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


** New year, even worse water woes in Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 3, 2022
Central Arizona Project irrigation canal in Arizona. Credit: Skaidra Smith-Heisters, flickr ([link removed])

Arizona's cities and suburbs are among the fastest growing in the nation despite water scarcity concerns due to ongoing severe drought and climate change. However, federal officials may finally put the brakes on unrestrained development and chronic overuse of water, starting with forcing Arizona to use 21 percent less water from the Colorado River this year ([link removed]) .

Even with steep cuts to Arizona's access to Colorado River water, some developers think they can outrun the water crisis by relying solely on pumping groundwater from underground aquifers, but water experts disagree ([link removed]) . Kathleen Farris, a researcher at Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy is convinced that growth is surpassing the water limits in parts of Arizona. She worries that the development boom is on a collision course with the aridification of the Southwest and the finite supply of groundwater that can be pumped from desert aquifers. “This is the epitome of irresponsible growth. It is growing on desert lands, raw desert lands, where there’s no other water supply except groundwater,” said Ferris ([link removed]) .

To add to an already anxiety-producing water reality, much of Arizona's precious groundwater is being used by private companies for a paltry fee, including Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company, Almarai. The company, through a subsidiary, has been buying and leasing land across western Arizona since 2014, drawing unlimited amounts of water to grow an alfalfa crop that feeds dairy cows 8,000 miles away ([link removed]) . A 1980 state law that regulates groundwater use in a handful of urban areas is outdated and legally insufficient to deal with a largely unregulated groundwater pumping reality.

Desperate to ease water worries in Arizona, state officials are contemplating a costly proposal to build a plant to desalinate ocean water in Mexico and pump it 200 miles across the border ([link removed]) and through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, an international biosphere reserve. Jennifer Martin with the Sierra Club told the water finance board in a statement ([link removed]) that Arizona should be focused on conserving water, moving away from water-intensive crops such as alfalfa, and reining in rapid growth, rather than shifting the environmental burden onto Mexico and future generations.
Quick hits


** Utah's scourge of unplugged oil wells
------------------------------------------------------------

Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** How the West's public lands fared in 2022
------------------------------------------------------------

High Country News ([link removed])


** New year, even worse water woes in Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------

Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | High Country News ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) [opinion]


** Colorado wildfires are growing more unpredictable and officials are ignoring the warnings
------------------------------------------------------------

ProPublica ([link removed])


** Seven legal cases that reshaped environmental law in 2022
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed])


** Alaska Native corporation sets aside land for conservation in barrier to Pebble mine
------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])


** Washington state begins construction on new wildlife crossings
------------------------------------------------------------

King5 News ([link removed])


** Ten national parks to visit in winter
------------------------------------------------------------

The Travel ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” That’s what people don’t realize, is they think of those charismatic animals like bears and cougars and elk and deer and now moose, but they don’t think about all the other species out there. We have at least 52 mammal species we’re trying to connect, and then there’s a bunch of amphibians, reptiles. Basically there are more than 100 species that are just vertebrate species we’re trying to connect. It’s not just a small number of species; it’s a lot.”
—Patty Garvey-Darda ([link removed]) , wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service
Picture this


** @USFWS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
It's self-reflection season again. Time to look back on the past year and wonder if you made good choices. We hope you have no egrets. Happy New Year!

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])