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


** Updates to the Colorado River Compact unlikely, despite flaws
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Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Bernard Spragg ([link removed]) /Flickr ([link removed])

Like many of the rules and laws that govern land and water in the West, the Colorado River Compact is woefully outdated—yet it's ([link removed]) nearly impossible to change ([link removed]) , according to experts.

"If we look at the compact today and ask ourselves, 'Was it equitable given 2022 values?' No, it wasn't," former Interior Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne Castle said ([link removed]) last week at the University of Utah's Wallace Stegner Center annual symposium. "But a part of the reason I say that I wouldn't suggest a renegotiation is because I don't think it's politically possible."

Castle says that formally changing the Compact—which requires the Upper Basin states to deliver a set amount of water to the Lower Basin states and divides the water among the states in each basin—would require Congress and Western states to agree on any changes, which is very unlikely.

Still, there is hope. New rules for managing the dwindling river—which serves 40 million people—are under negotiation right now in preparation for the expiration of both the current operating plan for the river and a drought contingency plan in 2026.

"While we do not have a readily accessible reset button, we do have other options," said ([link removed]) ([link removed]) Acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner David Palumbo ([link removed]) , who also spoke at the symposium. Those include things like addressing access to clean drinking water for tribal nations, as well as environmental and conservation concerns.
Quick hits


** Lake Powell heading for energy crisis as water nears "dead pool"
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Grist ([link removed]) | A ([link removed]) rizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Biden designates Colorado's Camp Amache as national historic site
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Colorado Politics ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** UN chief: Don't let Russia crisis fuel climate destruction
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Climate disclosures proposed by SEC would be a big win for Biden—and the environment
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NPR ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed])


** Sediment is shrinking Lake Powell, on top of drought
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KJZZ ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Report: Rich countries must stop producing oil by 2034 to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Idaho legislature votes to give firefighters hazard pay
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Is it ethical to fund conservation with guns, with hunting on the decline?
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The Conversation ([link removed])
Quote of the day
”

It’s crazy – on the opening day of the hunt, they move, and on the closing day they move back... It’s almost like they’re thinking, ‘Oh, all these trucks are coming, it’s opening day, better move.’”
—BYU professor Brock McMillan on elk in Utah hiding from hunters, S ([link removed]) alt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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We all could use a bit of sunshine.

A male collared lizard enjoys the sun and shows off its vibrant colors at @BLM_CO ([link removed]) Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.

Photo by Bob Wick/@BLMNational ([link removed])

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