The moist winter of 2022-2023 adopted greater than twenty years of drought within the Colorado River Basin. The snowmelt boosted system reservoirs by about 10 %, a particularly lucky flip of occasions. However the truth stays that system reservoirs are greater than half empty. Within the Colorado River Basin there’ll at all times be moist years and dry years, however local weather change means the general pattern is hotter, drier, with much less water availability.
Within the midst of this variability, federal and state leaders are creating new guidelines for sharing the Colorado River, working concurrently on a short-term repair (born of disaster situations in 2022 that have been partially alleviated by the moist winter) and a long-term reset adaptive to local weather change. Right here’s the place they’re:
The short-term repair is being addressed within the “Supplemental Environmental Influence Assertion for Close to-Time period Colorado River Operations” setting guidelines for Colorado River shortages although 2026. The federal Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) issued a draft examine earlier this yr that proposed alternative ways to impose shortages however paused the method to think about a plan developed by Arizona, California and Nevada. Audubon weighed in with a letter to Reclamation on considerations about how administration impacts birds. As we identified, freshwater-dependent habitats within the Colorado River Basin assist greater than 70 % of all wildlife throughout some section of their life cycle. The riparian vegetation that also traces among the waterways of the Colorado River Basin offers crucially essential habitat for wildlife, particularly birds, together with Yellow-breasted Chat, Bell’s Vireo, and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Someday this fall, Reclamation will re-issue the draft examine, and Audubon will reply with feedback targeted on defending chicken habitats. Reclamation’s closing examine is anticipated by December 2023, with a closing Document of Determination in January 2024.
Reclamation additionally initiated the long-term course of to outline post-2026 operational pointers and techniques for the Colorado River’s main reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. This can be a multi-year course of underneath the Nationwide Environmental Safety Act (NEPA) that can establish a variety of alternate options and decide operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead and different water administration actions for probably many years into the longer term. The present operational pointers for the Colorado River have been adopted in 2007, amended to handle drought situations, and expire in 2026. Audubon submitted scoping comments as did greater than 20,000 Audubon community members. Over the subsequent yr, we are going to suggest administration alternate options that prioritize preservation of habitats, sustainable water provide administration, and improved resilience for the Colorado River Basin. We can have one other alternative to remark when Reclamation points their draft examine of administration alternate options close to the top of 2024. We anticipate their closing examine and choice by the top of 2025.
That’s numerous federal and state selections and actions that can impression administration of the river’s water provide, and doesn’t even cowl different, associated processes that can happen on the identical time. These embody revision of the endangered species administration applications to make sure they adjust to the regulation as Colorado River flows are diminished, revision of circulation protocols for the Grand Canyon, and renegotiation between the US and Mexico of the Treaty agreements (Minutes) for administration of the Colorado River on the border.
Reclamation has a big job to do over the subsequent a number of years, and desires to take care of orderly, clear and accessible decision-making processes to make sure states, Tribes, water customers and different stakeholders can take part and be heard, as that is the one approach to make sure we find yourself with a Colorado River that meets everybody’s wants. That’s a tall order, however the stakes couldn’t be greater for the 40 million those that share the river with the entire area’s birds and different wildlife.
