Colorado

The announcement won praise from Western Republican lawmakers while drawing criticism from environmental groups that see the move as an attempt to dismantle the agency. Federal officials say the change puts leaders closer to the forests they manage.

The only problem: No one is fully fluent.

Colorado's capital city has managed two conservation herds of bison in its mountain parks since 1914. Six years ago, it started donating them to tribes rather than auctioning extras off to ranchers.

Cross-country ski areas are doing their best to adapt, but they lack the same tools available in the far bigger downhill skiing industry.

It's known by the name Velvet-Wood, and the project's Canadian owner got the go-ahead back in May as the first to undergo an "accelerated," two-week environmental review, during which tribes had only seven days to reply.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo released a joint statement Saturday calling on Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico to offer more concessions.

Negotiators are focusing on a five-year agreement for sharing water from the shrinking river. Experts say that would provide some much-needed flexibility.

State negotiators entered the meeting at a years-long impasse over how water restrictions should be managed during dry years. They now have less than two weeks until a federal Feb. 14 deadline.

Water leaders in the U.S. West gathered this week in Las Vegas with a hefty task hanging over their heads — figuring out a long-term plan for sharing water from the Colorado River.

Utah and the 6 states that share the river missed a federal Nov. 11 deadline to make progress on a new water agreement. Gov. Katie Hobbs said she has a hard time believing the Upper Basin states can't reduce water use.

A group of nonprofits is calling for reductions to water demand, changes at Glen Canyon Dam and more transparent negotiations.

Two years ahead of what could be a final round of applications, allegations of predatory representation and solicitation are on the rise, and especially targeting tribal communities. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was reauthorized over the summer.