Wyatt Myskow
@wyattmyskow.bsky.social
covering public land debacles, water shenanigans and other climate-related tomfoolery in the southwest for Inside Climate News | get in touch @ wyatt.myskow@insideclimatenews.org
Enviros Sue Agencies Over Nation’s 1st Fast-Tracked Critical Minerals Mine @wyattmyskow.bsky.social reports for @insideclimatenews.org insideclimatenews.org/news/2909202...
Environmentalists Sue Federal Agencies Over Nation’s First Fast-Tracked Critical Minerals Mine - Inside Climate News
Federal regulators approved South32’s Hermosa mine despite identifying adverse impacts to multiple endangered or threatened species, the suit notes.
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South32’s Hermosa mine was the first added to a federal program to streamline permitting. Now, environmentalists are suing the Trump administration over it. My latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/2909202...
Environmentalists Sue Federal Agencies Over Nation’s First Fast-Tracked Critical Minerals Mine - Inside Climate News
Federal regulators approved South32’s Hermosa mine despite identifying adverse impacts to multiple endangered or threatened species, the suit notes.
insideclimatenews.org
In a dissenting opinion today over a decision to not rehear a case transferring a sacred Western Apache site to a mining company, Chief Judge Mary Murguia wrote: "Unless the Supreme Court steps in, a mining project will obliterate Oak Flat and destroy 'the very foundation of the Apache religion.'"
This story is part two of our Lithium Rush series, examining the ways the push to mine lithium and other minerals are having impacts on the ground. This one focuses on wildlife, the next will be about water. And you can read the first here: insideclimatenews.org/news/0305202...
How the Rush to Mine the Metal of the Future Echoes America’s Colonial Past - Inside Climate News
Companies have staked claims for more than 100 lithium-mine projects. Tribes are among the most affected.
insideclimatenews.org
Wyatt Myskow @wyattmyskow.bsky.social · 2d agoMillions of sage-grouse once filled the West. But the population has rapidly declined as the bird's habitat is developed. Now, one of the sage-grouse's last strongholds is facing a barrage of mining claims, fast-tracked by the Trump administration. Latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/2709202...
Millions of sage-grouse once filled the West. But the population has rapidly declined as the bird's habitat is developed. Now, one of the sage-grouse's last strongholds is facing a barrage of mining claims, fast-tracked by the Trump administration. Latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/2709202...
The Trump Administration’s Critical Minerals Agenda Comes for America’s ‘Forgotten Wildlife Corridor’ - Inside Climate News
Under the banner of “Dig, Baby, Dig,” the Trump administration is supercharging an already powerful mining industry. What will happen to vulnerable plants and animals?
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The judges ruled in favor of the feds and Denver Water. @wyattmyskow.bsky.social and I break down what it means for @insideclimatenews.org: insideclimatenews.org/news/1609202...
Court Rules in Favor of Feds and Denver Water on Dam Expansion - Inside Climate News
The decision allows Colorado’s largest water utility to triple a reservoir’s storage, despite concerns about diverting more water from the dwindling Colorado River.
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Jake Bolster@jakebolster.bsky.social · last mo.Come for @wyattmyskow.bsky.social's dispatch from Santa Fe, NM on the Gross Reservoir expansion lawsuit, and stay for our reporting how this case could impact potential litigation on the Colorado River. Find the latests at @insideclimatenews.org.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Denver Water can proceed with finishing its Gross Reservoir expansion. The decision concludes a decades-long fight over the project over whether more water from the Colorado River could be diverted for it. Latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/1609202...
Court Rules in Favor of Feds and Denver Water on Dam Expansion - Inside Climate News
The decision allows Colorado’s largest water utility to triple a reservoir’s storage, despite concerns about diverting more water from the dwindling Colorado River.
insideclimatenews.org
Hopped on the radio this morning to chat about the threats national monuments face after the downsizing of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante and recent polling showing the support for these places. You can listen here: www.kjzz.org/the-show/202...
2/3 of voters in conservative-leaning Utah support restoring the national monuments Trump slashed
The Trump administration is facing a slew of major lawsuits over its cutback of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments to more than a quarter of their original size. A new pol...
kjzz.org
“”Whether every elected official agrees with the results or not, these findings are profoundly telling and should not be ignored,” said Davina Smith-Idjesa, a member of the Navajo Nation and part of both monuments’ inter-tribal coalitions…”
Wyatt Myskow @wyattmyskow.bsky.social · 3w agoNew polling shows majority of registered voters in Utah support restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The polling comes after Trump downsized both monuments, kickstarting litigation. Latest from me: insideclimatenews.org/news/0909202...
New polling shows majority of registered voters in Utah support restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The polling comes after Trump downsized both monuments, kickstarting litigation. Latest from me: insideclimatenews.org/news/0909202...
Utahns Support Protecting National Monuments That Trump Downsized - Inside Climate News
New polling shows that two-thirds of registered voters in Utah support restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
insideclimatenews.org
“No community in New Mexico should have to sacrifice its people, its water and its land, so someone else can make a profit.” Latest with @dylanbaddour.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/0409202...
New Mexico Bans Uranium Leasing on State Lands - Inside Climate News
The move to block new mining projects comes as the Trump administration seeks to revive American uranium production.
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Wyatt Myskow @wyattmyskow.bsky.social · 4w agoNew Mexico is banning uranium mining on state land, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced at a press conference. The state "has a painful and long history" with uranium, she said, and is now being ignored by the Trump administration in the pursuit of new mines, thus the state's ban.
New Mexico is banning uranium mining on state land, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced at a press conference. The state "has a painful and long history" with uranium, she said, and is now being ignored by the Trump administration in the pursuit of new mines, thus the state's ban.
Nevada is first on the draw over Colorado River litigation. It says the federal government’s cuts are “draconian.” Arizona says the lawsuit only adds more “uncertainty.“ And Wyoming says it will oppose any attempt to “unnecessarily drain” its water. Latest from @stevenrodas.bsky.social
Steven Rodas@stevenrodas.bsky.social · last mo.new for @insideclimatenews.org, Arizona, California and Colorado are still reviewing Nevada’s new lawsuit against the Trump administration’s 10-year Colorado River plan. Nevada commented on the suit. As did Wyoming on the federal plan. h/t @jakebolster.bsky.social and @wyattmyskow.bsky.social
Photos show the threatened Mexican spotted owl at the site of a proposed mine. The federal government says the birds aren't there. That's the dispute in a new lawsuit filed today. See my past coverage from the initial notice of intent to sue for more: insideclimatenews.org/news/2904202...
Tribe and Environmentalists to Sue Feds Over Arizona Mine’s Impacts to Threatened Owls - Inside Climate News
The BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said no Mexican spotted owls lived near a proposed mine site in Arizona’s Sky Islands when it permitted mineral exploration. Photo evidence shows otherwise.
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Litigation on the Colorado River has finally arrived. That's no surprise. What is, however, is the fact Nevada filed suit first. But maybe it shouldn't be. Nevada's negotiator this summer said with talks deadlocked, the courts may be the best path forward. insideclimatenews.org/news/0506202...
Feds Will Soon Impose New Framework on Colorado River if States Can’t Agree How to Manage It - Inside Climate News
Amid the river’s worst water year on record and deadlocked negotiations over its future, the Bureau of Reclamation announced it will impose a new 10-year management plan if the states relying on the r...
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Should Denver Water have taken climate change into account before expanding a giant dam? That's the question at the center of a lawsuit that could have dramatic ripple effects across the Colorado River Basin: insideclimatenews.org/news/1508202... via @wyattmyskow.bsky.social @jakebolster.bsky.social
Can a Dam Expansion Hold Back Climate Considerations on the Colorado River? - Inside Climate News
Climate change will almost certainly feature prominently in any multi-state litigation over the Colorado River. A court case over an almost-finished dam expansion may decide how.
insideclimatenews.org
Come for @wyattmyskow.bsky.social's dispatch from Santa Fe, NM on the Gross Reservoir expansion lawsuit, and stay for our reporting how this case could impact potential litigation on the Colorado River. Find the latests at @insideclimatenews.org.
Wyatt Myskow @wyattmyskow.bsky.social · 2mo agoIs climate change enough justification to stop the expansion of a dam that will take more water from the Colorado River? The federal government says no. It’s the main question in a lawsuit that could have sweeping consequences for the Colorado River Basin. insideclimatenews.org/news/1508202...
A massive influx of plastic has reached even remote Xinca villages in Guatemala, where people lack garbage services and burn plastic to get rid of it, releasing toxic fumes. I went to investigate w/nurse-scientist @lisamthompson.bsky.social and her team and @michaelkodas.bsky.social. A thread /1
Empowering Guatemalan Villagers Plagued by Plastic - Inside Climate News
Indigenous Xinca villagers burn plastic to dispose of it and stoke cooking fires, unwittingly exposing themselves, their children and environment to deadly pollutants. An ambitious project aims to cha...
insideclimatenews.org
Over 95 percent of land within national wildlife refuges across the country will soon be open to hunting and fishing. But the exact details on what will change, and what the impacts could be, have yet to be shared by the Interior Department. Latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/1408202...
As Trump Expands Hunting and Fishing Access on Wildlife Refuges, What Will the Impact Be? - Inside Climate News
The largest such expansion in U.S. history, it will allow access to 92 million acres across 32 states. But the final rule outlining how it will work is not yet public.
insideclimatenews.org
Is climate change enough justification to stop the expansion of a dam that will take more water from the Colorado River? The federal government says no. It’s the main question in a lawsuit that could have sweeping consequences for the Colorado River Basin. insideclimatenews.org/news/1508202...
Can a Dam Expansion Hold Back Climate Considerations on the Colorado River? - Inside Climate News
Climate change will almost certainly feature prominently in any multi-state litigation over the Colorado River. A court case over an almost-finished dam expansion may decide how.
insideclimatenews.org
On the Navajo Nation, a coal mine may soon be drastically expanded. But the federal permitting process has largely left out community voices, locals say, under new policies from the Trump administration, and has yet to answer their concerns. My latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/2407202...
Navajo Mine Applied for a Huge Expansion, but Tribal Members Say They’re Cut Out of the Permitting Process - Inside Climate News
The coal mine would disturb more than 10,000 more acres, pollute the region for more than a century and force some residents of the Navajo Nation out of their homes.
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Monday morning, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments collectively protected over 3 million acres of public lands. By the afternoon, President Trump cut them to 300,000 acres. My latest on the legal issues at play and impacts to tribes: insideclimatenews.org/news/1407202...
Trump Again Shrinks Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, This Time by Much More - Inside Climate News
Two executive orders signed Monday afternoon slashed the size of the Utah national monuments revered by tribes and public lands advocates. Grazing, mining and drilling interests wanted them opened to ...
insideclimatenews.org
Four times, arsenic levels exceeded permitted limits at a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. Now, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is raising the limits at the request of the mine. My latest with Maya McDaniel dives into what's happening: insideclimatenews.org/news/1007202...
Arizona Regulators Are Raising Contaminant Limits for a Uranium Mine With an Arsenic Problem - Inside Climate News
Federal and state governments are helping Energy Fuels boost its processing of uranium and rare earth elements, but the company has a checkered past with tribes and communities in the Four Corners reg...
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The U.S. Forest Service has approved South32's Hermosa mine, which could extract up to five critical minerals. But local environmentalists quickly denounced the decision, and vowed to continue fighting the mine. My latest: insideclimatenews.org/news/0807202...
Feds Grant Final Approval for Arizona Mine Situated in Critical Habitat for Jaguars and Mexican Spotted Owls - Inside Climate News
The U.S. Forest Service’s sign-off allows South32’s Hermosa mine, one of the country’s biggest proposed critical mineral operations, to proceed despite vocal opposition.
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The latest attempt to overturn Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s management plan in Congress has stalled, despite the monument being targeted for years.
Utah National Monument Survives Attempt to Rescind its Management Plan - Inside Climate News
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been targeted for downsizing and protection rollbacks for years. But the latest attempt to overturn its management plan in Congress has stalled.
insideclimatenews.org
Tiny hair-like underground fungal networks – which form intimate symbiotic relationships with 70% of global plant species – are 110 quadrillion kilometers long, enough to reach to the sun and back one billion times. By @wyattmyskow.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/1106202...
Threads of Earth’s Underground Fungal Networks Are Long Enough to Reach Beyond the Solar System - Inside Climate News
For the first time ever, researchers have quantified the length and mass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks globally and mapped the ecosystems where they are densest.
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Republicans have targeted Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument for years. But the latest attempt to overturn its management plan in Congress has stalled. My latest on how local tribes and environmentalists fended off the proposed bill: insideclimatenews.org/news/1706202...
Utah National Monument Survives Attempt to Rescind its Management Plan - Inside Climate News
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been targeted for downsizing and protection rollbacks for years. But the latest attempt to overturn its management plan in Congress has stalled.
insideclimatenews.org
The Trump administration plans to increase the water it’s sending to Central Valley farmlands from Shasta Lake this year. Environmental and fishing groups say this threatens to harm salmon by depriving them of vital cold water. www.latimes.com/environment/...
Salmon are at risk with federal plans to give farmers more water from Shasta Lake, critics warn
Fishing groups and environmentalists say the Trump administration's latest plan to send more water to Central Valley farms threatens California salmon.
latimes.com
Sustained use of the nation’s public lands, from extraction to recreation, cannot be achieved without conservation. That was the takeaway from a Biden rule on how to incorporate conservation on public lands. The Trump administration just rescinded the policy. insideclimatenews.org/news/1205202...
Trump Administration Kills Rule Putting Conservation of Public Lands on Equal Footing With Resource Extraction - Inside Climate News
Biden’s Public Lands Rule ensured protecting or rehabilitating federal land would be as legitimate a use as mining, logging or drilling. Republicans and developers said it was a threat to the principl...
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For the past year, Columbia Journalism Investigations and @insideclimatenews.org have investigated the push to mine more lithium. The results: We mapped every proposed project in the country, and the first story in the series examines the impacts on tribes. insideclimatenews.org/news/0305202...
How the Rush to Mine the Metal of the Future Echoes America’s Colonial Past - Inside Climate News
Companies have staked claims for more than 100 lithium-mine projects. Tribes are among the most affected.
insideclimatenews.org