In a report released Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Interior catalogued public comments collected for the first stage of its multiyear process to come up with a long-term plan to conserve Colorado River water.
The nearly 400-page report demonstrates that the Biden administration is making progress toward establishing a post-2026 plan for conserving water in the West. According to the report, the new operating plan is expected to guide the next 20 years of water allocations in the Colorado River basin, which serves 40 million people across the West.
Comments included concerns over climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, diminished air quality as a result of drying lake beds, and protecting cultural and Tribal resources, including honoring Tribal water rights. Commenters also applauded President Biden’s designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, and encouraged future land protections along the Colorado River.
Though the report seeks to create a reliable long-term plan, it also leaves room for adjustments to be made along the way—the Interior department will continue to identify scenarios in which Secretary Deb Haaland or her successors might adjust the amount of water available for consumption from Lake Mead, which provides Colorado River water for the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada.
The Interior department is expected to produce a draft environmental impact statement by late 2024.
Quick hits
A museum takes a new, unvarnished look at the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre
Lawmakers ask GAO to find out if coal companies are dodging cleanup
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Colorado River task force slowly grapples with drought response as deadline nears
Opinion: American dams are being demolished. And nature is pushing that along
Birds nesting in agricultural lands more vulnerable to extreme heat, study finds
Forest Service says Denver Water is taking down too many trees, rushing requests to change plan to raise Gross Dam
New refuge provides hope for critically endangered toad
Quote of the day
Even with this bad thing that happened, there’s a word in Arapaho, that says, ‘nih’oniitowoo.’ And it’s to be strong and keep going, or to persevere. And to me, I think that word kind of expressed the feeling of all the tribes.”
—Fred Mosqueda, Arapaho coordinator for the Language and Culture Program of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and a descendant of survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre, New York Times
Picture This
So 128 Grazer, after eating all that salmon & winning #FatBearWeek what will you do? “I’m going to the den!”
What do the winners of #FatBearWeek get at the end of the competition? 6 months of restful solitude & a successful hibernation. Enjoy your well deserved nap, bears!
Feature Image: Colorado River as it flows through the Grand Canyon. David Denicolò, Flickr