Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a fifty six million dollar wildfire prevention program into law. And the Plumtaw Fire is burning about seven miles north of Pagosa Springs in the San Juan National Forest.

The Four Corners region is known for it’s piñon and juniper trees. But those trees are being threatened by lack of water, and their future is unclear as drought conditions persist. For KSJD News, Gail Binkley reports.

Two recent moves aim to benefit water access for tribal communities in the Colorado River basin. And the League of Women Voters of Utah is standing by its lawsuit challenging the state’s new congressional maps.

Dozens of abortion rights supporters gathered in Cortez over the weekend. And the Ute Pass Fire broke out late Friday afternoon a few miles northeast of Durango, but is at least 80% contained.

The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is raising money to open a grocery store on its reservation. Federal COVID-19 waivers for free school lunch will end when the school year is over. And summer water restrictions in Cortez take effect on Sunday and will remain in place until September 15.

Bark beetles are common across the Western US. They’re tiny insects that burrow into the bark of pine trees to lay their eggs, often killing the tree in the process. They can also spread across huge areas of woodland. One way to mitigate beetle outbreaks is through prescribed burns. But as KSJD’s Lucas Brady Woods reports, the drought conditions fueling their spread aren’t so easy to address.

The dust is starting to settle at the Colorado State Capitol after the legislative session ended late last night. And Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources has confirmed avian flu in a deceased great horned owl.

A new report by the US Interior Department is sharply critical of the Indian boarding school system used as a tool to assimilate indigenous people during the 19th and early 20th centuries. KSJD's Lucas Brady Woods reports.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a new round of funding for water projects this week. And Democrats at the Colorado state Capitol have passed a bill they say will protect elections from insider threats.

Colorado lawmakers have passed a bill they say includes the most money they have ever spent on affordable housing projects. And they have rejected an effort to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products.