Flaming Gorge Pipeline Suffers Another Major Setback

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

Some good news last week from the State of Colorado, which had proposed to continue providing funding to study the Flaming Gorge Pipeline.  The Pipeline proposed to drain massive amounts of water out of the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Southwestern Wyoming, pipe and pump that water 500 miles across Wyoming, and down to fuel and subsidize sprawl in the Denver region of Colorado.  Last week the Colorado Water Conservation Board voted to stop funding the study for the Pipeline!  This is good news for the Green and Colorado Rivers.  And, it’s good news for all of the voices out there — including that of Save The Colorado — that had highlighted this campaign for over a year.  We believe that Colorado and other growing states should focus on “Conservation First” when considering any new water needs.  Check out this story in the Summit County Voice about the vote and Pipeline.

DROUGHT! continues to grip the Southwest United States and the Colorado River basin.  So far in the headwaters of the Colorado River (in Colorado) it looks like snowpack levels may be as bad or worse than in 2012.  Water managers are already beginning to worry and scramble, some putting together lawn watering restriction plans.

Currently snowpack in the Colorado River basin (in Colorado) is at 67% of average.  March is usually the snowiest month in Colorado, so there’s still time to make up for the drought.  But, predictions are for a drier than normal year which could lead to even lower levels in the Colorado River.  To see the actual and gruesome numbers, check out this story in the Summit County Voice.

On a more entertaining note:  Do you have a trip planned to Las Vegas this year?  If so, try to stop by the Aria Hotel and Resort to see the giant sculpture of the Colorado River in the lobby.  Created by artist Maya Lin and titled “Silver River,” the project is 87 feet long and made of silver.  Here’s a quote from the artist out of the Las Vegas Sun when the project was built:  “Water is going to become more and more of a debate,” says Lin, who sits on the board of Natural Resources Defense Council. “I’m asking people to take a look at the natural world around them. You want to get people to think of rivers as an entire ecosystem. You want to talk about a river as a volume of water, as an object rather than a ‘flow.’ ”

Finally, who says Enviros can’t RAP?!  Yeah, RAP?!  Well check this out:  A group of Enviro-Rappers took one of Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs’ poems and turned it into a rap song.  Here’s a link to the article, with a link straight to the song here.

Thanks for all of your support!