Wildfires have killed off nearly one-fifth of all large sequoias across their native range over the last decade — a steep loss for a species that can live for thousands of years.

Motorized equipment is usually prohibited in wilderness areas. Permitted outfitters say these tools are needed to clean up trails, but conservationists say wilderness is about more than access.

When the rule was first enacted in 2001, the government held hundreds of public hearings that took nearly two years. For ending the rule, there are no public hearings scheduled except in Alaska.

A pilot program shows the potential for water leasing programs to make meaningful water savings in the Colorado River Basin.

Challenger Scott Mershon wants the district to increase transparency and take a larger role in protecting the Great Salt Lake.

A scientist said the city’s protections were already less than the least it could do.

That number goes as high as two-thirds for some regions. Climate change is also making heatwaves more frequent and intense, compounding on the problem.

In other news, a new Box Elder County wildfire has burned 4,500 acres so far. And, private land near Zion National Park is being protected from development through a conservation easement.

Half a dozen companies have applied to mine Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments since July. Environmentalists called it a harbinger for further exploitation.

The proposal would flip current motorized use rules on their head, allowing access unless designated otherwise. Recreationists called the change overdue, but conservationists fear a free-for-all.