California farmers acknowledge climate reality
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** It's time to talk about draining Lake Powell
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Monday, September 11, 2023
Glen Canyon Dam. Photo: Adbar, CC BY-SA 3.0 ([link removed])
As the Bureau of Reclamation works toward a 2026 plan for managing the Colorado River, a scenario that has long been favored by environmental advocates but dismissed as impossible is now being discussed across the West: draining Lake Powell ([link removed]) and returning Glen Canyon to its natural state.
Last week, two high-profile California farmers from the powerful Imperial Valley formally requested a study ([link removed]) on decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam—letting the Colorado River flow straight into the Grand Canyon and on to Lake Mead, which is barely one-third full after years of drought and over-use.
“Past proposals by environmental groups to decommission Glen Canyon Dam or to operate the reservoir without power production as a primary goal can no longer be ignored and must be seriously considered,” Michael and James Abattis wrote ([link removed]) . “The evaporative losses occurring in Lake Powell are significant, given the demands on the Colorado River system, and must be taken into account.”
The Arizona Daily Star reports ([link removed]) that water agencies from the lower basin states of Arizona, Nevada, and California are urging the Bureau of Reclamation to study modifications to Glen Canyon Dam so it can avoid “deadpool,” a scenario in which water levels drop so low the dam can no longer generate electricity or release water.
The fact that major water users are now encouraging the government to consider significant changes to the Colorado River system is a “huge game changer,” according to retired Utah State University professor Jack Schmidt, who led the university's Center for Colorado River Studies.
“The paradigm of the American West has always been the maintenance of the facilities that were constructed” on the river, said Schmidt ([link removed]) . “It was considered complete heresy and no one in the water supply community would have ever have acknowledged or accepted the notion of decommissioning the dam.”
** Quick hits
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GAO report details how Trump border wall harmed landscapes, wildlife, cultural sites
Border Report ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
As Burning Man begins muddy cleanup efforts on BLM land, its climate reckoning has begun
Gizmodo ([link removed]) | Nevada Independent ([link removed]) | The New Yorker ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])
Can alfalfa survive a fight over Colorado River water?
E&E News ([link removed])
Opinion: Conservation purchase in Utah protects Bears Ears from trophy homes
Durango Herald ([link removed])
Enviro groups challenge logging plan adjacent to Yellowstone
Montana Free Press ([link removed])
4,000 new acres of public land will expand recreational access along the John Day River
KLCC ([link removed])
Podcast: Why a proposed marine sanctuary could make history
NPR Short Wave ([link removed])
BLM has a plan to tackle booming recreation—at least in theory
High Country News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” These playas weren’t formed in a day. If they get torn up, they may restore themselves, but it may take a while. It’s going to be a real challenge to assess what those impacts are going to be and what the best way to mitigate it is.”
—University of Nevada, Reno Associate Professor Paul Verburg, Nevada Independent ([link removed] Verburg, associate professor of soil science at UNR.)
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
Let's talk about the real desert chic: prickly pear cactus fruit lipstick! 💄
The beloved Mojave Desert tortoise enjoys a simple diet of wildflowers, grasses and, of course, the delectable prickly pear fruit.
These threatened tortoises travel long distances in search of food and water and will cross highways through their territory. Please slow your roll and keep an eye out for them as they are crossing the road, especially during rainy weather. Tortoises are attracted to puddles that form on roadways during rainstorms. 🐢
Photo at Red Cliffs National Conservation Area by John Kellam / @utahpubliclands ([link removed])
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