** Severe heat and drought the hallmarks of a changing West
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Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Climate change to make hot droughts hotter in the US southern plains, NOAA ([link removed])

This year's drought is likely to be historic, with much of the West already drying out at a record pace ([link removed]) .

The onset of this year's water troubles, especially in California, has been far quicker than in previous years as a result of low snowpack and early seasonal heat that has evaporated runoff. In California, only 20 percent ([link removed]) of the expected runoff from an already well-below average snowpack arrived in reservoirs. The rest evaporated during the unseasonably warm spring.

The increasingly frequent and severe heat and drought are hallmarks of climate change ([link removed]) that is already impacting the West. Phoenix now has more than 100 days of triple-digit temperatures ([link removed]) every year, and mountain snowpacks have declined 15 to 30 percent ([link removed]) since the middle of the century. In California, Arizona and Utah, the period between June 2020 and May 2021 has been the driest ever recorded
([link removed]) .

The extreme drought gripping the region will likely result in widespread water shortages throughout the summer, leading to major impacts on crops and pastures, and hard decisions from farmers and policymakers. However, even as emergency measures and tightening belts are necessary to keep catastrophic consequences at bay, they are not long-term solutions to the climate crisis ([link removed]) .

Lake Powell ([link removed]) is in many ways the face of the drought: the reservoir is a storage container meant to help upstream Western states meet water delivery obligations to downstream states. However, its water level is the lowest it's been in decades ([link removed]) , and projections show ([link removed]) it's likely to drop further until it is below a critical threshold of 3,525 feet. At that point, upper-Colorado River basin states such as
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming will be responsible for emergency diversions of more water to Lake Powell. Water diversions are likely to raise tensions in the region ([link removed]) , and could potentially lead to seven-state litigation ([link removed]) and create an extended process with lots of uncertainty.

In order to prevent the worsening drought from becoming catastrophic, it's time for all of us in the West to consider how we can best confront the climate crisis. Options include shifting our energy economy away from fossil fuels, as well as protecting 30% of the country by 2030 to help ensure carbon sequestration.


** An opportunity to reform public lands drilling
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Senator Michael Bennet (CO) has introduced legislation to reform public lands drilling ([link removed]) . A first bill would provide significant funding to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells ([link removed]) —wells whose owners have gone bankrupt or can no longer be identified. Additionally, the legislation would strengthen federal oil and gas bonding rules ([link removed]) , ensuring that companies foot the bill for cleaning up wells should they go bankrupt. A second bill would ensure transparency ([link removed]) in the public lands leasing process.
Quick hits


** Native Americans no longer silent as racial tensions build amid new Klamath water crisis
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Opinion: America wants its national monuments, and so does Utah
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Varied group of backers, including mining, ranching industries, urge Stone-Manning's approval to head BLM
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Public News Service ([link removed])


** Plugging oil and gas wells could create thousands of jobs, billion in wages for New Mexico
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** Reviving the Wyoming Red Desert’s ancient stories
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WyoFile ([link removed])


** A reality check on Biden’s 30x30 conservation plan
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High Country News ([link removed])


** How wired should the wild parks be?
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Montana Free Press ([link removed])


** US to review dark history of Indigenous boarding schools
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Associated Press ([link removed])
Quote of the day
To ensure that this site continues to be protected and accessible to all, we must restore protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and ensure the site’s boundaries are reinstated.

There are many other special places, particularly in the West, that deserve the protection a national monument designation would provide. I am thankful for President Joe Biden’s America the Beautiful plan, which established a bold conservation goal to protect 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. And one of the ways we can reach this goal is to not only protect or expand our current national monuments, but to create new national monuments from new places or existing federal lands. These sites are critical to preserving our natural and cultural heritage for current and future generations."

—Noel Poe, retired park superintendent of four different national park areas, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Picture this


** @U ([link removed]) SFWS ([link removed])
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We're joining @SecDebHaaland ([link removed]) in celebrating National Pollinator Week June 21-27, 2021! Learn more about what a pollinator is, why they're important, the threats they're facing and how you can help: [link removed] ([link removed]) #PollinatorWeek ([link removed])

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