The 2007 James V. Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism has been awarded to Judy Pasternak (left) of the LA Times for her series “Blighted Homeland,” which revealed how the federal government took uranium from Navajo land to build its nuclear arsenal during the Cold War and then abandoned the Navajo people when they began to die. Sacramento Bee writers Matt Weiser, Deb Kollars and Carrie Peyton Dahlberg were recognized with a special citation for a series about the California capital’s vulnerability to flooding because of levee problems. Stanford’s John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists and Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West co-sponsor the prize, which will be formally awarded during the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference. This year’s conference will be held Sept. 5-9 at Stanford. Here’s the release on the awards. Risser (right) is a two time Pulitzer winner who was on the Pulitzer Prize board from 1990 to 1999. (Photo credits: Stanford News Service)