Day: January 1, 2025

Happy New Year! 2024’s biggest conservation wins for the West — @HighCountryNews

A salmon on the Klamath River is captured just downstream from Wards Canyon, California, to have a radio-tag device attached to its fin on its way upstream. This device will transmit location data to scientists in the Upper Basin, demonstrating information about the salmon’s return to its historic reaches in the freed river. Paul Robert Wolf Wilson/High Country News

Click the link to read the article on The High Country News website (Kylie Mohr):

December 25, 2024

Climate change and encroaching development continue to threaten biodiversity. At the same time, Westerners saw dozens of success stories in 2024. Two national monuments were expanded in California, while conservation gained equal footing with mining and drilling under the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule. Alaska saw half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska protected from new oil and gas leases, and the previous approval for the Ambler Road project in the Brooks Range was rescinded. Elsewhere in the region, fish returned to their former habitats and swam off the Endangered Species List, while wolf and gray whale populations continued to grow.

Fall-run Chinook Salmon, Oct. 16, 2024, photo by Mark Hereford, ODFW.

Salmon return to once-dammed reaches of the Klamath River

For over a century, dams blocked salmon from returning to their spawning grounds near the headwaters of the Klamath River. But the removal of four of the river’s six dams was completed this year, and in October, biologists saw several hundred chinook salmon above the dam sites. While scientists had expected salmon to return eventually, the appearance of so many fish so soon surprised and delighted the tribes who had ardently campaigned to remove the dams.

Fences come down

Every year, migrating elk, deer, pronghorn and moose are slowed, injured, and even killed by the West’s thousands of miles of barbed-wire fencing. Groups like the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are working hard to remove barbed wire or replace it with more permeable barriers. According to the Mountain Journal, since 2021, the NWF and its partners have removed 40 miles of fencing from the High Divide region along the Montana-Idaho border. Sublette County, Wyoming, another leader in the wildlife-friendly fencing movement, has worked with state and federal partners to remove or improve more than 700 miles of fencing since 2017.

Gray whale populations rebound

Between December 2023 and mid-February 2024, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that 19,260 gray whales migrated along the Pacific Coast — a 33% increase from the previous season. “The numbers are trending up,” NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein told the Oregon Capital Chronicle. “The indications are consistent that the whales have gone from a decline to a recovery.”

The fence line separating sagebrush and historic pastureland marks the north end of of the state of Wyoming’s school trust parcel in Grand Teton National Park, a tract known as the Kelly Parcel. (Mike Koshmrl/WyoFile)

Wyoming parcel approved for sale to Grand Teton National Park

Last year, it looked like an iconic parcel of state trust land outside Jackson, Wyoming, might be sold to a developer, prompting outrage from locals and conservationists. Known as the Kelly parcel, the land offers panoramic views of the Tetons and provides important habitat for migrating pronghorn and other wildlife species. But by law, state trust land must generate revenue for public schools. In November, Wyoming’s top-five state elected officials approved the sale of the parcel to the adjacent Grand Teton National Park for $100 million. The state will likely use the proceeds to purchase oil and gas-rich land in the Powder River Basin.

Wolves part of the pack discovered last summer in Tulare County called the Yowlumni Pack. The pack was found in the Sequoia National Forest near the Tule River Tribe of California’s reservation and ancestral lands. California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Wolf populations boom

An estimated 70 wolves are now living in California, an increase of 26 animals from last year. Two new wolf packs formed in Northern California this year, too. Meanwhile, Colorado saw the formation of its first pack since wolves were reintroduced last year.

Washington river gets legal rights — and other ballot wins

In Everett, Washington, voters approved a ballot initiative that grants the Snohomish River watershed the rights to exist, regenerate and flourish. City residents, agencies and organizations can now sue on behalf of the watershed, and any recovered damages will be used to restore the ecosystem. Also in Washington, voters upheld the 2021 Climate Commitment Act by voting no on Initiative 2117. The act caps and reduces carbon emissions for the state’s largest carbon emitters and raises money for conservation, climate and wildfire resilience statewide. In California, voters passed a $10 billion climate bond that will fund climate resilience projects, protect clean drinking water and help prevent wildfires.

Bear River Massacre site restored

One of the deadliest massacres of Native people in U.S. history happened near what’s now Preston, Idaho, in January 1863. Over 150 years later, the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is reclaiming the site of the massacre, a place their people once lived, celebrated and danced. Along the Bear River, the tribe is replacing thirsty invasive vegetation with native plants and restoring degraded agricultural fields to wetlands. Eventually, they hope to return an estimated 13,000 acre-feet of water to the parched Great Salt Lake annually. “For thousands of years, this wasn’t a massacre site,” Brad Parry, the tribe’s vice chairman, told High Country News. “We want to make this a place to come to again.”

Volunteers plant native vegetation along the banks of Battle Creek at the Bear River Massacre site in Preston, Idaho. Russel Albert Daniels/High Country News

Apache trout removed from Endangered Species List

In September, after 50 years on the federal endangered species list, Arizona’s state fish — the Apache trout — was declared recovered and removed from the list. The first American sportfish to achieve delisting, it owes its recovery to the White Mountain Apache Tribe as well as to federal and state agencies and nonprofits. In a statement, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland paid tribute to “the transformational power that collaborative conservation efforts — grounded in Indigenous Knowledge — can have on fish and wildlife.”

Extra wetland habitat created for birds

California’s Central Valley is vital to migrating birds, but its wetlands have been almost destroyed by agricultural and urban development. BirdReturns, a program that started in 2014, pays the valley’s rice farmers to create “pop-up” wetland habitat by flooding fields earlier in the fall and leaving them flooded later in the spring. Since its inception, BirdReturns has created 120,000 acres of temporary bird habitat.

Tribally led projects win big

TheAmerica The Beautiful Challenge funds voluntary conservation and restoration projects around the country, consolidating funding from federal agencies and the private sector. Numerous projects led by tribes in the West received money from the program this year, including the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, which received $2.5 million for fish passage and riparian restoration projects in Nevada; the Pueblo of Jemez, which received $2.1 million for stream and wetland restoration in New Mexico; the Native Village of Tazlina, which received $2 million to incorporate Indigenous knowledge of migratory birds into state and regional meetings and management in Alaska; the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which received $4.5 million to remove invasive barred owls across Northern California; and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, which received $3 million to expand the Yellowstone Bison Conservation Transfer Program.

This story is part of High Country News’ Conservation Beyond Boundaries project, which is supported by the BAND Foundation. 

Despite dry December, #Durango area surpasses total precipitation compared to 2023 — The Durango Herald #AnimasRiver #SanJuanRiver #ColoradoRiver #snowpack

Lake Nighthorse and Durango March 2016 photo via Greg Hobbs.

Click the link to read the article on The Durango Herald website (Christian Burney). Here’s an excerpt:

According to data captured at the Durango-La Plata County Airport, the Durango area received 14.14 inches of precipitation this year compared to 2023 moisture and precipitation that totaled 10.34 inches. Phillips said June 2024 rains bolstered the total precipitation the city received this year, accumulating 7 inches of rain through June, which is considered above normal for the months of June, July and August. He said 2023 started out with slightly above-normal levels of precipitation, but moisture gave way to a warm and dry summer. That dryness carried into 2024 and was followed up by a strong monsoon season. November storms briefly pushed snowpack above normal, but that momentum flattened again in December, he said.

“Even though it seems dry, our snowpack is actually doing better than it was last year,” he said.

According to Snoflo, a North American climate, hydrology and forecast database, the Upper San Juans had a snowpack level of 32 inches on Saturday, 68% of normal, low for the month of December.

Westwide SNOTEL basin-filled map December 31, 2024 via the NRCS.

A turbulent year on the #ColoradoRiver comes to a close — Alex Hager (KUNC) #COriver #aridification #CRWUA2024

Dusk falls on Lake Powell near Bullfrog Marina on July 15, 2024. The fate of the nation’s two largest reservoirs is still undetermined after a year full of disagreement and uncertainty among the Colorado River’s top policymakers. Photo credit: Alex Hager/KUNC

Click the link to read the article on the KUNC website (Alex Hager):

December 26, 2024

This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.

This year was a bumpy ride for the Colorado River. As 2024 comes to a close, we’re looking at the stories that defined the water supply for 40 million people. Deep divisions between policymakers set the stage for deep uncertainty from Wyoming to Mexico, and those who use Colorado River water are hoping for some more clarity in the years to come. But with an unpredictable new president heading to the White House, they may end up with more questions than answers.

Visit the linked stories below to learn how the year unfolded.

Early disagreement

The biggest headlines of the year came early on the calendar. In March, seven states that use the Colorado River laid bare the deep divisions between them. The rules for sharing its water expire in 2026, and state leaders are under pressure to agree on new guidelines.

Instead of agreeing, they split into two camps and released competing proposals for managing water. The river is shrinking due to climate change, and states need to rein in their demand. Who exactly should cut back on their water use, though, is at the heart of their disagreement.

Shortly after the two state proposals, a group of native tribes released their ownsuggestions for managing the river. A coalition of conservation groups did the same.

Paying for conservation

Discord between the negotiators shaping the river’s future highlighted the need for farm districts and cities to get their own houses in order. Agriculture uses between 70-80% of the river’s water, and much of the pressure to conserve the river falls on farms and ranches.

From the river’s single largest water user in Southern California to tiny family farms in rural Wyoming, the federal government experimented with programs that paid farmers to use less water.

In the Imperial Valley, about two hours inland from San Diego, the farm district inked a deal to take more than $500 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. In exchange, the area’s farmers would leave some water in the nation’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead.

A ditch runs dry through Leslie Hagenstein’s fields near Pinedale, Wyo. on Mar. 27, 2024. Through the federally-funded System Conservation Pilot Program, she was able to make 13 times more than she would have by leasing her fields out to grow hay. CREDIT: ALEX HAGER/KUNC

Meanwhile, a smaller program in the Colorado River’s Upper Basin states – Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico did something similar. It paid farmers and ranchers to cut back on water use, but some policy analysts say the program lacks a clear plan for the future.

Cities prepare for a drier future

Cities and suburbs, especially in the driest parts of the Colorado River Basin, are taking matters into their own hands. In an effort to buy some certainty against a future that might see their water allocations get smaller, municipal leaders in Arizona chipped away at multibillion-dollar engineering projects to stretch out their existing water supplies.

In the Phoenix area, cities large and small worked towards a dam expansion that would help them capture more snowmelt from mountains to the north. Some made progress on “water recycling” facilities that can clean up sewage and turn it back into drinking water. Similar efforts are underway in other states, too.

Canyons come back

The past few years have seen dramatically low water levels at the nation’s two largest reservoirs – Lake Mead and Lake Powell – which are both filled by the Colorado River. While that has caused concern for the water managers who want to keep taps and crop sprinklers flowing across the region, some environmental advocates are celebrating the return of habitats that had been submerged for decades.

Now that some portions of Lake Powell have been above water for more than 20 years, scientists are able to study the kind of plants and animals that are repopulating the once-underwater canyons. One study found that it’s mostly native vegetation coming back.

Mexico waits for more water

Uncertainty over the river’s future doesn’t stop at America’s border. In the Colorado River Delta, where the river once reached the sea, environmental groups have created islands of green in the middle of an otherwise barren, dusty landscape.

The Colorado River flows through El Chausse, a restoration site in northeastern Mexico, on October 26, 2024. Photo credit: Alex Hager/KUNC/Lighthawk

The future of those oases depends on negotiations between the U.S. and Mexico. In the past, they’ve designated water specifically for ecological restoration. Conservationists hope they’ll do the same again.

Looking into the past and the future

While this year’s tense negotiations generated frequent headlines about the river’s present, 2024 also provided an opportunity to see how today’s talks are influenced by the past.

A major point of contention between the rival groups of states hinged on the language of a 1922 legal agreement about sharing water. Three words written over a century ago are still shaping the nature of discussions over the river’s future.

Meanwhile, some people watching the negotiations are keeping up a steady drumbeat of calls for ambitious new engineering projects that would secure more water for the Colorado River’s future. The tantalizingly simple solution of piping water from the eastern U.S. to the West just won’t seem to go away, but water experts broadly agree that it’s impractical.

Frustration in the basin

In December, after state leaders had been entrenched in disagreement for months, many involved in Colorado River management grew frustrated. Some commentators voiced those feelings to KUNC ahead of the biggest annual occasion on the Colorado River calendar – a series of meetings in Las Vegas where the public can hear directly from top negotiators.

Water policymakers from (left to right) Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming speak on a panel at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Las Vegas on December 5, 2024. State leaders are deeply divided on how to share the shrinking water supply, and made little progress to bridge that divide at the annual meetings. Photo credit: Alex Hager/KUNC

“I find it really frustrating to watch them just continue to bicker back and forth rather than coming up with any realistic solutions for the problems that we’re facing,” said Teal Lehto, an environmental activist who goes by WesternWaterGirl on social media.

A Las Vegas showdown

At those meetings in Las Vegas, states made little progress in their negotiations, still mostly sticking to the same points they unveiled in their march proposals. States shared stern words and talked of compromise, but struggled to find common ground.

Awaiting change in the White House

As the year comes to a close, Donald Trump’s return to the White House poses a big question mark for those with a stake in the Colorado River. State negotiators say they do not expect the administration change to shake up their talks, pointing to a pattern of previous presidents leaving water management work mostly to technical experts.

At the same time, some water users worry that Trump may cut spending for water-saving programs that have helped boost the nation’s largest reservoirs during the past few years. Without the federal spending that was set aside by the Inflation Reduction Act, water managers may be forced to come up with new water conservation strategies in 2025.

Map credit: AGU