Arizona Nature

Dedicated to showcasing the unique, wondrous beauty of the American southwestern state of Arizona

[arizonanature]

Superstition Mountain

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Canyon Lake

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Horseshoe Dam

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Horseshoe Bend 💕💕 3/31/17

[arizonanature]

Grand Canyon, Arizona

[arizonanature]

7/22/17 First time down in the Lava Tube Caves. So pretty, can't wait to go back!

[desert-stuff]

Saguaro National Park, Arizona by Mark Stevens via Flickr  https://flic.kr/p/RPtQb1

[desert-stuff]

Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona by Tom Constable via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/mAK4Ki

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[breathtakingdestinations]

[inlandwest]

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[saywhat-politics]

Dust Bowl-ification of U.S. Southwest leads to 800% jump in Valley Fever cases

As the region dries out, infections from inhaling soil-dwelling fungus see stunning jump.

[inlandwest]

Public comment period announced for Trump’s proposed ‘re-designation’ of Public Lands. 5/5/17

The Department of the Interior seeks public comments related to: (1) Whether national monuments in addition to those listed above should be reviewed  because they were designated or expanded after January 1, 1996 “without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders;” and (2) the application of factors (i) through (vii) set forth above to the listed national monuments or to other Presidential designations or expansions of designations meeting the criteria of the Executive Order. With respect to factor (vii), comments should address other factors the Secretary might consider for this review.

DATES: The Department will shortly publish a notice in the Federal Register officially opening the public comment period. Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted within 15 days of publication of that notice. Written comments relating to all other designations subject to Executive Order 13792 must be submitted within 60 days of that date.

Comments may be submitted online after May 12 at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search,” or by mail to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

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Interior Department Releases List of Monuments Under Review, Announces First-Ever Formal Public Comment Period for Antiquities Act Monuments

Date: May 5, 2017 Contacts: [email protected]

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced the first ever formal public comment period for members of the public to officially weigh in on monument designations under the Antiquities Act of 1906, and the Department released a list of monuments under review under the President’s Executive Order 13792, issued April 26, 2017. A public comment period is not required for monument designations under the Antiquities Act; however, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and President Trump both strongly believe that local input is a critical component of federal land management.

Comments may be submitted online after May 12 at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search,” or by mail to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

DATES: The Department will shortly publish a notice in the Federal Register officially opening the public comment period. Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted within 15 days of publication of that notice. Written comments relating to all other designations subject to Executive Order 13792 must be submitted within 60 days of that date.

“The Department of the Interior is the steward of America’s greatest treasures and the manager of one-fifth of our land. Part of being a good steward is being a good neighbor and listening to the American people who we represent,” said Secretary Zinke. “Today’s action, initiating a formal public comment process finally gives a voice to local communities and states when it comes to Antiquities Act monument designations. There is no pre-determined outcome on any monument. I look forward to hearing from and engaging with local communities and stakeholders as this process continues.”

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[inlandwest]

navajo generating station on the navajo reservation near page,az

-Three 236 meter / 774 foot high chimneys, which are the tallest structures in Arizona.

-8 million tons of coal each year, 25,000 tons daily on dedicated railroad from kayenta

-8 billion gallons of water from Lake Powell for cooling

[inlandwest]

Utilities vote to close Navajo coal plant at end of 2019

Ryan Randazzo , The Republic | azcentral.com | 2/15/2017

The utilities that own the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant near Page are tired of overpaying for power and decided Monday to close the plant when their lease expires at the end of 2019.

To run that long, the utility owners need to work out an arrangement with the Navajo Nation, which owns the land, to decommission the plant after the lease expires. Otherwise, the owners will have to close at the end of this year to have time to tear down the plant’s three generators and be gone by 2020.

Environmentalists cheered the decision to shutter one of the biggest polluters in the nation, while other stakeholders such as the U.S. Department of the Interior and coal supplier Peabody Energy hope to find a way for the Navajo Nation or another entity to step in and keep the plant going beyond 2019.

Keep reading

[inlandwest]

Found in the Desert #87

In a dry stream bed that leads up from the Mexican border (about a mile), camera in a fake rock. Pretty fake looking rock with a wireless camera/sensor in it.  Antenna molded in on top and a cord that lead to a buried watertight battery box. 

[inlandwest]

[inlandwest]

Challenge at Glen Canyon, a film about the 1983 spillway incident.