Author: Felicia Fonseca
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Biden pledges new commitments, respect for tribal nations
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden on Wednesday pledged to give Native Americans a stronger voice in federal affairs, promising at the first in-person summit on tribal affairs in six years that he will bolster tribal consultations, inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in decision-making and funding for communities struggling with the impacts of climate change. Biden spoke…
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Hoover Dam transformer explodes; no one hurt
BOULDER CITY, Nev. • A transformer exploded Tuesday at Hoover Dam, one of the nation’s largest hydroelectric facilities, producing a thick cloud of black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished. No one was hurt in the explosion near the base of the dam, an engineering marvel on the Colorado River that straddles the border…
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In drought-stricken West, officials weigh emergency actions
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. • Federal officials say it may be necessary to reduce water deliveries to users on the Colorado River to prevent the shutdown of a huge dam that supplies hydropower to some 5 million customers across the U.S. West. Officials had hoped snowmelt would buoy Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border to ensure its dam…
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Lake Powell hits historic low, raising hydropower concerns
SALT LAKE CITY • A massive reservoir known as a boating mecca dipped below a critical threshold on Tuesday raising new concerns about a source of power that millions of people in the U.S. West rely on for electricity. Lake Powell’s fall to below 3,525 feet puts it at its lowest level since the lake…
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Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push
NEW TOWN, N.D. • On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation atop one of the…
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Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom
SALT LAKE CITY • As persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago. But not Utah. Republican lawmakers approved an entity that could push for more of Utah’s share of water as seven Western states prepare…
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Only Native American on federal death row executed
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. • The only Native American on federal death row was put to death Wednesday, despite objections from many Navajo leaders who had urged President Donald Trump to halt the execution on the grounds it would violate tribal culture and sovereignty. With the execution of Lezmond Mitchell for the grisly slayings of a…
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Virus takes toll on Navajo: ‘The grief is so unbearable’
TUBA CITY, Arizona The virus arrived on the reservation in early March, when late winter winds were still blowing off the mesas and temperatures at dawn were often barely above freezing. It was carried in from Tucson, doctors say, by a man who had been to a basketball tournament and then made the long drive…
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Climate change still threatens Colorado River despite wet winter
Snow piled up in the mountains across the U.S. West last winter, leaving enough to thrill skiers into the summer, swelling rivers and streams when it melted, and largely making wildfire restrictions unnecessary. But the wet weather can be misleading. Climate change means the region is still getting drier and hotter. “It only demonstrates the…
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Grand Canyon to celebrate 100 years as a national park
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. • The first European American who reached the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon marveled at what was before him: an astounding system of canyons, profound fissures and slender spires that seemingly tottered from their bases. The scenery wasn’t enough to convince Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives that anyone would visit after his group’s…