Day: March 2, 2024

On a disinformation campaign to quash a proposed national monument — Jonathan P. Thompson (@Land_Desk) #DoloresRiver

The historic flume hanging from a cliff above the Dolores River in western Colorado. This stretch would likely be included in a proposed national monument. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

Click the link to read the article on The Land Desk website (Jonathan P. Thompson):

February 27, 2024

An effort is blossoming to protect a stretch of western Colorado’s Dolores River and its tributaries with a national monument designation. While the proposed boundaries haven’t been nailed down yet, the monument likely would include the river corridor in Montrose and Mesa Counties in Colorado, downstream of a proposed national conservation area that is still working its way through Congress. A designation would withdraw the canyons — many of which have remained relatively pristine despite being in the middle of the Uravan uranium belt — from future mining claims and oil and gas leases, while not affecting existing valid claims or private land. 

Unfortunately, a mis-informed movement has emerged aimed at nipping the national monument concept in the bud. 

Last week, someone named Sean Pond started an online petition (and an accompanying Facebook page) aimed at halting “the designation of the Dolores River National Monument.” He claims the petition is “born out of a deeply personal concern for the residents of Gateway, Paradox, Bedrock, Nucla and Naturita,” and claims a monument would “impose severe economic hardships” on those communities by leading “to an immediate cessation of mining activities that many local families depend on for their income.” He goes on to say that hunting and grazing would be outlawed and the freedom to enjoy outdoor activities curtailed. 

If all that were true, then Pond’s petition might make sense. But it’s not true. Which is to say that the petition is using disinformation to incite fear and build opposition. 

To clear things up, let’s do a little fact-check:

  1. A national monument designation would have zero effect on: existing, valid mining claims1; patented claims (i.e. private land); or active Department of Energy uranium leases. This means that a national monument would not affect existing mining activities, and would not in any way lead to a “cessation of mining activities.” If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monumentdesignated by President Biden last year. The controversial Pinyon Plains mine lies within the boundaries of the monument, and Energy Fuels is currently ramping it up for production. 
  2. And even if it were to affect existing mining activities (again, it won’t), the notion that “many local families” depend on mining in that area is a bit of a stretch, since the uranium industry has been in a zombified state since the 1980s. The primary mining activity lately has been reclamation work — which is great! — but even that’s stalling out and, again, it won’t be affected by a national monument. 
  3. Every national monument has its own set of rules, but most national monuments overseen by the Bureau of Land Management allow cattle grazing and have maintained the same number of permitted cattle as before designation, e.g.: Grand Staircase-Escalante, Canyon of the Ancients, and Bears Ears National Monuments. They also allow hunting. They also allow motorized travel on thousands of miles of designated routes. National monuments do not inherently curtail outdoor recreation any more than other federal land designations. 
  4. If a monument has any economic impact on the area’s communities it likely will be a positive one, since a monument will draw tourists who will spend money in area businesses. 
  5. A national monument only affects land that is already managed by the federal government. It is not a “land grab.” It is not an effort by the government to seize control of something it doesn’t already control. 

I know, sometimes I sound like a damned broken record with these sorts of things. But I guess I hope that if I repeat myself enough times, folks might hear the facts. It’s not the opposition to the national monument that bothers me; there are legitimate reasons to be wary of such things. It’s the fact that the campaign to quash the proposal is based on lies. 

Learn more about the effort to protect the Dolores River.

Dolores River watershed

2024 River Champion Award — @AmericanRivers

Klamath river California Image from Public domain images website, http://www.public-domain-image.com/full-image/nature-landscapes-public-domain-images-pictures/river-public-domain-images-pictures/klamath-river-california.jpg.html. By Blake, Tupper Ansel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – http://www.public-domain-image.com/public-domain-images-pictures-free-stock-photos/nature-landscapes-public-domain-images-pictures/river-public-domain-images-pictures/klamath-river-california.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24916463

Click the link to read the article on the American Rivers website:

Yurok Tribe

On the coast, the Yurok Tribe’s ancestral territory stretches from the Little River in Humboldt County to Damnation Creek in Del Norte County. The tribe’s territory extends for 44 miles up the Klamath River to its confluence with the Trinity River. The Klamath and Trinity rivers are the lifeline of Yurok people, as the rivers provide the majority of the food supply including ney-puy (salmon), Kaa-ka (sturgeon), and kwor-ror (candlefish). Today, the tribe is the largest in California with more than 6,400 enrolled members. The Yurok Tribe was a signatory to the Amended Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which ultimately led to dam removal. The Yurok Tribe has played a pivotal role in every single aspect of Klamath River Dam Removal and restoration efforts. 

The Yurok Fisheries Department and Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation are all at the forefront of these projects. The Yurok Fisheries Department collected a substantial volume of the approximately 20 billion native seeds that will be used to restore the 2,000-acre reservoir reach in between the four dams. Yurok Fisheries crews, RES and many project partners are now hand-sowing the seeds throughout the empty reservoirs. The Yurok Tribe is working on large-scale river restoration projects in other parts of California too. Informed by Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science, the Yurok Fisheries Department and Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation transform severely degraded aquatic ecosystems into highly productive habitat for salmon as well as many other native fish and wildlife species. The Yurok Tribe has completed numerous projects on the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers and many smaller streams.

Karuk Tribe

The Karuk Tribe lives in its ancestral homelands along the middle part of the Klamath River, between Weitchpec and Seiad, California. The Karuk Tribe was a signatory to the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which ultimately led to dam removal.

As Karuk Tribal Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery stated in a video shared by KRRC, “Having the dams come out and having the almost 400 miles of salmon spawning grounds, and better water quality, is going to be imperative to life along the Klamath River. I was born and raised along the Klamath River and the fish, the river, and the clean water provides a perfect way of life. We are looking forward to the opportunity to have clean water again, and spawning grounds so our children can again experience the opportunities to fish and provide a food source for their families. It will be a great benefit to everyone who lives along the Klamath River.

Klamath Justice Coalition 

The Klamath Justice Coalition was founded by grassroots Indigenous leaders more than two decades ago. They created what is now known as the “Un-dam the Klamath Campaign”. The refrain “Undam the Klamath, bring the salmon home” was heard from fishing boats on the river all the way to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. As one of the co-founders Molli Myers (Karuk) states, “this was a movement of the people”.

Berkshire Hathaway 

Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company of PacifiCorp, which owned and operated the four Klamath River dams. In 2020, Berkshire Hathaway played a pivotal role in securing the final dam removal accord: the company agreed to transfer operating licenses of the dams to the states of Oregon and California, and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation. Berkshire also agreed to share the burden of any cost overruns.

Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group 

Ridges to Riffles is advancing Indigenous-led restoration efforts on the Klamath and other rivers. R2R works in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to advance their cultural and natural resource interests through legal and policy advocacy. In partnership with the Yurok Tribe, R2R is working on Klamath dam removal, habitat restoration, instream flows, and personhood rights for the Klamath River. 

Klamath River Renewal Corporation 

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) is a nonprofit organization formed by signatories of the amended Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, to take ownership and oversee removal of the four hydroelectric dams on the river. Managing the biggest dam removal and river restoration project in history is no small feat. KRRC’s team has prioritized safety, community engagement, and helping the people of the basin take steps toward a shared, sustainable future.

Klamath River Basin. Map credit: American Rivers

States of Oregon and California

Bipartisan support was key to success on the Klamath: elected leaders from both parties saw the value of a restored Klamath River, with California Governor Schwarzenegger and Oregon Governor Kulongoski signing the original agreement to remove the dams in 2010. A decade later, California Governor Newsom and Oregon Governor Brown took a vital step, joining the Klamath River Renewal Corporation as a co-licensee, allowing PacifiCorp to relinquish the operating license for the dams. California Proposition 1 water bond funds combined with PacifiCorp ratepayer funds to make the project possible. Never before has a state contributed this much funding to a dam removal project. 

Navajo Nation nears deal for #Arizona water rights on #ColoradoRiver and the #LittleColoradoRiver — AZCentral.com #COriver #aridification

Confluence of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado River. Climate change is affecting western streams by diminishing snowpack and accelerating evaporation. The Colorado River’s flows and reservoirs are being impacted by climate change, and environmental groups are concerned about the status of the native fish in the river. Photo credit: DMY at Hebrew Wikipedia [Public domain]

Click the link to read the article on the AZCentral.com website (Arlyssa D. BecentiDebra Utacia Krol). Here’s an excerpt:

March 1, 2024

For the past 60 years, Navajo leaders have worked to settle water claims in Arizona. The aim of the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement is to affirm and quantify the nation’s rights to water in the state and to secure funding to build much needed water delivery infrastructure to homes on the Navajo Nation, according to a summary of the agreement.

“When we took office last year there was a huge push for us to start talking about our water rights, our water claims,” Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley told The Arizona Republic. “It’s been far too long, going through COVID, climate change, drought that we are facing every year, we had to take into account of what we want to secure for the next 100 years.”

The U.S. Supreme Court held last summer that the United States did not have an affirmative treaty or trust obligation to identify and account for Navajo Nation water rights on the Colorado River. Curley said that ruling was a pivotal moment that led the Navajo Nation and its water rights negotiation team to focus on completing on the settlement…

The Coconino Aquifer. The fundamental law of the Navajo (Dine) people believes water to be one of the four sacred elements that was put forth by Diyin dine’e’ (Deities) as a source of life. Water is part of prayer in the Hozho ceremonies for healing. All human and all life on Nahasdzaan (Mother Earth) have a degree of water in their system. Water is precious to native people – it is life. Credit: Dine’e’ C.A.R.E.

The agreement will settle all of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute water rights for the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River basin, the Gila River Basin (including Big Boquillas Ranch) and claims to groundwater in the Navajo Aquifer, the Coconino Aquifer and other alluvial aquifers.

Research Article: Anthropogenic #ClimateChange has influenced global river flow seasonality — Science

Click the link to access the report on the Science website (Hong Wang, Junguo Liu, Megan Klaar, Aifang Chen, Luka Gudmundsson, and Joseph Holden). Here’s the editor’s summary:

February 27, 2024

Editor’s summary

Patterns of river flow vary seasonally, which has important effects on the occurrence of floods and droughts, degrees of water security, and ecology. What is anthropogenic climate change doing to these seasonal cycles? Wang et al. used in situ observations of monthly average river flow from 1965 to 2014, combined with modeling, to show that human effects on climate have already caused a reduction of river flow seasonality at latitudes above 50° N. Understanding these changes is necessary for ensuring that freshwater ecosystems maintain their essential functions, for securing sustainable water resources, and for determining allocations for irrigation or hydropower generation. —H. Jesse Smith