Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Uranium mining resumes in Arizona and Utah
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Friday, January 5, 2024
An abandoned uranium mine on the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon; Alan Levine/Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])

Driven by high uranium prices, domestic uranium mining has resumed at three locations in the U.S. after an eight-year hiatus ([link removed]) .

One of the mines is located in Arizona ([link removed]) near the Grand Canyon. Formerly known as the Canyon Mine, the Pinyon Plain project is located within the footprint of the newly-designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Uranium mining near the Grand Canyon threatens water sources ([link removed]) for the Havasupai Tribe. The designation of the monument prohibits the establishment of new mines within its boundaries, but the Pinyon Plain mine is grandfathered in.

The other two mines ([link removed]) are the La Sal and Pandora mines, located in southeast Utah ([link removed]) . All of the mines are owned by international mining company Energy Fuels. E&E News reports ([link removed]) that more mining projects are scheduled to come online in Colorado.

Energy Fuels also owns the White Mesa Mill, where it plans to process the newly-mined uranium, according to KSJD ([link removed]) . The mill, which is located near the Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa in southeast Utah, is the only operating uranium mill ([link removed]) in the United States. The White Mesa community and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe oppose the continued operation of the mill, which they believe is contaminating groundwater ([link removed]) .

Both the White Mesa Mill and the Pinyon Plain project are featured in Backyard Problems ([link removed]) , a Center for Western Priorities report focused on environmental degradation due to industrial activity and extraction in the West.


** Quick hits
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‘Snow drought’ grips western United States, threatening ski resorts and Colorado River

Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | Montana Free Press ([link removed])

What the fight over a Nevada toad says about the future of green energy

Mother Jones ([link removed])

Nevada group works to preserve tree species critical to Western habitats

Boise State Public Radio ([link removed])

Wyoming coal could be in for a rough year

WyoFile ([link removed])

Tough choices could make 2024 a wild ride for Interior

E&E News ([link removed])

Opinion: Colorado legislature needs to get serious this session about taking on oil and gas polluters

Colorado Sun ([link removed])

U.S. oil production hit a record under Biden. He seldom mentions it

Washington Post ([link removed])

A message from the plants: U.S. is getting a lot warmer

USA Today ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
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” One good year is one good year, and we can’t get complacent... We can’t count on good years. We have to be prepared for anything.”

—Amy Haas, executive director of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Picture This
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@USFWS ([link removed])
Have you ever seen an American marten? Martens can be found in forests across much of Alaska and Canada, along with parts of the west, upper midwest and far northeast. They primarily eat voles but may also feed on snowshoe hares and red squirrels! 📷 Grayson Smith/USFWS

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