Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Western megadrought is worst dry spell in 500 years
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Monday, February 26, 2024
Black Canyon, Lake Mead Recreation Area, Nevada. James Marvin Phelps, Flickr ([link removed])
In the American West, the two-decade period from 2000 to 2020 is the warmest in half a millennium, according to a new study ([link removed]) that looked at tree rings to track temperature changes over the past 500 years. As a result, drought is becoming more frequent and intense.
Increased temperatures from human-driven climate change are also causing drought to become more widespread. Over the past two decades, the spatial footprint of severe hot drought—a combination of above-average temperatures and low precipitation—far exceeds that of any other period since at least the middle of the 16th century.
These results are especially concerning for the 40 million people that rely on water supplied by the Colorado River, which has been shrinking due to severe hot drought and from increased demand, especially among agricultural producers who are draining groundwater supplies to make up for low precipitation.
“We know that extreme heat has consequences,” said ([link removed]) Karen King, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the study’s lead author. “We know that drought has consequences. So when they're compounded together, we can expect that those vulnerabilities are only going to be magnified and the consequences are going to be more wide reaching.”
** Quick hits
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Climate change is throwing the water cycle into chaos across the U.S.
NBC News ([link removed])
Oil companies used fraudulent scheme to shift liability for orphaned Colorado wells onto the state, lawsuit claims
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Opinion: New BLM rules align with Montanans’ values
Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Public recreation access bill passes, air quality bills rolled out in Colorado
Denver Post ([link removed])
Colorado Springs’ next great escape: Fishers Canyon Open Space
Colorado Springs Gazette ([link removed])
Opinion: Solar development, conservation must go hand in hand in Nevada
Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed])
Will wolverines call Colorado home once again?
CPR News ([link removed])
‘A giant litter box’: Our favorite 1-star reviews for national parks
Washington Post ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” If the BLM was looking for some demand for these rules, it indeed found it in the comments it has received, and in poll after poll showing that Montanans and other Westerners want the BLM to stop prioritizing industry at the expense of clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities. Now is the time for the agency to finalize and implement the rules.”
—Emily Cleveland, conservation director at Wild Montana, Billings Gazette ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usfws ([link removed])
You can do it. Believe in yourself...
...is probably what American white pelicans think right before they dip their bill into the water in search of their next meal. Unlike brown pelicans, the American white pelican does not dive head first into the water. Instead it forages by floating on the surface and dipping its large bill downwards to scoop up fish.
Photo and graphic by USFWS
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