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ASPINALL OPERATIONS

Now that the Flow Recommendations for the Aspinall Unit, on the Gunnison River, have been finalized, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to start the scoping process this summer and is looking at 2007 for release of the Draft EIS on Aspinall operations. This process could lead to a Programatic Biological Opinion on depletions in the Gunnison Basin. Operations would be intended to provide for a reasonable and prudent alternative to protect endangered fish from project and non-project depletions. A major issue is whether the EIS will include, in the baseline condition, a pool of water for marketing purposes.

FRONT RANGE THIRST COULD LEAVE TOO LITTLE WATER FOR RESORTS

Colorado’s mountain resort communities may run short of water in coming decades, as Front Range cities draw off more of the flows they’ve acquired, according to a new report. Denver Rocky Mountain News; June 22 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9348>

MODELS SHOW LESS SNOW, MORE FIRES FOR COLORADO

Global warming will likely decrease Colorado’s snowpack by as much as 30 percent in the next five decades, lowering reservoir levels and worsening fire seasons, according to a federal hydrologist. Denver Rocky Mountain News; June 12 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9186>

GROUPS WANT MORE SAY IN COLORADO WATER STUDY

Nineteen groups have asked for greater participation in a $2.7 million study of Colorado’s water supply and use that could determine future water projects. Rocky Mountain News; June 17 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2044598,00.html>

COLORADO CITIES CUT WATER USE

Aurora consumers are using one-third less water and Denver has cut its use by one-fourth, thanks to restrictions, fines and rate surcharges. Denver Rocky Mountain News; June 17 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2044682,00.html>

DENVER RESERVOIRS FILL ENOUGH TO END SURCHARGES

Denver’s reservoirs topped the 80 percent mark, and water officials have decided to drop water rate surcharges. Denver Rocky Mountain News; June 24 [Most Front Range water providers have sharply cut back their outdoor watering restrictions and soft-sell the need for continued water conservation.]

<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2062465,00.html>

CITIES ARE RECOGNIZING THE RIGHT TO GO WHITEWATER RAFTING

The growing popularity of kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and other sports is helping the recreation industry gain political clout in the battle over one of the most precious commodities in the West: water. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-20/s_5564.asp>

Is recreation as legitimate a use of precious water as irrigation and municipal supplies? Christian Science Monitor; June 23 <http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0623/p01s02-usgn.html>

BIOLOGISTS REMOVE PREDATORS FROM COLORADO RIVERS

Federal biologists are in the midst of a $116 million project to restore four endangered fish species in Colorado and Utah, and part of the effort is removing transplanted predators, such as the northern pike. Denver Rocky Mountain News; June 30 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2077284,00.html>

INTERIOR SECRETARY CALLS FOR MORE WATER CONSERVATION

Secretary Gale Norton endorsed more conservation, not more reservoirs, at the first in a series of forums on growth and water. Casper Star-Tribune 6/8 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9095>

The Interior Department’s water initiative for the West is another facet of Secretary Gale Norton’s “new environmentalism” and of her ability to avoid confrontation. New York Times; June 9 <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/politics/09NORT.html>

A different spin from the Denver Rocky Mountain News <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9109> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9585>

NEW MEXICO MINNOW ENTITLED TO CITIES’ WATER, COURT RULES

A federal appeals court ruled that New Mexico cities must share federal water releases with the endangered silvery minnow, a decision water managers said puts domestic supplies at risk. Santa Fe New Mexican; June 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9199>

N.M. GOVERNOR ASKS FOR DELAY IN SENDING WATER DOWNSTREAM FOR MINNOW

Gov. Bill Richardson met with Interior Secretary Gale Norton to ask that the government not act on a judge’s ruling allocating Rio Grande water to the endangered silvery minnow until the appeal is decided. Santa Fe New Mexican; 6/17 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=28653>

NEW MEXICO WATER RULING MORE ABOUT OUTDATED IRRIGATION THAN ENDANGERED MINNOWS

A federal ruling that New Mexico cities must share water with endangered fish obscures the underlying issue, a thorough review of wasteful irrigation practices. Santa Fe New Mexican; June 18 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9273>

DOMENICI’S BILL WOULD GIVE WATER TO ALBUQUERQUE, NOT FISH

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., introduced a bill that would give existing water rights priority over endangered species concerns, a move to head off a court ruling that would usurp Albuquerque’s water for the silvery minnow. Albuquerque Tribune; 6/22 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/062103_news_minnow.shtml>

NEW MEXICO BUSINESS COMMUNITY STAKES A CLAIM IN WATER ISSUES

Five years ago, New Mexico’s business community had no say in water issues, but now, a statewide task force makes sure water supplies and policies account for business growth. Albuquerque Tribune; July 1 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9504>

NEW MEXICO EXTENDS DEADLINE TO BUY PECOS RIVER WATER RIGHTS

Response has been slow to New Mexico officials’ offer to buy private water rights along the Pecos River, and without more sellers, the state will fall short of its required delivery to Texas. Santa Fe New Mexican; June 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9451>

UTAH RIVERS SAVED BY A FLOAT TRIP HALF A CENTURY AGO

Thanks to a float trip 50 years ago that included environmentalist David Brower, Utah’s Yampa and Green rivers are still undammed and their canyons are still intact. Salt Lake Tribune; June 16 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9228>

UTAH BIOLOGISTS CONFIRM SPREAD OF WHIRLING DISEASE

Whirling disease has been confirmed in three Utah streams where infected fish were transplanted last year, and the conditions of 31 more streams are still unknown. Salt Lake Tribune; 7/2 <http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jul/07022003/utah/71846.asp>

PARK SERVICE SANCTIONS JET SKIS ON LAKE POWELL

The National Park Service released its management plan for personal watercraft on Lake Powell that allows the machines everywhere except in certain portions of some inlet rivers. Deseret News; July 2 <http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510036668,00.html?>

CONGRESSMEN WOULD ENSURE MOTOR BOATS IN GRAND CANYON

A group of Republican congressman from Utah and Arizona want to eliminate any wilderness designation from the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and avert any attempt to ban motorized boats. Arizona Republic; June 22 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0622river22.html>

ARIZONA BIOLOGISTS REMOVE RARE FISH FROM AFTEREFFECTS OF FOREST FIRE

Biologists and volunteers caught 600 Gila chub, a species proposed for listing as endangered, and put them in safe storage to avoid the aftermath of the Aspen fire near Tucson. Salt Lake Tribune (AP); July 2 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9526>

CALIFORNIA DESERT RESIDENTS USE WATER LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW, BUT TOMORROW IS COMING

In the middle of the Southern California desert, resort guests can travel by gondola to waterfront bistros, homeowners can water-ski on a human-made lake, and golfers can tee off at more than 100 courses made lush and green from constant watering. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-11/s_4917.asp>

TO SAVE WATER IN THE WEST, GOVERNMENT LOOKS TO ERADICATE A THIRSTY PLANT

Past a winery and down a dirt road, jackrabbits and squirrels scamper into the brush near where Mike Kelly grabs hold of a shrub with billowy, pale pink flowers near a small creek bed. His mission: to yank the shrub out and kill as many as he can. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-20/s_5577.asp>

WAGING WARFARE AGAINST A CULPRIT IN WEST’S DROUGHT

Tamarisk, introduced into the West more than a century ago, has spread wildly across more than 1 million acres, mostly in the worst possible place: along the banks of the Colorado River, the prime water source for seven western states. In some parts of the river basin, the squat, dense shrubs are 10 feet high and have deep roots that guzzle as many as 200 gallons of water a day each. No force of nature — extreme desert heat, wildfires, floods — has been able to stop or even slow their growth. Now, Congress may step into the fight. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19761-2003Jun21.html>

INTERIOR ASKS CALIFORNIA TO STORE, NOT DUMP $10 MILLION IN WATER

Interior Department officials have offered a federal reservoir in California to store some of the $10 million worth of purchased water state officials plan to let drain into the ocean. Boulder Daily Camera (AP); June 12 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9187>

MORE WATER FOR IMPERILED FISH?

In a “major” decision,” a federal appeals court partially overturned a lower-court ruling giving irrigators more water at the expense of restoring and maintaining habitat for imperiled fish in California’s Central Valley says the Stockton Record 6/5. Although conservationists maintain the decision would “free up billions of gallons of water for boosting numbers of Delta salmon and steelhead,” the Westlands Water District claimed it “wouldn’t affect any plans to send more water to farmers.” The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is reviewing the ruling, which some observers say “did little to clarify whether more water will actually be dedicated to helping the environment.”

FISHERS AND INDIAN TRIBES JOIN FORCES IN QUEST FOR MORE KLAMATH WATER FOR FISH

Commercial fisher Paul Pellegrini never agreed with much the environmentalists had to say, still resents that Indian tribes can stretch their salmon nets across the Klamath River, and chafes at federal fishing restrictions. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-03/s_4729.asp>

FEDERAL BIOLOGISTS SAY POLITICAL PRESSURE DISTORTS THEIR SCIENCE

Almost everyone except the federal government says low water killed tens of thousands of salmon in Oregon’s Klamath River, but agency officials say their decisions were based on “sound science” — buzzwords that federal biologists are saying really is nothing more than blatant politics. High Country News; June 25 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9411>

KLAMATH IRRIGATION SHUT-OFF REVERSED

Within hours after the Bureau of Reclamation told Klamath Basin irrigators that “they would have to forego water for a week to leave enough in Upper Klamath Lake to meet ESA requirements for endangered suckers” the White House intervened to keep the water flowing says KATU 2 News 6/26. “If it wasn’t for the White House, those gates would have been shut last night, I don’t think we’ll have this sneak up on us again,” said Oregon Rep. Greg Walden. A new plan relies on voluntary conservation efforts to hopefully save enough water for the endangered fish.

IDAHO’S LAKE COEUR D’ALENE FISH HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF TOXINS

Idaho and tribal officials issued a warning against eating too many fish from Lake Coeur d’Alene, after tests showed three species contained high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic. Spokane Spokesman-Review; June 5 <https://secure.spokesmanreview.com/registration/login.asp>

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND PARTNERS COMPILE A FISH-BARRIER DATABASE

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners have unveiled the first online national database of barriers to fish passage. Managers throughout the United States involved in resource planning and habitat restoration will use the inventory. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-06-27/s_5824.asp>

NORTHWEST GOVERNORS ENDORSE SAME SALMON PLAN

The governors of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon reaffirmed the Clinton-era plan for protecting endangered salmon, in a unified statement against breaching four Snake River dams. Idaho Statesman; 6/6 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=9082>

DAMS AND SALMON BOTH PRON

Western Water Report: July 2, 2003

Although portions of this report are used on occasion in Colorado Central Magazine, we do not publish the full report there, as we do on this website. It is prepared by Steve Glazer of Crested Butte and is distributed early each month via an email list. To subscribe to that list, email to <listserv@lists.sierraclub.org> with SUBSCRIBE RMC-CONS-WATER as the message.

Please note that this is an archive, and some links may no longer function.