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Environmental activists and tribal leaders in Arizona are welcoming the news that President Biden could designate land surrounding the Grand Canyon as a new national moment this week. The Washington Post reported on Friday that federal officials have begun telling tribal groups to be ready for a potential Grand Canyon monument announcement sometime during Biden’s visit to Arizona. New polling results released last week by Impact Research show that voters in Arizona overwhelmingly support the designation of the monument, which would protect the region from further uranium mining. Carletta Tilousi, a Havasupai tribal council member who spoke at a meeting after the polling was released, says that the creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument will help protect the Colorado River for future generations. And the Colorado Republican Party rejected a change to its bylaws that would have made it easier to opt out of next year’s primary elections.

A new cattle inventory report estimates the total inventory is down almost 3% from a year ago, the USDA announces that food price inflation for 2023 will be slightly lower than last year, the U.S. Senate votes to prohibit China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing U.S. agricultural land and agricultural businesses, wolf reintroduction in western Colorado concerns neighboring states, and scientists express concerns about neonicotinoids’ environmental harm and effects on human health.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun using new cleanup technology to remove radioactive soil from areas around Cove, Arizona. Since the 1950s, uranium mining has occurred in the Lukachukai Mountains, leading to the contamination of waterways and livestock in the region. The EPA is now using soil sorting technology to remove waste rock from two areas in Cove that had previously served as transfer stations, or sites where uranium ore was piled and eventually trucked off. Krista Brown is a remedial project manager for the EPA, and says that the soil sorter has so far been successful in separating native soil from uranium waste. And Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board is considering capping the price of a life-saving medication for cystic fibrosis.

Colorado passes a right-to-repair agricultural equipment law, how high inflation is affecting farmers and ranchers, and drought conditions continue to expand in the Four Corners Region and beyond.

In Cortez, residents are expressing concern about the potential environmental impacts of rezoning land next to the Carpenter Natural Area. The parcel of land is owned by Independent Log Company, which recently submitted an application to the city of Cortez to change the zoning of the land from commercial to heavy industrial use. If the land is rezoned, it will mean large industrial equipment and chemicals can be stored on the premises. M. Waldron, a resident of Cortez and a representative for a community group advocating on behalf of the Carpenter area, says concerned Cortez residents can attend the city’s planning and zoning commission meeting on July 18 to make public comments, in addition to the next city council meeting on July 25. And new privacy protections for consumers in Colorado took effect over the weekend.

In Four Corners tribal communities like the Navajo Nation, scammers working for predatory treatment homes are targeting Indigenous people, taking them to pop-up rehabs in Arizona. Victims advocates like Reva Stewart are trying to raise awareness about this issue by holding a walk in downtown Phoenix on Friday, May 5.The rehabs, which are supposed to be regulated by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or “Access,” (AHCCCS) target vulnerable individuals in tribal communities, like those who are struggling with substance and alcohol abuse, or who are unsheltered.

Last month, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado wrote a letter requesting a hearing for their Dolores River conservation area bill in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The committee has agreed to hold a hearing on the legislation during their next meeting on July 12. The bill would protect 68,000 acres of public lands along the river in southwest Colorado. But now, in addition to the NCA Act, community organizations that advocate on behalf of the Dolores River are discussing the idea of President Joseph Biden designating some areas not covered by the bill as a national monument. And ten new Colorado state laws took effect on Saturday.

The city of Cortez is holding several listening sessions starting on Tuesday as part of the next steps in updating the land use code for the city, which was first adopted 27 years ago. Rachael Marchbanks, the city’s community and economic development director, says that the listening sessions are organized by Logan Simpson, the consultant company for the city. The eventual changes to the land use code will factor in the need for affordable housing in Cortez, she says. And a bill that would make changes to Colorado’s election system was approved by the state Senate last week.

The complexities of The Farm Bill, low water levels in the Mississippi River once again create concern for agricultural barge traffic, the world’s biggest agribusiness corporations record record profits in the face of widespread food poverty and starvation, and U.S. wheat exports are expected to decrease to levels not seen in over 50 years.

Kathleen Curry, a Democrat from Gunnison, announced this month she’s running for Colorado House District 58. Curry previously served three terms as a representative in the State Legislature, changing her party affiliation in 2009 from Democrat to unaffiliated. She later lost reelection. Curry told Colorado Politics that when she left the Democratic Party in 2009 she was frustrated with the party system in general. In June, Curry changed her voter registration back to Democrat and subsequently began a bid for House District 58. If elected, Curry says changing her party affiliation will help her constituents, in part because of the realities of where the legislature is at in terms of party control.