When a Phoenix company floated a proposal last year to build two hydroelectric dams on the Little Colorado River, it faced an outpouring of opposition.
Environmentalists said submerging a pristine stretch of the river would be disastrous for an endangered fish, the humpback chub. The Navajo Nation, on whose lands the dams were proposed, said the project would likely harm fish and wildlife and threaten springs and cultural sites along the river.