Environment

Elevated to critical fire weather is expected to persist across the South Plains and broader West Texas region as record-breaking March heat, strong winds and ongoing drought conditions continue to dry out vegetation. Officials warn that despite a brief cooldown from a passing cold front, wildfire risk will remain moderate into early next week, with recent fires in the Panhandle and South Plains underscoring the growing danger.

Tumbleweeds have taken over the High Plains. They thrive so well that they are part of the culture of the West. But this ample supply of blowing weeds can hurt farm yields, wreak havoc on neighborhoods and cause fire dangers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week quietly updated its "Smart Wall" map to remove two "primary border barrier system" projects in the Big Bend area, including one recently slated for Big Bend National Park. Other projects are still listed for parts of Presidio, Jeff Davis and Hudspeth counties.

The lesser prairie chicken, known for its flamboyant courtship dances and bulging neck pouches, has lost a majority of its population in the grasslands and brush of southwestern Kansas. But Republican lawmakers have long fought against its habitat protections.

Tiny shards of plastic called microplastics are all over the environment and even inside human bodies. Researchers have found a type of bioengineered algae that can clean up these pesky particles.

Border wall projects could soon move forward in the remote Big Bend region of West Texas as part of the Trump administration's sweeping "Smart Wall" plan for the entire U.S.-Mexico border, according to officials and local residents who say construction firms have started contacting people in the area about the project.

As President Trump marks one year back in office, his EPA has proposed rolling back key air and climate protections, which experts say has already begun to strain Texas’s air quality and public health.

The TCEQ is weighing how to implement two new state laws that could tighten oversight of concrete batch plants.

Years of budget reductions have left the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality struggling to investigate complaints, with over 1,000 cases stuck in backlog.

Historically, Black bears were the biggest predator to travel the Big Bend area of Texas. But overhunting and habitat loss led to their decline.