Save The Colorado River Update: Help Change The Course!

Hi Friends of the Colorado River!

What can you do to help the Colorado River and its tributaries today?  Take The Pledge!

We are delighted to let you know that a new effort to protect and restore the Colorado River and its tributaries has launched through National Georgraphic and its partners called “Change The Course.”  For each person that pledges to reduce their water use, NatGeo and its partners will restore 1,000 gallons of water back to the Colorado River.  This effort was successful last year in restoring water to a tributary of the Colorado River in Northwest Colorado, and with the drought looming in the Southwest U.S., the effort will be even more needed in 2013.  All you have to do is visit the website, Change The Course, and take the pledge to reduce your water use.  NatGeo and its non-profit and corporate partners will buy or lease water to keep the Colorado River flowing.  Check it out here and Take The Pledge to Change The Course!

Last week, the Save The Colorado River Campaign had the pleasure of being represented on a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C.  As a part of the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, the Center hosted a screening of Robert Redford’s Watershed Movie.  After the movie — which was attended by a standing-room only audience! — the panel members discussed the film and the Colorado River.  Panelists included Anne Castle of the Department of Interior, Gary Wockner of Save The Colorado River, and Sandra Postel of National Geographic.  The discussion focused on the achievements of 2012 as well as the challenges facing the river in 2013 and beyond.  We thank the Center of American Progress for inviting us!  Because so much of the Colorado River is administered by the U.S. federal government, we expect to spend more time reaching out to policymakers at the federal level in 2013. You can watch the panel discussion on the Center’s website here.

Big Water Fight In Utah!  (yes, yet another one…)  This week a large coalition of groups is reaching out to Utah Governor Gary Herbert, strongly urging him to NOT support a pipeline scheme that would siphon some of Utah’s water 200 miles down to Las Vegas.  This fight has been brewing for a long time as Las Vegas continues to grow and attempt to get more water from every available source.  A few of the groups in the coalition are grantees of Save The Colorado’s philanthropy and so we are happy to join them in this outreach effort.

In our opinion Las Vegas needs to dramatically increase its water conservation programs.  Further, if the Las Vegas area continues to be obsessed with increasing population growth, it should refocus on reducing water-wasting sprawl through hi-density growth patterns.  Utah’s Governor Herbert should say NO to this crazy pipeline scheme and give Utah citizens a voice in this process so that their water is not piped 200 miles south to Las Vegas.  You can read the press release from the large coalition of groups here.

Stay tuned for more weekly news, and thank you for your support!