Brooke Larsen
@jbrookelarsen.bsky.social
Reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune and The Southern Utah Tribune. Formerly at High Country News. Views my own. Tips: blarsen@sltrib.com or DM for signal. jbrookelarsen.com
Trump shrank Bears Ears National Monument by 91% and disbanded the Bears Ears Commission, which consisted of representatives from five tribes that guided management of the monument.
Here’s why tribes say Trump’s Bears Ears order changed more than the map
President Donald Trump gutted the Bears Ears National Monument, which was originally proposed by five tribes. He also disbanded the Bears Ears Commission, a model for tribal co-management of federal l...
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President Trump shrunk Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments by around 90% today. Here's the details:
President Trump drastically shrinks 2 Utah national monuments — again
Trump cuts nearly 3 million acres out of the two monuments in southern Utah.
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“There have been some close calls.” The Salt Lake City fire is burning through rattlesnake country. Here’s what you should know. www.sltrib.com/news/2026/06...
The deadline to throw out the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument plan with a simple majority vote in the Senate has passed. Now, if Sen. Lee still tries to overturn the plan under the Congressional Review Act, the resolution must receive 60 votes in the Senate.
Mike Lee’s fast-track attempt to scrap Grand Staircase management plan fails
The Senate missed the 60-day window that would have allowed lawmakers to scrap the national monument's management plan with a simple majority vote
sltrib.com
Growers at Salt Lake City's season-opening Downtown Farmers Market shared their stories — and what they're selling instead — after a late spring freeze devastated much of Utah’s tree fruit crop.
A late spring frost wiped out much of Utah’s tree fruit crop. Here’s what growers are selling instead.
Growers at Salt Lake City's season-opening Downtown Farmers Market shared their stories — and what they're selling instead — after a late spring freeze devastated much of Utah’s tree fruit crop.
sltrib.com
I recently went on a reporting trip to the canyons emerging around Lake Powell as the reservoir drops. Beavers, willows and other native plants and animals are thriving in once-drowned landscapes. My colleague Francisco Kjolseth took stunning photos and videos of the recovery we witnessed.
‘A living, breathing thing’: As Lake Powell drops, Glen Canyon’s once lush ecosystem returns
As Lake Powell recedes, the once-drowned Glen Canyon is surfacing and thriving ecosystems are emerging.
sltrib.com
Colorado River states failed to reach a deal this week as the Bureau of Reclamation's latest forecast shows Lake Powell reaching power pool this year and the lowest elevation on record by early next.
Lake Powell sinking toward record low as states miss deadline for Colorado River drought deal
As Colorado River states missed yet another deadline to strike a drought deal, a new forecast showed a grim outlook for the river’s major reservoirs.
sltrib.com
The Northern Corridor saga continues. The Trump admin gave the controversial highway in southern Utah the go ahead on Wednesday, just over a year after the Biden admin rejected it.
Trump administration approves polarizing southern Utah highway project
The Northern Corridor highway project in southern Utah is officially back. Thirteen months after rejecting the right-of-way for the polarizing road, the Bureau of Land Management announced Wednesday t...
sltrib.com
Utah state and county officials shared their "wish list" for national park management with Interior Department leadership in a closed-door meeting on Monday. Here's what we know about the meeting:
Utah leaders presented federal officials with a ‘wish list’ of national park changes. Here’s what was on it.
State and county leaders pushed for increased access and visitation at national parks in a closed-door meeting with the federal government on Monday.
sltrib.com
“[The Colorado River] matters to the economic integrity of the United States,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “It matters to the well being of a significant amount of people.”
How Colorado River talks will affect Utahns and millions more across the Southwest
With less water flowing through the Colorado River, Utah may have to cut back its consumption. That could affect farmers, tribes and cities across the state.
sltrib.com
The clock is ticking on Colorado River negotiations. If the seven basin states don't reach an agreement by Tuesday, the feds may step in and make a plan for them. I dive into what's holding up the talks in my latest for @sltrib.com.
Deadline looms for Utah, other Colorado River states to hash out a new plan. Here’s what’s at stake.
After months of tense negotiations, Utah and six other western states are running up against the clock to broker a deal over the drought-stricken Colorado River.
sltrib.com
Brooke Larsen recently joined The Salt Lake Tribune and explains what she covers and why.
Why I joined The Tribune: To tell the stories in an undercovered corner of my home state
Brooke Larsen recently joined The Salt Lake Tribune and explains what she covers and why.
sltrib.com
The first edition of The Southern Utah Tribune was delivered to 40,000 homes across southwest Utah for free last week. I'm excited to be part of it. For this first paper, I dove into the state of swimming pools in arid Washington County and potential new regulations: www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
The feds are once again considering the Northern Corridor, a highway through desert tortoise habitat in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
Feds put polarizing southern Utah highway proposal back on the table, months after Biden administration rejected it
The Bureau of Land Management is reassessing the controversial Northern Corridor highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
sltrib.com
Zion National Park has been considering a timed entry system to better handle the boom in visitors. Some Utah officials don't want a reservation system, though. Washington County passed a resolution in opposition to the park's anticipated draft visitor use management plan.
Zion National Park is considering a reservation system. Utah leaders don’t want it.
Utah leaders speak out against a proposed reservation system at Zion National Park as they anticipate the release of a draft visitor use management plan.
sltrib.com
Buckle up for an in-depth overview about who controls our food (& you wondered why it was so expensive) w/amazing of #infographic by @jbrookelarsen.bsky.social & Nick Underwood for @highcountrynews.org www.hcn.org/issues/57-9/...
Who controls food in the West? - High Country News
Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.
hcn.org
Read the full story, which is part of “Food and Power in the West,” a FERN special issue produced in partnership with High Country News, at thefern.org/2025/09/food... @highcountrynews.org @jbrookelarsen.bsky.social
The volunteer Pine Valley firefighters defended their community from the ferocious Forsyth Fire. Now they're processing the emotional toll and helping their community recover. “This was traumatic,” said Pine Valley Fire Chief Robert Hardy. “The whole department felt it.”
After defending their community, Pine Valley firefighters reckon with Forsyth Fire’s toll
Pine Valley firefighters are processing their trauma from the Forsyth Fire as they help their community recover from the blaze.
sltrib.com
The Trump administration is making it easier and cheaper to lease public lands for oil and gas drilling. Here's how that may impact federal lands in Utah:
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ is rolling back major oil and gas reforms. Here’s what that means for Utah’s public lands.
Trump's "beautiful" bill is "driving us back to a future where the oil and gas industry wields immense power over the future of the nation’s public lands," said Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance attor...
sltrib.com
The Monroe Canyon Fire has exploded to over 55,000 acres, damaging power poles and destroying homes. This is Utah's largest wildfire so far this year.
‘This is a big one’: Monroe Canyon Fire damages power poles and structures as it grows to over 55,000 acres
Firefighters lost ground on the Monroe Canyon Fire near Richfield on Friday, as it went from 11% contained to 7% and jumped over state Route 24. The road has since reopened, but officials expect more ...
sltrib.com
A small town in southwest Utah has been dealing with dirty drinking water for over 15 years. Now, thanks to a new water pipeline, residents have clean water.
This southern Utah community has dealt with contaminated water for years. Now the taps run clean.
A new water pipeline will deliver clean drinking water to an Apple Valley neighborhood in southern Utah.
sltrib.com
House Republicans are seeking to slash funding for the management of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, limiting the BLM’s ability to protect roughly 900,000 acres of land within the current 1.9 million-acre monument.
House Republicans move to slash funding for this southern Utah national monument
U.S. House Republicans are seeking to slash funding for the management of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. According to a proposed funding bill for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of ...
sltrib.com
NEW: On March 15, President Donald Trump’s administration sent more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Last week, the men were released as suddenly as they’d been taken away. These are their stories.
The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison
On March 15, President Donald Trump’s administration sent more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Last week, the men were released as suddenly as they’d been t...
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Last month, the BLM gave Peak Minerals the go ahead to start extracting potash from the Sevier Dry Lake. @leialarsen.bsky.social and I dug into what that could mean for Utah's dust pollution:
A mine is coming to Sevier Dry Lake. Here’s what it could mean for Utah’s dust pollution.
Dust from Sevier Dry Lake in southern Utah blows particulate as far north as Salt Lake City, but it also holds a vital mineral for growing high-value crops.
sltrib.com
The Bureau of Land Management approved the expansion of an oil transloading facility in Carbon County Thursday evening after an expedited review under President Trump’s “national energy emergency” declaration.
Trump administration fast-tracks oil transport expansion in eastern Utah
The Bureau of Land Management approved the expansion of an oil transloading facility in Carbon County Thursday evening after an expedited review under President Trump’s “national energy emergency” declaration.
sltrib.com
The BLM approved the expansion of an oil transport facility in eastern Utah Thursday evening after a 16-day review. This will increase the amount of waxy crude oil producers can truck out of the Uinta Basin and transfer onto rails cars that travel for over 100 miles along the Colorado River.
Trump administration fast-tracks oil transport expansion in eastern Utah
The Bureau of Land Management approved the expansion of an oil transloading facility in Carbon County Thursday evening after an expedited review under President Trump’s “national energy emergency” dec...
sltrib.com
The Trump administration plans to rescind the roadless rule and open up nearly 59 million acres of national forest land to logging and road building. I spoke with fire ecologists to learn what that may mean for wildfires in Utah and the West.
Trump admin plans to rescind ‘roadless rule.’ Here’s what that means for millions of acres of forest across Utah.
As wildfires rage across southern Utah, the Trump administration is looking to remove decades-old protections for millions of acres of forests in a move it says will help prevent such blazes.
sltrib.com
UPDATE: Forsyth Fire destroys 12 structures, including primary and secondary homes in Pine Valley.
Brooke Larsen@jbrookelarsen.bsky.social · last yr.Wildfires are growing across Southern Utah. Last night, the Forsyth Fire started north of St. George. The France Canyon Fire near Bryce Canyon has spread to more than 9,000 acres, and the Bridge Creek Fire on Navajo Mountain near Lake Powell is now over 1,000 acres. Critical fire weather persists.
Wildfires are growing across Southern Utah. Last night, the Forsyth Fire started north of St. George. The France Canyon Fire near Bryce Canyon has spread to more than 9,000 acres, and the Bridge Creek Fire on Navajo Mountain near Lake Powell is now over 1,000 acres. Critical fire weather persists.
Forsyth Fire in Washington County forces mandatory evacuations, as other fires across southern Utah grow
The Forsyth Fire prompted mandatory evacuations in the Pine Valley community, forcing 400 to 500 people from their homes. There are approximately 450 homes in the area, with half of those inhabited by...
sltrib.com
