Cameron Peak Fires, a broad reach of the Poudre River’s watershed has burned within the last decade.

For the West’s drinking water, wildfire concerns linger long after smoke clears

For municipal drinking water systems, fires are felt for years after they’re snuffed out.
Firefighters watch a controlled burn within the Grizzly Creek Fire in Colorado. The fire has burned more than 30,000 acres near Glenwood Canyon. Now, the charred hillsides pose a flood risk for nearby areas.

Homeowners who avoid wildfire damage can find themselves in new flood zone

Even long after the flames of a wildfire are gone, those who live nearby face a serious increase in the threat of flooding.
Visitors to Saguaro National Park discovered several vandalized saguaro cactuses around October 3, 2020. Nine of the iconic succulents were chopped down and are believed to be dead. Three others were damaged but may recover.

Saguaros destroyed at national park

The vandalism happened around Oct. 3, rangers say.
A firefighter watches the flames in Yellowstone National Park during the 1988 fires.

In Yellowstone, America's 'first water park,' decades-old blaze marked start of megafire era

The wildfires ushered in a chapter of massive, frequent blazes as well as a new understanding of the ecological process.

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