Tribal Natural Resources News
Native American tribes around the West are making critical decisions regarding the management of their natural resources — land, water, fossil fuels and renewable resources. The Tribal Natural Resources Desk aims to produce objective reporting to tell stories of tribes empowering themselves through stewardship and decision-making around their natural resources.
When President Joe Biden took office, his administration acted quickly to unpublish an environmental report that gave the green light to a proposed copper mine in the Oak Flat area of Tonto National Forest. But it may soon republish the report.
→ More news from the Fronteras Desk
→ More news from the Fronteras Desk
A federal judge has rejected the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
A Phoenix-based company has proposed two dams on the Little Colorado River just a few miles outside Grand Canyon National Park. Environmentalists are worried about ecological and cultural impacts to the area.
The U.S. Forest Service recently released an environmental impact review of the proposal. Resolution Copper wants to build an underground mine on land it would get from a land swap with the Tonto National Forest.
The final trainload of coal was delivered to the Navajo Generating Station in northern Arizona this week. It signals the closure of the Kayenta Mine that feeds it, and spells the beginning of the end of the plant itself.
The National Congress of American Indians and Four Directions will host a first-ever presidential candidate forum to address issues facing Native Americans on Aug. 19 in Iowa.
Environmental groups have tried to hinder expanded coal mining on the Navajo Reservation that powers the Four Corners Power Plant. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals put a stop to their bid on Monday.
This week, the U.S. House Natural Resource Committee is considering a handful of bills that would ensure clean and sustainable water is delivered to tribal lands along the Four-Corner states.
As Peabody Energy lays off more Navajo workers, the tribe decides what to do with the old coal mine and power plant set to close in coming months.
The closures of the Navajo Generating Station and the Kayenta mine later this year will gut tribal government budgets in northern Arizona. That’s according to a report published Thursday.
The Navajo Nation Council is considering legislation that would authorize the tribe to conduct a hemp pilot project with New Mexico State University.
The federal government is loaning the Navajo Nation $94 million to complete a solar farm and help reduce customer’s electricity rates.
U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has agreed to put off oil and gas leasing for a year on land that Native Americans consider sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.
Utility crews from around the country are volunteering their time to install electricity on the Navajo Nation. Many Navajos today live without light, running water and the internet — things most anyone takes for granted.
A proposed mine in southeastern Arizona is pitting environmentalists and tribes against groups who say this would be a massive economic boon for the state.
The Hualapai Tribe on the south rim of the Grand Canyon is hoping its federal water settlement will finally become law.
The Interior Department will provide more than $291 million to states and tribes to clean up abandoned coal mines. In all there are $10 billion in abandoned mines that haven't been reclaimed.
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Gilbert is one step closer to securing a new water supply for the town. A deal with the San Carlos Apache Tribe was first brokered in 2010, but federal agencies delayed the lease until now.
