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


** Time for a mediator on the Colorado River?
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Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 ([link removed])

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt suggested the Biden administration appoint a "high-level mediator" to try to solve the impasse over how states will cut usage of water from the Colorado River. In an interview with E&E News's Jennifer Yachnin ([link removed]) , Babbitt said someone like a retired federal judge or Supreme Court justice may be able to help bring new ideas to the table.

"That's what mediators do, they tease out people to think of new ways of settling this stuff. That's what we really need at this point," Babbitt said ([link removed]) .

The seven Colorado River basin states missed a deadline last year to agree on a plan to cut up to 4 million acre-feet of water per year—on par with California's annual usage. The impasse has left California on one side, facing a coalition of the six other states.

University of Colorado law professor Mark Squillace agreed that mediation is worth a shot. "I firmly believe that every state is going to have to make some sacrifices if we are going to make significant inroads toward solving the crisis we now face on the river," Squillace said ([link removed]) . "Right now, none of the states seem prepared to do that."
Quick hits


** Opinion: Abandon Lake Powell before the mud takes over
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Biden promises to veto ‘backward’ energy bill
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Roll Call ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | Axios ([link removed])


** Report: Texas fracking is exacerbating the PFAS crisis
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Grist/Floodlight ([link removed])


** Colorado congressmen send letter to fourth federal agency urging scrutiny of Utah oil train
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Advocates push for transparency as more nuclear waste heads to Carlsbad
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Carlsbad Current Argus ([link removed])


** Despite relocation attempts, elk herd keeps returning to SLC golf course
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KSL ([link removed])


** When Colorado needed a better bear trap, wildlife officials turned to a guy who never caught a bear
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Heading to Yellowstone? Expect delays as $217M in road projects get underway
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Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Secretary Babbitt's right in that Interior can't do this alone. States can't do this alone. The tribes can't do this alone. The NGOs can't do this alone. There needs to be collaboration across all those groups to get it done. The problem is there is no existing institutional structure for that conversation to happen.”
—John Berggren, senior regional policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates, E&E News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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Me: “Alrighty, I’m gonna get ready and head out.”

One hour later…

Me: “Yep, let’s do this.”

One eternity later…

Slow down. They say the first five days after the weekend are the hardest. (Don’t we know it?) Just have to grin and bear it.

Image: A bear sitting back at Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. NPS/Georgia Riddick

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