Colorado River Update: We’re in national news arguing for Real Dam Change on the Colorado River.

Hi Friends of the Colorado River,

Much is unknown at this point about what the federal government will do with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process that the feds launched to update the management of the two big dams and reservoirs on the Colorado River. So far, the Trump Administration hasn’t moved the process forward, and has frozen much of the money that subsidized farmers to temporarily stop farming.

Adding chaos to confusion, the lower basin states — Arizona, California, and Nevada — have now sent a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation arguing that the “alternatives” in the EIS that the Bureau published in January violate the Law of the River.

Believe it or not: WE AGREE!

Over the last few days, news splashed across the media — here in the Los Angeles Times, and here in the Arizona Daily Star — about our reaction to the lower basin’s letter. At the heart of this controversy — not surprisingly — is Glen Canyon Dam, which in our opinion is a Deadbeat Dam that never should’ve been built in the first place. The Bureau apparently thinks it can simply re-manage the water in the river and continue paying farmers not to farm. But the lower basin states and our organization believe the EIS must include an “Infrastructure Alternative” that involves “modifying” Glen Canyon Dam. There’s little agreement about what kind of modification should occur, but the lower basin’s letter — which is highly legalistic and sets up the public record for a lawsuit — is a game changer.

As it all moves forward, or not, over the next several months, we will continue to be in the middle of it, and in the news, arguing for truly sustainable solutions that take climate change seriously, protect flows in the Grand Canyon, and send as much water as possible downstream.

Stay tuned for all the action, and thank you for your support!