Colorado River Update: Our Work Is Having “Big Implications” on the Colorado River!

Hi Friends of the Colorado River,

We’re very excited to get a victory, of sorts, in the fight against the Gross Dam expansion in Boulder County, Colorado. It remains to be seen what happens moving forward, but this “legal” victory is an important milestone that sets a precedent for other river-protection fights across the nation as well as the future of how the Colorado River is managed.

To that end, as you may remember, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has started a new huge Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for how the two large reservoirs — Mead and Powell — are managed for the next several decades. That EIS process will play out over the next year.

Our legal victory in the Gross Dam fight could have significant consequences for how the Bureau’s EIS moves forward and is finalized. At the heart of an EIS is the “range of alternatives” that are considered for future action, and the Gross Dam court victory made very clear that the federal government CAN’T CONSTRAIN those alternatives by not considering a “full range” that could meet the purpose and need of the EIS. I know that gets a little wonky, but take a look at this news article from Inside Climate News to explain better how our work is MAKING A DIFFERENCE and changing the game along the Colorado River.

Read the Inside Climate News story here: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25102024/colorado-river-reservoir-expansion-federal-court-ruling/

Thank you for your support!

Gary