Saguaro parkland sale would be a Diamond legacy, activist says

Tony Davis

A longtime Tucson environmentalist who has been critical of more than one development engineered by land investor and developer Donald Diamond over the years agrees with a top official in the Diamond real estate empire that a sale of 1,374 ac…

CAP pipeline talking points fly as Tucson City Council meeting nears

Tony Davis

As a crucial Tucson City Council discussion nears on the proposed Community Water Co. and Farmers Investment Co. water pipelines, advocates on both sides are sharpening their talking points.

Some criteria the City Council could apply to the pipeline conflict

Tony Davis

In study session Tuesday, the Tucson City Council will discuss setting criteria for deciding whom it should allow to connect to an existing Central Arizona Project pipeline -- Community Water Co. of Green Valley, Farmers Investment Co., or bo…

So far, it's the second warmest spring here on record

Tony Davis

Two thirds of the way through spring 2013, Tucson's had its second warmest spring on record so far, the National Weather Service says.

Our windblown air is now unhealthy for sensitive groups

Tony Davis

Pima Couny's air quality index crossed over into the orange level today after flirting with it much of the morning. 

Live blog transcript: Southwest Climate Assessment

Arizona Daily Star reporter Tony Davis reported live from Thursday's Southwest Climate Assessment meeting at the Center for Creative Photography in a StarNet exclusive.

Federal Mexican wolf migrant capture permission apparently yanked

Tony Davis

 In what would be a legal victory for a Tucson-based environmental group, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has apparently axed a controversial permit provision allowing it to capture Mexican wolves that migrate into this country from Mexico.

Lower Rio Grande dry; NM in throes of major drought

Tony Davis

This A.P. article portrays Arizona's neighbor to the east as being in a major drought situation. With the Lower Rio Grande a sandy wash, farmers are digging deeper for water and a Hatch restaurant is charging for a glass of water. Outdoor wat…

AZ Game and Fish, enviro square off over Mexican wolf delisting

Tony Davis

As the federal government ponders whether to delist endangered gray wolves nationally, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and environmentalists are at odds over whether the Mexican wolf should join the ranks of the delisted.

Reclamation and Interior: We care about the Colorado

Tony Davis

The Bureau of Reclamation, long past its era of pushing for new, costly water projects, issued a joint statement last week with its parent agency the Interior Department praising American Rivers for declaring the Colorado River the country's …

UA researcher on the Colorado: If we don't take action now, we will have failed

Tony Davis

Some time before the Colorado River was declared last week -- for the third time -- to be the most endangered river in the U.S., UA water researcher Sharon Megdal wrote a column saying that it was time to act now to tackle the river's myriad …

Tempe heading down the streetcar path, too

Tony Davis

Tempe's proposed downtown streetcar line project, a little shorter in distance than the one under construction in Tucson, took a big step toward getting federal money, the Arizona Republic reported this week.

Possible Mexican wolf killing under investigation in N.M.

Tony Davis

While I was away on vacation for a week, the Albuquerque Journal first reported, and the Associated Press confirmed, that a federal Wildlife Services employee is under investigation for the killing last January of what may have been a Mexican wolf.

L.A. to go coal-free; will ditch Navajo plant's power

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Los Angeles officials said Tuesday they would stop buying power from the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in northern Arizona by 2015, and replace its other source of coal-fired power, a Utah plant, by 2025. Bloomberg News reported that t…

A Q&A with jaguar advocate -- and jag critical habitat opponent -- Alan Rabinowitz

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

 “You don’t know how frustrated I am,” says Alan Rabinowitz, the world-renowned jaguar biologist and protector who opposes U.S. government designation of jaguar critical habitat in Southern Arizona. “I don’t like being on side of people fight…

Grijalva to be feted by national parks group

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Al Jazeera reports on the Rosemont issue

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Another outside media outlet looks into the Rosemont mine debate, this time Al Jazeera. The Qatar-based TV network ran a two-plus minute spot on the controversy, with two opponents quoted, including the Center for Biological Diversity, and Ro…

Arizona mineral potential improves, says annual mining company survey

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

Lee Allison's Arizona Geology blog recently reported that the latest annual survey from the Fraser Institute showed that Arizona rose from 31st to 15th in "current mineral potential," out of 96 various government jurisdictions internationally.

Trekker: Sonorans are "open-minded" about conservation

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

For nearly five weeks, environmental activist John Davis walked and swam in rivers, rode bicycles in the desert and hiked and rode horseback in the mountains, all in northern Mexico.

Border Patrol vehicles scarring Southern AZ. wildlands, enviros say

Tony Davis

This new, 3-minute video from the Sierra Club, "Too Many Tracks," shows dirt roads snaking through the Organ Pipe National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and allegedly causing untold damage to the desert.

S.F. analyst offers rosy tidings for copper prices, Rosemont

Tony Davis

"I think you're going to see a lot more activity out of Arizona," opines San Francisco-based metals analyst Kevin Pull, in an interview with the Investing.com website.

Another bad year on the Colorado?

Tony Davis

That's the most recent forecast for April-July runoff into Lake Powell, the hub for storage of Colorado River water heading into its Lower Basin, which includes Arizona.

Jaguar "rock star" isn't a hit with Earth First!

Tony Davis

This article from Earth First! News takes world-famous jaguar conservationist Alan Rabinowitz to task -- and then some -- for his fierce opposition to a federal proposal to designate 838,000 acres as critical habitat for the endangered jaguar…

Point/counterpoint on jaguar critical habitat

Tony Davis

In Saturday's Star (2-9-2012), I had an article on noted jaguar biologist Alan Rabinowitz's fierce opposition to the proposed jaguar critical habitat that would span 838,000 acres in Southern Arizona and Southwest New Mexico.

The Great Grey Lady steps up Rosemont coverage

Tony Davis

Twice in the past month, the New York Times' Green blog has run stories discussing the Rosemont Mine, emphasizing that this endless issue is taking on national significance as a final decision date could be nearing.