Zak Podmore

Report for America corps member

Zak is a Report for America corps member covering conflict and change in San Juan County for The Tribune. He has been writing from Bluff, Utah, since 2015 and is the author of Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political On Rivers of the New West from Torrey House Press.

(Rick Bowmer | AP, pool) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox takes a selfie with Rep. Blake Moore, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Sen. Mitt Romney during a tour by ancient dwellings along the Butler Wash trail at the Bears Ears National Monument Thursday, April 8, 2021, near Blanding.

What does Biden’s national monuments decision mean for legal challenges to the Antiquities Act?

By Zak Podmore | October 11, 2021, 1:18 p.m.

(Zak Podmore | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tara Benally, field director for the Rural Utah Project and member of the Women of Bears Ears, speaks to reporters about the restoration of Bears Ears National Monument at a press conference held atop Muley Point in San Juan County on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021.

Bears Ears supporters celebrate Biden’s restoration of Utah monuments at Cedar Mesa gathering

By Zak Podmore | October 10, 2021, 10:58 p.m.

(Invent Development Partners) A conceptual design for the first phase of the Lionsback Resort, a vacation development in Moab that is currently under construction.

Lionsback Resort above Moab is under construction, after delays and litigation

By Zak Podmore | October 10, 2021, 8:42 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Bears Ears buttes April 10, 2021.

What changes in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante with Biden’s order?

By Zak Podmore | October 8, 2021, 10:19 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Parnell Thomas checks on some gas lines near his home north of Montezuma Creek, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.

Residents call for reform after hydrogen sulfide gas leak on Navajo Nation

By Zak Podmore | October 2, 2021, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A proposed highway is once again being considered that would cut through the Book Cliffs in Grand County, connecting with State Road 45 south of Vernal, pictured here.

Will controversial Book Cliffs Highway proposal increase tourism or boost oil and gas production?

By Zak Podmore | September 27, 2021, 12:00 p.m.

(Courtesy of Energy Fuels) Guests tour the White Mesa Mill in San Juan County, which produces uranium, vanadium and rare earth minerals. Sept. 16, 2021.

Is Utah’s uranium industry key to a green energy future or a radioactive threat?

By Zak Podmore | September 26, 2021, 7:26 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sprinklers run at Reservoir Park in the middle of the afternoon heat during peak evaporations times on Monday afternoon, July 19, 2021, near the University of Utah campus.

Utah residents use the most water of any Western state. They also pay some of the lowest water rates.

By Zak Podmore | September 20, 2021, 3:34 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Traffic on I-80 in Parley's Canyon on Thursday, July 1, 2021. Vehicle emissions are a significant contributor to ozone pollution in Utah.

‘It could take years’ to solve ozone pollution on the Wasatch Front, state regulator says

By Zak Podmore | September 15, 2021, 10:54 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | Salt Lake Tribune) Comb Ridge, located within the Bears Ears National Monument, June 26, 2020.

‘Sagebrush Empire’ explores San Juan County’s history and politics with nuance, humor and meticulous research

By Zak Podmore | September 4, 2021, 12:00 p.m.