Did potato cultivation begin in Utah’s Escalante Valley 11,000 years ago?
Delane Griffin’s yard around his Escalante home is filled with a wild potato that his late wife, Leah, transplanted from nearby sites. For decades, some residents in this southern Utah town have...
View ArticleAir pollution spikes to 20 times above health standard in Weber County with...
As residents celebrated Independence Day on Tuesday, state air-quality monitors reported spikes in particulate pollution at several Wasatch Front locales. Weber County was the hardest hit, with...
View ArticleParched June leaves portions of Utah abnormally dry
Last month’s high temperatures and lack of rain have dried out portions of southeastern and central Utah, but moisture may be on its way. June is typically Utah’s driest month of the year, but most...
View ArticleInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke orders faster approval of oil and gas drilling...
Pointing to a large backlog of pending oil and gas drilling applications, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced aggressive reforms on Thursday to streamline energy development on federal lands Zinke...
View ArticleUtah Lake still open for boating, but people and pets should beware toxic...
Health warnings related to a toxic algal bloom on Utah Lake remain in effect this weekend — though residents are getting mixed messages from government officials as to what that means. Aislynn...
View ArticleUtah researcher discovers why Roman concrete piers outlast modern structures
While modern concrete deteriorates after a few decades of exposure to seawater and ocean climates, many Roman piers and breakwaters have dissolved little in 2,000 years. University of Utah researcher...
View ArticleIs seven-county coalition squandering money earmarked for rural Utah?
Several mineral-rich eastern Utah counties banded together a few years ago to build costly commodity-moving projects needed by extractive industries to tap underground resources and get them to...
View ArticleCrews continue to battle Brian Head, Coyote fires
Firefighters on Sunday continued working to contain the Brian Head Fire’s northern flank and to mop up areas on the southern flank where heat still existed. As of Sunday morning, the blaze — which was...
View ArticleUtah physicians group alarmed by studies linking more deaths to air pollution
An association of Utah doctors is calling for more stringent limits on air pollution in light of new evidence they say shows air quality is more critical to human health than once thought. Members of...
View ArticleHealth warnings on Utah Lake expanded as algal bloom spreads and neurotoxin...
Officials say residents should avoid contact with the waters of Utah Lake in light of the detection of a deadly toxin. A bloom of toxic algae, detected late last month, has continued to grow and now...
View ArticleUtah wildlife officials investigate report of gator in Utah Lake
State wildlife authorities are investigating the claim of a man who says he was angling for catfish on Utah Lake last weekend when he instead caught a four-foot alligator, a tropical predator that has...
View ArticleJudge rejects Utah ranchers’ plea to evict wild horses
A federal judge on Tuesday tossed a lawsuit brought by Utah ranchers demanding the Bureau of Land Management remove “excess” wild horses from several areas in the West Desert they say are overrun with...
View ArticleGator in Utah Lake? It’s a hoax
State wildlife authorities are deeply dubious of claims by a man who says he was angling for catfish on Utah Lake last weekend when he instead caught a four-foot alligator, a tropical predator that...
View ArticleIn wake of the Brian Head Fire, commissioner pushes state to talk to U.S. Ag...
In the wake of the massive Brian Head Fire, Utah officials on Thursday moved to secure a meeting with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to talk about ways improved forest management practices...
View ArticleFirst a toxic algal bloom, now elevated E. coli levels — and double the...
Health officials continue to urge residents to stay out of the water at Utah Lake, even more so now that a second potentially harmful bacteria has entered the fray. The Utah County Health Department...
View ArticleThe Great Salt Lake is half its natural size. Here's why that worries the...
One of the nation’s pre-eminent environmental organizations is setting up shop in Salt Lake City after authoring a report that indicates the Great Salt Lake is half its natural size. Earlier this...
View ArticleBrian Head Fire operations wind down
Operations tapered off on the Brian Head Fire as more firefighters were sent to battle other blazes on Saturday. The Great Basin Incident Management Team said it intends to turn control over to local...
View ArticleHuman-caused wildfire in Alpine burns 50 acres
Crews responded to a wildfire near Alpine on Saturday evening. The human-caused fire burned 50 acres of brush and grass on the hill east of the city, according to fire officials. The Salt Lake Tribune...
View ArticleEPA administrator Scott Pruitt comes to Utah, says he’ll reconsider new...
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to reconsider a 2016 order mandating new pollution controls at two coal-fired power plans in Utah intended to keep the skies clear around national parks....
View ArticleNewly finished 50-year water plan marks a new era, Utah governor says
Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday heralded the completion of the state’s new 50-year water management plan, a document four years in the making. In a public appearance with his personally appointed,...
View ArticleAuthorities just found a toxin in the Jordan River. Here’s why you should...
The Salt Lake County Health Department warned people Friday not to enter the Jordan River after test results found an algae-related toxin in the water. The results showed that the neurotoxin...
View Article$1M grant to fund repairs on Zion’s Middle Emeralds Pool Trail
The National Park Foundation has received a $1 million grant for upgrades to the Middle Emerald Pools Trail in Zion National Park, donors announced Tuesday. The grant comes from the George S. and...
View ArticleReport: Utah’s coal industry fading while more eco-friendly outdoor...
Nearly $400 billion worth of high-quality coal lies under lands protected by the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, but the best thing for Utah would be to leave this black bounty where it...
View ArticleOutdoor Retailer reflects on Utah memories as it sets up for what could be...
At a yellow kiosk on Gallivan Plaza, visitors scrawled their favorite Utah memories on postcards and stuck them to a large map of Utah. “It’s kind of sad,” one visitor said as he completed his card...
View ArticleEx-Interior Secretary calls move to shrink Bears Ears illegal, on ‘the wrong...
Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell took sharp aim Wednesday at her successor’s national monument “review,” calling moves to shrink Bears Ears and other designations illegal gestures that put...
View ArticleIs Bears Ears too big? New poll says Utahns split on shrinking the monument
While Utah’s political leaders are largely united in arguing the new Bears Ears National Monument must be shrunk, a far smaller share of Utahns agrees that the 1.3 million-acre monument covers too...
View ArticleMike Fowlks to head Utah wildlife agency
A 24-year veteran of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has been named to take over the agency, filling the empty shoes left by the departure of Greg Sheehan, now serving as acting head of the...
View ArticleBoisterous Outdoor Retailer rally at Capitol is more about supporting public...
Hundreds of outdoor industry representatives and their supporters took to the streets Thursday for a rush-hour hike to the Utah Capitol, celebrating the crucial role public lands play in their...
View ArticleLawsuits over control of rural routes back in court
In a pivotal ruling for Utah’s legal battle to control thousands of routes crossing federal land, a divided Utah Supreme Court has held that these road claims have not run out of time under an obscure...
View ArticleHerbert asking BLM to ‘re-evaluate’ oil and gas leasing near Dinosaur...
Gov. Gary Herbert is asking federal land managers to “re-evaluate” three parcels proposed for oil and gas leasing at the doorstep of Dinosaur National Monument, saying that drilling could degrade the...
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