Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** The lawsuit that could revolutionize river access in Colorado
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Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The Arkansas River near Buena Vista, Colorado. Ken Lund, Flickr ([link removed])
71-year-old Coloradan Roger Hill is at the heart of a lawsuit ([link removed]) that could revolutionize river access in his state—where river beds belong to the owners of any land they run through, rather than the public. This has implications for folks like Hill, who like to fish. He brought the case against two landowners ([link removed]) who harassed him while he stood fishing in a portion of the Arkansas River that runs through private property.
“We don’t have enough quality recreational opportunities to satisfy demand today,” Hill told High Country News ([link removed]) . “There are waters I’ve wanted to fish for 50 years, and I’ve been denied the use of a state-owned resource.”
Colorado's law regarding stream and river bed access is one of the most restrictive in the West ([link removed]) , where most river beds are considered public property thanks to a federal law that says the beds of “navigable” rivers belong to states. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 1912 that the state's waterways were not navigable, due to their often steep, canyon-bound nature. But Hill's lawsuit claims otherwise—at least for the Arkansas River, which he believes was once navigable based on dozens of references to industries employing the river to move goods in old newspapers.
If he wins, the case could affect other rivers in Colorado ([link removed]) that can be proven to have been navigable in 1876, when Colorado became a state. Frequent Center for Western Priorities podcast guest Mark Squillace is representing Hill, pro-bono, in the case.
** Oil and gas lease sales begin today
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The Interior Department is holding a lease sale in Wyoming today, marking the first time the Biden administration has offered up public land to oil and gas companies. Sales in Montana, Utah, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nevada, and Colorado will follow ([link removed]) .
The sale in Wyoming is by far the largest, with just under 120,000 acres offered for lease, while the next largest comes in at just a few thousand acres. In total, the sales include roughly 140,000 acres ([link removed]) , about 80 percent less than the oil and gas industry proposed for lease.
Quick hits
** The Canada lynx makes a comeback in eastern Washington thanks to Colville Tribes
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Sierra Magazine ([link removed])
** How drought is punishing Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) [video]
** Democrats explore options for providing abortion on federal land, White House not on board
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E&E News ([link removed]) [options] | The Hill ([link removed]) [White House]
** Colorado oil company that promised to clean up spills quickly is taking its time
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** California company to shut off public access to forestland due to wildfire concerns
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** Havasupai Tribe: Pinion Plain uranium mine threatens our existence
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AZ Mirror ([link removed])
** Carbon capture poses risk to clean energy transition in New Mexico
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High Country News ([link removed])
** Unregulated groundwater pumping is growing issue in the West
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KUNC ([link removed])
Quote of the day
”
Eliminating new oil and gas leases wouldn't meaningfully impact energy prices by 2030, which is a critical deadline for decreasing production to meet climate goals.”
—Kendall Dix, national policy director at the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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The colors and textures of @BryceCanyonNPS ([link removed]) in Utah are magical. Water and ice have sculpted the world’s largest concentration of distinctive and mysterious rock formations known as hoodoos.
Photo by Gloria Enger
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