Colorado River Update: Tomorrow is the Federal Government Deadline. Will The Colorado River Be Saved?

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

As climate change and growth devour the Colorado River, shrink its reservoirs, and degrade the river’s ecological health, the federal government’s deadline looms as “Jan. 31st” for the states to come up with a plan to stop diverting nearly 20% of the River’s flow. All eyes are on the Colorado River basin as the tension builds.

Save The Colorado is in the mix, working hard to keep our solutions in the media and in the eyes of stakeholders and the federal government.

First, our famous boardmember, former Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Dan Beard, was quoted heavily in this story in E&E News last week. We continue to maintain that much of the so-called “crisis” on the Colorado is because of the threat to hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam. Further, it makes no sense to manage the entire river to save hydropower because electricity can be generated in other ways, whereas water cannot. Commissioner Beard continues to hold their feet to the fire about the disaster of Glen Canyon Dam.

Second, Las Vegas TV station, 8NewsNow, highlighted our work speaking out for the ecological health of the river. Further, we continue to drill home that the states and federal government need to actually plan and manage the river for the reality of climate change instead of sticking their collective heads in the sand.

Vegas is at the heart of the chaos as Lake Mead slips lower and lower. In the same article I argue that it makes more sense to “Fill Mead First” thereby having a “one reservoir solution”, instead of trying to save both reservoirs, Mead and Powell. As the clock ticks down to tomorrow at midnight, we all wait to see if the Bureau of Reclamation and the states will continue to incrementally manage the chaos or adopt actual long-term, sustainable, ecologically just solutions. Everyone is watching and waiting.

Finally, we’re thrilled to let you all know some big news about another one of our famous boardmembers, John Fielder. John is Colorado’s most famous nature photographer and has donated thousands of hours to helping environmental non-profits in Colorado be successful. Among many awards, John has won the Ansel Adams Award from the Sierra Club, as well as just about every conservation award imaginable in Colorado.

Last week, John donated his entire collection of photography to “History Colorado” so that the people of the state can have free access to all of his images to help inspire conservation and environmental protection. John’s donation have been noted in just about every media outlet in Colorado over the past week. Check out this story in the Denver Post, in John’s own words, about why he made this life’s-work donation.

We’ll be back in touch over the next week as the news rolls out on the Colorado River. In addition, we have other important announcements and we want to keep you in the loop.

Thanks for all your do!

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