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DOE offers contentious NV lithium mine $700 million loan
Citing a need to secure a domestic supply of lithium for electric car batteries, the Biden Administration has pledged $700 million for a planned lithium mine on the habitat of an endangered Nevada wildflower. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it agreed to provide the attractive financing to Australian developer Ioneer Inc. under […]
450,000 Nevadans will see reduction in food assistance
Throughout the pandemic, most Nevdans receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, also benefited from monthly emergency allotments. But that’s about to end. On Wednesday, the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services announced that March will be the last month the agency is allowed to provide the extra food dollars that […]
Burning Man sues BLM over geothermal project
Burning Man is suing the Bureau of Land Management over its approval of a geothermal exploration project in Gerlach, Nevada. In a filing Monday, the Burning Man Project—the nonprofit behind the festival —argues the agency failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when it ruled in October that the exploration project would have […]
Lawsuit seeks to expel cattle from endangered wildflower habitat
A conservation group is suing the federal government in an effort to ban cattle from grazing in the habitat of an endangered wildflower that can only be found on about 10 acres of public land in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice Monday of its intent to sue the U.S. […]
Ruling on fate of Thacker Pass expected ‘in next couple months’
A lawsuit over whether federal land managers erred when they approved plans for the largest lithium mine in the nation could be settled “in the next couple months,” said a federal judge in Nevada on Thursday. The case reflects the growing conflicts between conservationists, tribes, ranchers and mining companies looking to profit from the booming […]
Students, schools agree NV tuition waiver program for Native Americans is off to a promising start
Brian Melendez can trace his family history back to an encampment on the land where the Reynolds School of Journalism now stands, before they were forcibly removed to make room for the old Mackey Stadium. “Not too long ago, my great-great-grandmother gave birth where the University of Nevada, Reno football statue is currently located. That […]
Water managers across drought-stricken West agree on one thing: ‘This is going to be painful’
Water authorities in the Western U.S. don’t have a crystal ball, but rapidly receding reservoirs uncovering sunken boats and other debris lost in their depths decades ago give a clear view of the hard choices ahead. If western states do not agree on a plan to safeguard the Colorado River — the source of the […]
Upper basin states float temporary conservation plan at Colorado River conference
Half a year ago, seven western states missed a federal deadline to deliver a basin-wide plan that could reduce their use of water from the over-allocated Colorado River in the next year. A comprehensive solution between the states to bolster the drought-stricken river system has not materialized. Those failures and potential solutions were the focus […]
Feds list rare NV wildflower, Tiehm’s buckwheat, as endangered
A rare desert wildflower known to only grow in Nevada has been listed as endangered and will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. Tiehm’s buckwheat’s entire global population grows on about 10 acres of land in the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County. The listing also […]
Geothermal developer shrinks plans after toad’s endangered listing
A Nevada-based renewable energy company plans to significantly shrink the size of a planned geothermal power plant in order to ease federal criticisms of its potential impacts on an endangered toad. Earlier this month, federal wildlife managers announced the Dixie Valley toad, a species unique to Nevada, would be listed as endangered and provided permanent […]
Nevada delegation teams up to expand Fallon bombing range
Nevada lawmakers have secured legislation that would nearly triple the size of a Naval air station bombing range near Fallon. The bill is set to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual appropriations bill that must pass in order to fund the military, and will grant the Navy’s request for nearly […]
Feds seek to hasten clean energy development on public lands in the West
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Monday announced new steps to accelerate solar energy development on federal land in the West, a move that could further incentivize renewable energy development on Nevada’s vast public lands. During a visit to the Sonoran Solar Energy Project in Arizona – a project on public lands expected to […]