Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Climate change fuels wildfires at night
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Thursday, July 11, 2024
National Interagency Fire Center ([link removed])

Climate change is fueling new wildfire behavior across the West. Instead of slowing down at night as temperatures drop, many wildfires are now growing rapidly overnight ([link removed]) . Nighttime temperatures are rising faster than daytime temperatures ([link removed]) thanks to human-caused climate change, which has broken down a natural cycle in wildfire behavior.

Kaiwei Luo, a doctoral student at the University of Alberta, authored a recent study ([link removed]) that used satellite data to analyze more than 23,000 wildfires between 2017 and 2020 in North America. Less than two percent of those fires were active enough to be seen overnight. But of those nighttime fires, almost all of them were larger than 2,400 acres. The study found overnight burns tend to happen consecutively, within the first few days of ignition, which means less time for early intervention by fire crews trying to protect houses and people.

“We might need to consider a firefighting model that operates around the clock,” Luo told the New York Times ([link removed]) .

A number of wildfires burning across the West this week ([link removed]) have displayed this overnight behavior. The Lake fire near Santa Barbara quickly grew to nearly 30,000 acres, burning overnight since Friday. Fires are also burning in southern and central Oregon ([link removed]) , and southern Utah ([link removed]) .

The “most important water right” on the Colorado

Officials in western Colorado are hoping the federal government will help fund a $99 million deal to purchase rights ([link removed]) to one million acre-feet of water on the Colorado River, some of the most senior water rights in the state. The 115-year-old Shoshone Generating Station in Glenwood Springs will likely be retired in the coming years, and river managers want to ensure that the water that flows through the dam will stay in the river forever.

Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, told E&E News ([link removed]) "I can't find an example in the American West where a community has come together to purchase a water right that is so significant. We're not buying it so we can divert it and use it. We're buying it to keep it in the river and keep the river alive."

The district has raised $54 million toward the purchase so far, and is hoping the Interior Department will provide funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to secure the water rights.


** Quick hits
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Bipartisan lawmakers pitch $5 billion bill for Colorado River settlement

E&E News ([link removed])

BLM releases plan for Gunnison sage-grouse recovery

Times-Independent ([link removed])

Opinion: Wyoming governor casts aside free-market principles when coal is at stake

Cody Enterprise ([link removed])

Billionaire Joe Ricketts pulls plug on controversial Wyoming mega-resort

Cowboy State Daily ([link removed])

BLM credits prescribed burns, fuel treatments with protecting Oregon town

KTVZ ([link removed])

Shannon Estenoz aces Interior confirmation hearing

E&E News ([link removed]) | Politico Pro ([link removed])

New federal program aims to speed restoration of damaged Alaska rivers and streams

Alaska Public Media ([link removed])

You can now go to college for trail building—and it's about time

Backpacker ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
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” For a long time, I think trails programs have gotten lucky with a workforce that shows up, is really hard working, and doesn’t expect much pay. Now, because we’re getting to a point where the price of living is so expensive, we can’t really rely on those folks anymore.”

—Bitterroot National Forest trail crew leader Sierra LaBonte, Backpacker ([link removed])


** Picture This
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@coparkswildlife ([link removed])
Just a reminder that hummingbirds visit between 1,000 and 2,000 flowers PER DAY - what is your productivity like on Wednesdays?!

#DYK ([link removed]) - you can add brightly colored, trumpet-shaped flowers around your home to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and a variety of beneficial insects 🌹 🌼

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