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Colorado River Update! Enjoy this newsletter — there’s absolutely nothing in here about the election :-)!

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

It’s been a busy month since our last newsletter here along the Colorado River, USA! We are working hard and fighting to protect the river every day of the week and month. Thank you for your support!

In Western Colorado, we’ve let the proponents of what the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel have called a “Big Dam Proposal” know that if they move forward, they will face stiff resistance. The proposal to dam and partially drain the White River in Rio Blanco County is one of the worst proposals we’ve ever seen — the biggest potential use of the water would be for oil and gas drilling/fracking and for oil shale production. If they move forward with the biggest alternative, the dam would be 177 feet tall and 2,300 feet long massively flooding a beautiful valley and Wolf Creek which is a tributary to the White River which flows into the Green River which flows into the Colorado River.

We are standing fearless and point-blank in their face when we told the newspaper: (see link here): “The opposition to such a project would be fierce, uniting river protectors and fossil fuel fighters in the Western U.S. Further draining the Colorado River system to fuel and subsidize more fracked gas and fracked oil, as well as oil shale production, couldn’t possibly be more wrong,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado.

In Boulder County, Colorado, we’ve continued to draw a line in the sand against the proposed “Moffat Collection System Project” which would be the tallest dam in the history of Colorado also further draining the Upper Colorado River. In this fight, Boulder County Government has also taken a strong stance and appears to be working to force the proponent, Denver Water, through Boulder County’s local landuse regulations. Denver Water is so-far refusing, and their dispute appears headed to court. The massive new dam would cause huge negative impacts to Boulder County citizens including living next door to the biggest construction project in Boulder County history for 7 years, hundreds of thousands of trees being clearcut, tens of thousands of semi-truck trips on the curvy mountain roads, large-scale explosions as a quarry is blasted out for aggregate for the new dam, wildlife disruptions, and on and on.

We’ve applauded Boulder County for “standing up” to Denver Water, and we told the local newspaper, the Boulder Daily Camera (see link here): “The massive Gross Dam expansion project is not only unnecessary for Denver to meet its water needs, it would have serious negative impacts on Boulder County citizens. County government has not just the right, but the responsibility, to protect the safety, property values, and environmental amenities that the community holds dear,” said Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado.

Our Op-Ed titled, “Drain Lake Powell To Gain Water Supply Security”, has now been reprinted in the Durango Herald and the Pagosa Daily Post, as well as in its original spot in the Denver Post (see link here). If you’ve been following all the news about the “Drought Contingency Plan” in the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, you’ll know that our position on draining Lake Powell is getting more and more traction. There just is not enough water to keep the Lake (Reservoir) alive, nor is there enough money to try and save it.

Draining Lake Powell and putting its water down into Lake Mead would save water and massive amounts of money, and could likely save thousands of farms in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. We will continue to push the edge every opportunity we get to try and pound sustainable alternatives forward to drain Lake Powell and the restore both Glen and Grand Canyon. And, take a look at the image above, made by the Durango Herald, of what the Colorado River would look like with Glen Canyon Dam completely gone! Woop!

As 2018 closes out — yes, we know it’s only November, but time flies faster at the end of the year — we ask that all of our members “RENEW” their membership before the end of the year. A $35 donation gets you membership, or renews your membership, to support our work in 2019 beyond. Click here to renew your membership!

Thank you for your support, and stay tuned for all the action!

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