U.S. Department of the Interior

More than a century after the U.S. started selling oil leases on public lands, the Biden administration is seeking to let conservationists lease government property to restore it.

The effort is an extension of a tour launched by the Interior Department to hear often traumatic stories from Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians who were sent to U.S.-funded boarding schools.

The Interior Department's news analysis considers two different ways to force cuts to Arizona, Nevada and California. The two options mean varying impacts for cities, farms and people living in the Southwest.

The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday of competing plans for how seven Western states and tribes reliant on the dwindling Colorado River should cut their use — but declined to take a side on the best option.

Arizona, California and Nevada, and other basin states, argue that more water for the Navajo Nation would cut into already scarce supplies for cities, agriculture and business growth.

In addition to ecosystem recovery, the Provo River diversion project adds a whole host of new recreation options to Utah Lake

The burly animals are an icon of the American West and culturally significant for many Native American tribes. They were driven to near extinction in the late 1800s.

The Biden administration on Thursday said 15 Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million this year to fund settlements that ensure access to water that's legally theirs.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press depict a desire to reach a consensus but persistent disagreement over how much each of the seven basin states could or should give. Ultimately, the mid-August deadline came and went with no deal.

A new law increases the penalties for trafficking Native American remains and cultural objects. President Joe Biden signed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony in December.

Officials from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are focusing this week on how to use at least 15% less water next year, or have restrictions imposed on them by the federal government.

The proposal made on Monday by the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management would tighten limits on gas flaring on federal land and require energy companies to better detect methane leaks.