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(Rick Bowmer | AP, pool) U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland tours near ancient dwellings along the Butler Wash Trail with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, right, and other officials during a visit to Bears Ears National Monument Thursday, April 8, 2021, near Blanding.

Biden is poised to expand Bears Ears and Grand Staircase monuments. The real question is by how much?

By Brian Maffly | Matt Canham | Zak Podmore | April 11, 2021, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Bowmer | AP, pool) U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland tours near ancient dwellings along the Butler Wash Trail during a visit to Bears Ears National Monument Thursday, April 8, 2021, near Blanding. At right is Sen. Mitt Romney and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

Biden has to ‘get this right,’ Deb Haaland says of monument decision after Bears Ears tour

By Zak Podmore | April 9, 2021, 3:28 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) In this Dec. 4, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump is surrounded by Utah leaders at the Utah Capitol, as well as then-San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally (far left), as he signs the presidential proclamation to shrink Bears Ears national monument. San Juan County hired a law firm that paid several lobbyists to pressure then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (center, top) and others in the Trump administration to make the cuts. Newly obtained emails show San Juan County's lobbying effort on Bears Ears.

Exclusive: ‘We will circle all the wagons’ — Newly obtained emails show San Juan County’s push to reduce Bears Ears

By Zak Podmore | April 8, 2021, 10:46 p.m.

(Susan Montoya Bryan | The Associated Press) U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland listens to tribal leaders during a round-table discussion at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The visit marked Haaland's first to her home state after being confirmed as head of the federal agency, making her the first Native American to hold a Cabinet position. She was in southern Utah on Wednesday.

After Thursday’s Bears Ears tour, Deb Haaland will visit Grand Staircase on Friday

By Brian Maffly | April 8, 2021, 12:43 a.m.

(Susan Montoya Bryan | AP) U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland listens to tribal leaders during a round-table discussion at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The visit marked Haaland's first to her home state after being confirmed as head of the federal agency, making her the first Native American to hold a Cabinet position.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland meets New Mexico Native American leaders ahead of Utah visit

By Susan Montoya Bryan | The Associated Press | April 7, 2021, 4:14 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) The Colorado River flows into Lake Powell near Hite Marina on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Utah's largest reservoir is less than 40% full.

Yes, we just had a storm, but here’s why Utah drought fears persist

By Brian Maffly | April 7, 2021, 1:00 p.m.

Garfield County chip-sealed this 7.50-mile stretch of the Burr Trail within days of getting the BLM's approval.

Sorry, environmentalists, that pavement can stay on Utah’s scenic Burr Trail

By Brian Maffly | April 6, 2021, 1:00 p.m.

(AP file photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Interior Secretary Deb Haaland arrives will be in Utah this week as part of her assignment to evaluate whether the Biden administration should restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will tour Bears Ears on Thursday as monument review heats up

By Brian Maffly | April 7, 2021, 4:20 p.m.

(Graeme Jennings | AP file photo) In this Feb. 23, 2021, photo, Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is sworn in during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be Interior secretary on Capitol Hill in Washington. She will be visiting Utah next week.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to visit Utah next week to review monument boundaries

By Zak Podmore | April 9, 2021, 3:31 p.m.

(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) Two Sage-Grouse fight for dominance while strutting on a lek in the Parker Mountain area, near Loa, Utah, Friday, April 22, 2016.

U.S. judge blocks Nevada grazing; sage grouse totals dwindling

By Scott Sonner | The Associated Press | April 1, 2021, 4:03 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Gehrke.

Robert Gehrke: Once again, inland port leaders are proving they don’t want to consider public concerns

By Robert Gehrke | March 29, 2021, 1:21 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Seven Canyons Trust nears completion of its project to open Three Creeks Confluence Park in Salt Lake City, where Emigration, Red Butte and Parleys creeks meet the Jordan River near 1300 South and 900 West.

Three old streams bring one sparkling new attraction to Salt Lake City’s west side

By Brian Maffly | March 29, 2021, 3:45 p.m.

(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) This June 10, 2019, photo shows the Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City when the state's snowpack was about 150 percent higher than the historical average. Utah's snowpack has been augmented by an extensive cloud seeding program that's received state funds most years since 1973.

Utah is a leader in cloud seeding. Is it working?

By Zak Podmore | April 9, 2021, 3:32 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Gehrke.

Robert Gehrke: Utah is in a severe drought and we must act

By Robert Gehrke | March 27, 2021, 2:29 p.m.

Ray Bloxham | Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Utah's Coal Hollow strip mine near Alton is expanding onto federal coal adjacent to its depleted private leases. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the BLM to conduct further analysis on the federal lease’s potential climate impacts after concluding the Trump administration failed to do an adequate job.

Judge taps brakes on Utah coal mine expansion, orders climate change analysis

By Brian Maffly | March 27, 2021, 12:00 p.m.

(Tribune file photo) Years ago, a Memorial Day crowd swarmed the rocky shore line at Utah's Sand Hollow State Park. It has become increasingly difficult to reserve a campsite at Utah state parks on holiday weekends. The Tribune is inviting readers to share their experience with making reservations.

Have you had trouble reserving a campsite at a Utah state park? Tell us about it.

By Brian Maffly | March 24, 2021, 11:21 p.m.

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo) Hikers play on the sandstone rocks from the Canyon Overlook Trail with a view into Zion Canyon. A new report says a proposed visitor center at Zion National Park's east entrance will bring broad economic benefits to Utah's Kane County.

There’s a plan to improve Zion for tourists and boost the economy

By Brian Maffly | March 24, 2021, 6:30 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) The University of Utah gets much of its electricity from renewable sources, including these solar panels located on the roof of the Marriott Library. A school committee is recommending the U.'s endowment divest from fossil fuels.

University of Utah takes a step toward divesting in fossil fuels

By Brian Maffly | March 23, 2021, 1:40 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Energy Fuels, which operates the only conventional uranium mill in the United States near Blanding, Utah, has applied for a permit to reprocess 660 tons of radioactive powder stored at the Silmet rare metals plant in Estonia, more than 5,000 miles away, for its uranium content. It also plans to export rare earth material to the same plant.

Now Utah uranium mill plans to export rare earth materials to Estonia

By Zak Podmore | March 22, 2021, 1:00 p.m.

(Courtesy photo by Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance) A helium well drilled in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness was plugged on Feb. 26. Although the well appears to be retired, the company behind the project say it is still evaluating the quality of the gas the well yielded. Twin Bridges Resources has plans for six more wells from this site near the Green River’s Bowknot Bend.

Was a helium well in the Utah wilderness a bust?

By Brian Maffly | March 22, 2021, 2:13 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bricks that fell from the facade of Red Rooster Records in Magna on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

‘Curved’ Wasatch fault may be even more destructive and deadly than previously thought

By Brian Maffly | March 22, 2021, 2:49 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ary Faraji, executive director, at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District's facility on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The district's program of aerial spraying has come under fire by activists concerned about its impact on the environment and west-side communities.

Aerial mosquito spraying draws fire from Salt Lake City west-siders, birders and environmentalists

By Brian Maffly | March 19, 2021, 7:31 p.m.

(Ross D. Franklin | AP) Visitors view the dramatic bend in the Colorado River at the popular Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in Page, Ariz., Sept. 9, 2011. Grand Canyon National Park officials tentatively plan to reopen the park's eastern entrance in late May 2021, but there's sentiment in the small northern Arizona city that depends on tourism that sooner would be better. “Our sales tax for this year is down nearly 30% from last year," Page city manager Darren Coldwell told the Arizona Daily Sun. “Our Horseshoe Bend visitation is down 80%. So when we say that our numbers dropped off the face of the earth, they really did.”

Reopening Grand Canyon’s east entrance planned for May

By The Associated Press | March 18, 2021, 4:05 p.m.

(Benjamin Spillman | The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP) The Swamp Cedar Natural Area, a tribal site known as the swamp cedars, considered sacred by a number of Shoshone tribes in Ely, northeast Nevada. Lawmakers are considering strengthening protections for trees that Native Americans in northeastern Nevada consider sacred. The Duckwater and Ely Shoshone tribes have used swamp cedars in Spring Valley to memorialize their ancestors lost in three 19th century massacres and have long joined others in efforts to block a proposed pipeline that would siphon groundwater from rural valleys to Las Vegas.

Scrapped Vegas pipeline plan looms amid swamp cedar debate

By Sam Metz | The Associated Press | March 17, 2021, 7:52 p.m.

(Courtesy photo by National Park Service) Yellowstone National Park's Steamboat Geyser erupts on Sept. 17, 2018. The geyser roared back to life in 2018 after decades of relative quiet. University of Utah geologists have analyzed its recent eruptions to characterize its underground plumbing.

Yellowstone’s tallest geyser springs back to life, and Utah scientists want to know why

By Brian Maffly | March 17, 2021, 1:48 p.m.