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


** Bust for Colorado River spring runoff?
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Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Boaters on the Gunnison River in the Colorado River Basin | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

Thirty days of dry weather have dashed scientists' hopes of above-average runoff in the Colorado River Basin. According to the most recent forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, reported on by the Colorado Sun ([link removed]) , spring runoff into Lake Powell is expected to be just 78% of average—down from a projection of 98% just a month ago.

“Early in the season you can’t get too deflated or hopeful; I’m increasingly pessimistic now. We’ve got more than half the snow season behind us and we’re sitting on sort of average-ish snowpack," said ([link removed]) Jeff Lukas, an independent water and climate researcher based in Colorado. "If I had to put money down, I’d put it on us ending up statewide with below-normal runoff.”

Spring runoff in the Colorado River Basin is critical ([link removed]) for agriculture, the recreation industry, and water supplies for the nearly 40 million people in the West who depend on the river. With another week of dry weather ahead for the region, scientists remain wary. “Could we recover? Sure," said ([link removed]) Lukas. "Are we likely to? Probably not.”


** PODCAST: We're still here. The how and why of land acknowledgements
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You’ve probably heard Indigenous land acknowledgements at the beginning of events or conferences. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland even delivered one at the Boston Marathon last year. But is there a right way and a wrong way to acknowledge Indigenous land? And how can we make sure they’re not just window dressing?

Listen to the newest episode of CWP's podcast, The Landscape ([link removed]) , with Rosie Thunderchief, an Indigenous woman based in Albuquerque, New Mexico who is descended from multiple tribes. She works for the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps as an administrative manager and has served as an unofficial land acknowledgements advisor to the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge.
Quick hits


** Sonoran desert tortoises face threats, but feds won't list the species as threatened
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Arizona Republic ([link removed]) | Arizona Public Media ([link removed]) | Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Forest Service looks to remove feral cattle from New Mexico's Gila National Forest
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Sec. Haaland: We must conserve wolves
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Mountain Journal ([link removed])


** Infrastructure bill provides funding to address dozens of coal seam fires burning underground in Colorado
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Canadian program to allow doctors to prescribe national park visits
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NPR ([link removed])


** Without enough staff, New Mexico regulators leave remediation money on the table
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Capital & Main ([link removed])


** New Mexico oil drillers fight legislation to reign in climate pollution
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** The Colorado River Basin’s water forecast looked good in January. Now everything has changed.
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” My Pueblo ancestors taught me to live with courage, respect our ecosystems and protect our families – the very same virtues that wolves embody.”
—Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Mountain Journal ([link removed])
Picture this

Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Photo by David Restivo | National Park Service ([link removed])

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