Sustainability
Wildlife Commission expected to allow hunters to kill more bears
For more than a decade, hunters in Nevada have been limited to killing 20 bears a year. But in recent years that number has climbed, and on Friday, the Nevada Wildlife Commission is expected to vote to allow hunters to kill 42 bears come September. Nevada’s first bear hunt in 2011 authorized the sale of […]
Brown: Failure to bring nuclear waste to NV is an ‘incredible loss of revenue for our state’
While campaigning for U.S. Senate in 2022, Sam Brown, now the Republican frontrunner for the U.S. Senate nomination in 2024, told a campaign gathering that he supported bringing nuclear waste from the nation’s nuclear power plants to Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Los Angeles Times Tuesday published audio of previously unreported remarks Brown made during […]
Nevada joins six western states demanding more water investments
Nevada’s senators joined federal lawmakers from six other western states Monday to demand additional funding to address the region’s long-term drought, worsened by climate change. The Colorado River remains in an unfolding and worsening drought. Water demand on the river far exceeds supply, meaning less water is available to refill the river’s reservoirs, Lake Mead […]
A starfish and a mountain lion walk into a bar: A look at the dark side
Sixty years ago, an ecology professor from the University of Washington traveled to the Washington coastline to conduct a simple yet revealing experiment. He selected two separate distinct rocky patches of coastline with common characteristics. Each patch contained a similar mixture of marine organisms, ranging from limpets, snails, and mussel up to and including an […]
Tahoe planning group exerts outsized influence on legislative oversight committee
Overtourism, conflicts of interest, developer-initiated blight, vast pollution combined with microplastic contamination, and the lack of a comprehensive Tahoe basin evacuation plan are just some of the public safety and environmental problems raised by Tahoe residents during public comment at this year’s first two interim Nevada legislative oversight committee hearings. Unfortunately, members of the Legislative […]
Feds agree to deadline for endangered species listing of rare NV fish
Federal wildlife managers Thursday agreed to decide whether or not to list a rare Nevada fish as a threatened or endangered species within the next year after failing to meet a federally required deadline. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to a court-ordered deadline requiring the agency to reach a decision on the Fish […]
Still can’t afford an EV? Here’s why.
It might seem like there’s never been a better time to buy an electric vehicle. If you go by the headlines, you might be forgiven for thinking you can afford to upgrade your old gas-guzzling sedan with a sleek new zero-emissions EV. And if you can’t, government rebates will knock thousands off the price tag, right? Well, not […]
BLM to finalize rule allowing federal leases targeted at protection of natural areas
The Bureau of Land Management will publish a final rule soon allowing the nation’s public lands to be leased for environmental protection, a Thursday news release from the Interior Department said. The rule, which both proponents and detractors say marks a shift in the agency’s focus toward conservation, directs land managers at the agency to […]
Problems with Glen Canyon Dam could jeopardize water flowing to Western states
A new memo from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is raising concern about the infrastructure at the Glen Canyon Dam and its ability to deliver water downstream should levels at Lake Powell continue to decline. Environmental groups are calling it “the most urgent water problem” for the Colorado River and the 40 million people who […]
NV officials hope to complete study on ‘critical mineral’ map this year
Despite a growing interest in lithium mining, Nevada has limited understanding of the precise location of the highly sought mineral deposits or how exploration may impact groundwater. That lack of mapping isn’t unique to Nevada, however. According to the Association of American State Geologists, the United States lacks an effective nationwide process for gathering, organizing, […]
Democrats join in U.S. Senate vote to repeal Biden rule tracking tailpipe emissions
WASHINGTON –– The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to roll back a Transportation Department rule that targeted greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles traveling on highways. The rule, issued by the Transportation Department’s Federal Highway Administration in December, established greenhouse gas reductions as one of the 18 performance measures for state transportation departments and local planning organizations […]
Regulatory capture has Nevada’s great outdoors in a bind, say enthusiasts
Nevada’s wildlife commission and its mining commission don’t reflect the state’s diversity and are dominated by industry insiders who profit from the decisions they render, say critics who want them revamped and funded in a more democratic manner. Patrick Donnelly, state director of the Center for Biological Diversity, characterized the regulatory scheme as “pay to […]