Save The Colorado In The Thick Of The Fight As A Hot, Dry Summer Scorches The Colorado River

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: WE ARE IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHT TO PROTECT THE COLORADO RIVER!

It may end up being one of the hottest, driest summers in Colorado River basin history as scorching temperatures are recorded from Denver all the way to Los Angeles. The river itself is under extreme stress with some of the “lowest flows in history” recorded in the Colorado River and its tributaries. But the dam builders are not slowing down, and so neither is Save The Colorado!

We’ve had a flurry of news coverage over the last month about our fights to stop proposed new dams in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Further, as the Colorado River declines, the questions continue to increase about the viability of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam.

First, Aspen Journalism wrote a story about our lawsuit to stop the proposed “Windy Gap Firming Project” in Colorado which would drain a new nine billion gallons of water directly out of the Colorado River every year. Titled, “Court Battle Continues Over Windy Gap Firming Project“, the story quotes me as saying, “We are just trying to inject some sanity and stop the madness,” said Gary Wockner, director of Save the Colorado, an environmental nonprofit based in Ft. Collins that supports the Colorado River and is the lead petitioner in the case. “The Colorado River is the most dammed, drained, depleted river on the planet.”

Second, Wyofile, a non-profit news agency in Wyoming, wrote two stories about our work in Wyoming to stop proposed new dams and diversions, including the “Fontenelle Dam Expansion” which would take over twenty-five billion gallons out of the Green River every year which is a tributary to the Colorado River. One story titled “As Water Shortages Loom, Wyoming Seeks Water-Bank Bill” quotes me here: “In Fort Collins, a group called Save the Colorado has vowed to fight every new diversion and impoundment in the basin. Gary Wockner, the group’s president, said all entities are in a gold rush. “Everybody’s trying to get while they can still get,” he told WyoFile.”

Another story in Wyofile about three projects in the Green River basin titled, “Conflict Looms As Wyoming Seeks More Green River Water“, quotes me here: “Gary Wockner, president of the Save the Colorado conservation group, wants no new dams or diversions in the basin. His group is watchdogging the rip-rap project and two other water-storage efforts in Wyoming — the proposed $80 million dam on the West Fork of Battle Creek and a plan to expand the Big Sandy Reservoir. “We weighed in publicly on all three,” Wockner said in a phone interview from Fort Collins, Colorado. “The Colorado River is already one of the most dammed and diverted rivers. Zero water reaches the sea.”

Third, the Boulder Weekly in Boulder, Colorado, is turning into one of the lead news agencies about the Colorado River chaos. Over the last month, they’ve run three important stories, two of which highlight Save The Colorado’s work.

One, a May 31st Boulder Weekly article titled “Draining The Bathtub: Critics claim Fontenelle project will harm Colorado River Basin” quotes me here, “The Fontenelle Dam riprap would allow them to drain the reservoir and their water rights would allow them to drain it twice per year,” says Gary Wockner, president of Save the Colorado. “We oppose them reengineering this dam so they can drain 150,000 acre-feet of water out of the Green River every year. And that’s what it would give them the opportunity to do.”

Two, the front-page story on May 31st in the Boulder Weekly is an editorial taking direct, critical aim at the Walton Family Foundation (the WalMart heirs) and their funding of environmental groups, scientists, government agencies, and the media in the Colorado River basin. The long column is a good read for an insider’s view of what’s going on, and is titled: “The New Model For Saving The Colorado River Might Just Kill It“. Take a look at this story if you want a deep dive into some of the ‘dirty laundry’ of behind-the-scenes Colorado River motives and funding.

Three, on July 12, the Boulder Weekly printed another long front-page story titled “A Drop In The Bucket: Water Banking Pilot Program Finished, For Now” about the failed effort to save Lake Powell over the last three years. Save The Colorado is quoted heavily in the article because we’ve taken a lead voice in the fight to drain Lake Powell and tear down Glen Canyon Dam. I’m quoted here as saying, “This isn’t a temporary situation, this is ongoing and permanent,” Gary Wockner says. “They still haven’t even gotten remotely close to the root cause of the problem, which is climate change is real and every scientist indicates that it’s going to get worse and that Lake Powell is not sustainable.”

Wherever a proposal is moving forward to further dam, drain, divert, or deplete the river, Save The Colorado is in the face of the dam builders, in the media, in the courtroom, and in the state and federal agency’s eyes. We are an aggressive watchdog for the ecological health of the river — the proposed new dams and diversions must be stopped!

All of this work is made possible by your support! Thank you and stay tuned for more of the action!

— Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Colorado