Brandon Loomis
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brandonloomis.bsky.social
Brandon Loomis
@brandonloomis.bsky.social
Senior environment reporter at The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com, covering the Colorado River, natural resources, wild things and people of the Southwest.
Advocates want to protect a lizard that's vanishing from Arizona's Sky Islands

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Advocates want to protect a lizard that's vanishing from Arizona's Sky Islands
The Yarrow's spiny lizard lives in a narrow band of the Mule Mountains, but its numbers are declining as temperatures warm and erase habitat.
www.azcentral.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
‘Dream' of desalinating water to boost Arizona's supplies moves ahead with vote

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'Dream' of desalinating water to boost Arizona's supplies moves ahead with vote
Arizona water finance board has advanced several desalination and conservation proposals that could bring trades for river water.
www.azcentral.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Border wall opponents rally as Trump closes a 27-mile gap across a remote Arizona valley

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Border wall opponents rally as Trump closes a 27-mile gap across a remote Arizona valley
A migration corridor that allows jaguars and ocelots to cross into the U.S. is the latest border wall construction zone.
www.azcentral.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Could AI and data centers rekindle nuclear power and drive demand for Western uranium?

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Could AI and data centers rekindle nuclear power and drive demand for Western uranium?
Western politicians and tech companies are pushing a "nuclear renaissance" to deliver power for artificial intelligence and data centers.
www.azcentral.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Arizona governor urges feds to protect Colorado River users as states struggle to finish water plan

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Hobbs urges feds to protect Colorado River users as states struggle to finish water plan
As it became clear the seven Colorado River states still had no shortage-sharing agreement, Gov. Katie Hobbs urged feds to act.
www.azcentral.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Doubts persist about deal to allow uranium trucks on the Navajo Nation

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Doubts persist about deal to allow uranium trucks on the Navajo Nation
People who live along the uranium transport route say they want assurances that they are not at risk.
www.azcentral.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
In mine-scarred Native communities, residents worry about trucks moving uranium ore

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In mine-scarred Native communities, residents worry about trucks moving uranium ore
The deadly legacy of Cold War uranium mines looms over better regulated operations near Navajo Nation land in Arizona.
www.azcentral.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
A major shift in where L.A. gets water: The city will double the size of a project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water, producing enough for 500,000 people. The recycled water will allow L.A. to stop taking water from creeks that feed Mono Lake. www.latimes.com/environment/...
Los Angeles will nearly double recycled water for 500,000 residents
Los Angeles is set to double the size of a planned facility that will transform wastewater into purified drinking water, recycling enough water to meet the needs of 500,000 people.
www.latimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Former Interior Sec. Bruce Babbitt still dreams of skiing 40+ miles to Grand Canyon’s North Rim, but fears a push to plow the road could ruin the experience. How Dragon Bravo Fire’s destruction reopened an old debate.
www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
A rebuilt Grand Canyon Lodge could draw visitors year-round. Not everyone thinks it should
The Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed Grand Canyon Lodge and with it one reason the North Rim closes in winter. What happens if it's open year-round?
www.azcentral.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
Holy shit:

Stateline spoke to nearly a dozen firefighters, agency staffers and contractors, who said that top officials assigned to the fire deployed the crews to a remote location under false pretenses so federal agents could check their immigration status.

www.hcn.org/articles/fir...
Firefighters question leaders’ role in ICE raid near Bear Gulch Fire - High Country News
Firefighting veterans believe the management team overseeing fire crews played a key role in handing team members over to immigration authorities.
www.hcn.org
September 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
Read it here first: tribes fire back to Trump's comments about Oak Flat mine opponents being "anti-American" www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
Arizona tribal leaders fire back after Trump calls Oak Flat foes 'Anti-American'
Arizona tribal leaders reacted angrily after President Donald Trump said their opposition to a copper mine was un-American.
www.azcentral.com
August 20, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Fire belongs in the forest, experts say, urging caution in probes of Grand Canyon fire

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Fire belongs in the forest, experts say, urging caution in probes of Canyon fire
Political leaders seek an investigation into the Dragon Bravo Fire, but experts urge careful thought.
www.azcentral.com
July 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Gnaw and order: An imperiled Arizona river gets help from relocated beavers

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Gnaw and order: An imperiled Arizona river gets help from relocated beavers
A pair of relocated beavers are helping restore disappearing wetland habitat along the San Pedro River in a new project by Arizona Game and Fish.
www.azcentral.com
July 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Mexican gray wolves are moved from Cochise County as locals seek end to species protection

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Mexican gray wolves are moved from Cochise County as locals seek end to species protection
After the only known Mexican wolves were removed from Cochise County, calls for the species to be removed from federal protection are growing.
www.azcentral.com
July 1, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The megadrought is unrelenting, so Arizona water users have a lot to figure out among themselves even if the state can reach a deal with the other Colorado River states. The Arizona Republic’s Austin Corona explains.
www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
Can Arizona come together to share Colorado River cuts? Talks have begun
Arizona is tussling with other states over how much of the Colorado River it should receive. But how will Arizonans divide its share internally?
www.azcentral.com
June 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The idea is to link annual Colorado River water use to a rolling three-year average of what the Rocky Mountain snowpack actually pours downstream. Can it break the deadlock between the states?
www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
New Colorado River plan spreads the pain, shares water based on reality of shrinking flows
The Southwest and Rocky Mountain states are reviewing a plan that could split Colorado River water based on actual flows, not storage.
www.azcentral.com
June 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
How many Chiricahua leopard frogs has the Phoenix Zoo sent into the wilds? Try 30,000

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How many Chiricahua leopard frogs has the Phoenix Zoo sent into the wilds? Try 30,000
The Phoenix Zoo, with three government agencies, has sent 30,000 Chiricahua leopard frogs into wild habitat.
www.azcentral.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
Tensions over the Colorado River have been red hot, but officials say heads have cooled and progress is resuming toward a shortage-sharing agreement.
A deal in sight? Colorado River talks are moving again, officials say
Tensions over the Colorado River have been red hot, but officials say heads have cooled and progress is resuming toward a shortage-sharing agreement.
bit.ly
June 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
As drought conditions sear Arizona, the state provides millions of gallons of water to wildlife in places where there is none.
It's a thirsty world for Arizona wildlife. How a state agency keeps water basins full
As drought conditions sear Arizona, the state provides millions of gallons of water to wildlife in places where there is none.
bit.ly
May 27, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
Reposted by Brandon Loomis
People who live near Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah fear that the Trump administration will open land to energy development.
What will happen to Bears Ears monument under Trump? Tribes fear loss of sacred spaces
People who live near Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah fear that the Trump administration will open land to energy development.
bit.ly
May 26, 2025 at 2:00 AM
“We’re failing” at protecting Grand Canyon, a river guide advocate told me. Hydropower advocates, meanwhile, see the cost of flooding the canyon as too steep.

www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
Feds won't flood the Grand Canyon this spring. What that will mean for the Colorado river
Dam maintenance and non-native fish reduction efforts led the government to reject environmentally restorative flood in Grand Canyon.
www.azcentral.com
May 23, 2025 at 9:53 PM