Jan 23, 2018The future of Utah’s coal industry could hinge on a court on Oakland’s coal ban that upset plans for export terminalThree Utah coal mines are poised to expand into federal coal tracts that promise to keep them humming for another decade, securing hundreds of treasured mining jobs in rural communities. But with U.S. markets for this coal far from certain, mine operators are seeking opportunities to export it across the Pacific…Environment2 min readEnvironment2 min read
Jan 18, 2018Utah’s Molen Reef has lots of unknown rock art and little oil and gas. So why is BLM selling leases here that industry doesn’t want?As he scanned the horizon in a shallow basin under central Utah’s Molen Reef, Jonathan Bailey’s eye fell on red markings he had never noticed before despite numerous forays into the area searching for ancient rock art. Drawing closer, the Ferron native discovered two prehistoric square human figures outlined under…Environment2 min readEnvironment2 min read
Jan 9, 2018Judge to weigh Oakland’s ban on coal handling; ruling could re-open pathway for Utah coal to AsiaBetween Utah’s rich coal beds and potential markets overseas lie 850 miles of rail track and 5,000 miles of ocean that converge in the California port city of Oakland. A proposed Oakland export terminal once promised an economic lift for distressed portions of California’s prosperous East Bay — and a…Oakland1 min readOakland1 min read
Oct 30, 2017Will paying more to see national parks like Utah’s Zion and Arches help fix the backlog of maintenance problems?Utah lawmakers proposed $70 entrance fee as ‘extortion,’ but Park Service says the pricing is reasonable compared with other destinations. When the National Park Service quietly began the review that led to its new proposal to hike park entrance fees, officials say they looked at what people pay to get into other “family-oriented venues.” The nation’s parks — including Utah’s “Mighty Five” — operate at a chronic financial deficit, yet…National Parks5 min readNational Parks5 min read
Oct 24, 2017Is the Antiquities Act broken? Utah congressman thinks soRep. Rob Bishop joked with reporters last year that he hoped President Barack Obama would designate Bears Ears National Monument so he could use such an act of presidential “overreach” to rein in the Antiquities Act. A longtime critic of the 1906 law that gives presidents unilateral power to set…Environment9 min readEnvironment9 min read
Oct 14, 2017Utah wildlife officials want to put mountain goats where they haven’t been since the ice age — environmentalists say that’s a problemNon-native mountain goats could damage fragile alpine plant ecosystems; some hotly dispute that state authority on wildlife transplants trumps federal law. — by Brian Maffly — An experiment is under way in the La Sal Mountains, where a species of wild mountain goat is make a new home along the eastern Utah range’s rock-studded ridge lines and talus slopes falling away from 12,000-foot peaks. Four years after their introduction by state wildlife officials, the creatures classified…Environment7 min readEnvironment7 min read
Oct 10, 2017Will ‘Negro’ name stick to Utah canyon?Federal geographic names board considers renaming Utah’s Negro Bill Canyon, replacing it with the freed-slave-turned-pioneer’s surname Grandstaff. — Little is known about William Grandstaff other than the color of his skin and the derogatory nickname Moab locals once gave him. Even the spelling of his last name is in dispute 136 years after the African-American cowboy and prospector historically known by the racial slur “N — — r…Environment5 min readEnvironment5 min read
Sep 27, 2017Is scofflaw energy operator trashing a Utah wildlife area?After years of second chances for Gordon Creek Energy, state officials seek to plug idled wells, shut down producing ones if company fails to act on financial obligations. In what amounts to a three-way crackdown, regulators overseeing Utah wildlife, school trust lands and the state’s extraction industries are jointly targeting the operator of a gas field west of Price. …Environment6 min readEnvironment6 min read
Sep 19, 2017Firm wants to burn methane leaking from Utah coal mine — creating credits to sell to carbon-emitting companiesBy burning the greenhouse gas escaping from the retired West Ridge mine, a Colorado firm plans to help California companies that need to account for their own carbon emissions. — Coal and trona mines are a big source of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Long after land that has been mined is restored, heat-trapping methane can still leak into the atmosphere. Now a Colorado business is developing a plan to make money by burning methane that would otherwise seep…Climate Change5 min readClimate Change5 min read
Sep 19, 2017Utah quietly asks Interior for a 90 percent reduction to Bears Ears monumentIf maps Utah has submitted to the Interior Department are a guide, Bears Ears National Monument will be drastically cut in size. The state’s vision, shared with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, is to shrink Bears Ears to one-tenth its current 1.35 million acres, scaling the southeastern Utah monument down to…Environment7 min readEnvironment7 min read
