Select Water Committee gets a timeline for LaPrele Dam rebuild — Jordan Uplinger (Wyoming Public Media)

The aging LaPrele Dam is seen in Converse County on Jan. 31, 2025. Late last year, the state ordered the 115-year-old concrete structure to be breached and eventually demolished to avoid possible catastrophic failure. (Dan Cepeda)

Click the link to read the article on the Wyoming Public Media website (Jordan Uplinger). Here’s an excerpt:

November 7, 2025

Bill Brewer with the Wyoming Water Development Office told the Select Water Committee that work on the replacement dam in the LaPrele Irrigation District is progressing rapidly…Weather permitting, December 2025 will see access roads and laydown areas begin to pop up around the construction site. Project managers will also order specialized equipment around this time, like valve piping. March 2026 will mark the start of excavation work, alongside the creation of a foundation for the dam. By 2027, construction of “the main portion of the dam” will have started. Come 2028, engineers plan to perform a “partial refill” of the reservoir. If it all goes according to plan, a fully functional dam will begin operation in 2029.

President Biden’s ban on mining claims near #Arizona national park could be revoked — AZCentral.com

An image of the ruins of Chetro Ketl in Chaco Canyon (New Mexico, United States); shown is the complex’s great kiva. By National Park Service (United States) – Chaco Canyon National Historical Park: Photo Gallery, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1536637

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

November 7, 2025

Key Points

The Bureau of Land Management informed Navajo President Buu Nygren that it intends to revoke a ban on new mining claims and mineral leases on more than 300,000 acres surrounding Chaco Canyon.

Then-President Joe Biden withdrew the land from mining and mineral activity in 2023, a move meant to protect land and cultural resources in the region.

The ban on new activity upset many people who live near the canyon and who rely on mineral leases or mining claims for income. The issue has also divided tribal leaders in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Bureau of Land Management is moving to revoke a 2023 order that had prevented new mining claims and mineral leases for 20 years on more than 300,000 acres of public land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. In a letter to Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, the BLM’s Farmington Field Office said it would initiate government-to-government consultation to fully revoke Public Land Order 7923, which was issued under former President Joe Biden. The order withdrew approximately 336,404 acres of public land in a 10-mile radius surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico from new mining claims and mineral leasing, while preserving valid existing rights. It has been controversial among many Navajo Nation members living near the area who rely heavily on gas and oil leasing of their property…That decision has also created tension between the Navajo Nation and Pueblo tribes that share deep cultural and ancestral connections to Chaco Canyon.

Dinosaurs, big rains, thin #snowpack, oh my — Jonathan P. Thompson (LandDesk.org)

Bisti Badlands in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. The area has yielded many important fossil finds. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

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

November 4, 2025

The San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado is known for producing oodles of fossil fuels over the last century. But it is really so, so much more than that: An epicenter of cultures, lovely landscapes, and geological wonders. It is also a hotspot for fossils, some of which recently have yielded new information about the dinosaurs’ last days on earth.

While it’s generally accepted that non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid some 66 million years ago, researchers have long debated whether the big reptiles were doing well leading up to the cataclysmic event, or were already in decline and headed for extinction. A study published last month in Science, based on the fossil record of the San Juan Basin, finds that a diverse array of dinosaurs were actually flourishing at the end of the Cretaceous period. Had it not been for that asteroid, they might have stuck around for quite a bit longer.

The authors sum up their findings:

Pretty cool stuff. Read the study here.

And that’s not all for San Juan Basin dinosaur news! In September, a team of researchers announced they had identified a new species of duck-billed dinosaur in northwestern New Mexico. The Ahshiselsaurus, an herbivore, weighed up to nine tons and spanned up to 35 feet from bill to tail.

In a news release, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs notes that the bones that led to the identification were unearthed in 1916 in what is now the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness in San Juan County. “In 1935, the fossils were classified as belonging to another hadrosaurid called Kritosaurus navajovius. However, this new research identified distinctions between these fossils and all known hadrosaurids, including several key differences in the animal’s skull.”

Cottonwood trees in full autumn splendor in the Paradox Valley, Colorado. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

🥵 Aridification Watch 🐫

This past weekend, my sister held the annual garlic-planting and apple cider-making ritual at her farm in the North Fork Valley in western Colorado. Folks from all around gather to help put thousands of garlic cloves into the ground. At the same time, a handful of us crank the handle and toss apples into the 125-year-old cider press that my ancestors brought to the Animas Valley from Pennsylvania in the early part of the century.

It was a lovely day, with an intensely blue, cloudless sky and high temperatures in the 60s. We felt lucky to have such conditions in early November, but they weren’t wildly abnormal. Though a few places in the region set daily high temperature records, at least as many also set daily low temperature records as the mercury dipped down to around 22° F, even in the lowlands, overnight.

More striking to me was when I stopped in Silverton on the trip back to Durango to take a bike ride on the new trails on Boulder Mountain. That mountain biking is even an option in Silverton in early November is a little odd. That the trails were bone dry at 10,600 feet in elevation is even odder. And that I was not just warm, but downright hot and sweaty in just short sleeves and shorts felt downright weird.

A cursory look at the data reveals that this has been one of the wettest — and least snowiest — starts to a water year on record, at least in southwestern Colorado. The huge, flood-spawning rains of October pushed the accumulated precipitation levels up into record high territory. But most of that liquid abundance fell as rain, not snow, even at high elevations. And the warm temperatures that followed has deteriorated what little snowpack existed. It’s striking to see only a thin layer of white painting its designs on north-facing slopes at 12,000 or 13,000 feet. And without a radical shift in weather (which is certainly possible), it’s hard to imagine ski areas opening by Thanksgiving.

Still, we’re only about one month into the 2026 Water Year, so it’s far too early to draw any conclusions from the data. Last year started out as one of the snowier seasons on record, before fading out into a pretty sparse snow year.

North-facing peaks in the San Juan Mountains, late October 2025. There’s snow, but a lot less than one would expect. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

📖 Reading Room 🧐

Nick Bowlin and ProPublica just published an extensive investigation into oil and gas field “purges,” which is when injecting produced wastewater underground forces toxic water to spew out of old wells in mind-blowing volumes, killing vegetation and trees and contaminating the earth.|
Bowlin’s investigation focuses on Oklahoma — where regulators are doing little to address it — but these purges occur anywhere that produced wastewater is injected into the ground as a way to dispose of it, which is to say every oil and gas field from Wyoming to New Mexico. Each barrel of oil pulled from the ground is accompanied by anywhere from three to 30 barrels of brackish wastewater that can be contaminated with an assorted soup of hazardous chemicals. This means that hundreds of billions of this stuff must be disposed of each year, usually by deep injection.
As oil production continues, and as more and more wells are “orphaned” or abandoned without being plugged, the purge problem will only grow worse.

KUNC’s Alex Hagar has a nice, good-news piece on how beavers are returning to Glen Canyon and its tributary canyons as Lake Powell’s water levels recede. It’s yet more evidence that if — when — Lake Powell disappears, the canyons it and ecosystems it drowned will eventually recover, and may do so far more quickly than might be expected.

🔋Notes from the Energy Transition 🔌

Those of you who watch Denver television will certainly recognize longtime Denver 7 weather forecaster. He retired a little while back and has taken on a sort of second career advocating for a Super Grid — an integrated, nationwide, direct current, underground power grid designed to move power from where it’s generated to where it’s needed when it’s needed.

It’s a cool idea, but also a very, very ambitious one. Instead of rehashing all of the details, I’ll let you watch this video of his presentation, which gives a very informative overview of the whole energy situation.

How is #Colorado’s response to invasive mussels going? Funding and public education are key, experts say — Shannon Mullane (Fresh Water News)

Adult Zebra mussel. Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Click the link to read the article on the Water Education Colorado website (Shannon Mullane):

October 23, 2025

Colorado is in its first year of responding to a zebra mussel infestation in a big river, the Colorado River. State staff say they have what they need to handle the high-priority needs — they just need their funding to stay off the chopping block.

The fast-reproducing mussels, or their microscopic stage called veligers, were first detected in Colorado in 2022. Since then, the state’s aquatic nuisance species team and its partners have been working to monitor water, decontaminate boats, and educate the public to keep the mussels from spreading. That effort logged a serious failure this summer when state staff detected adult zebra mussels in the Colorado River, where treatment options are limited.

CPW sampling on the Colorado River found zebra mussel veligers. The river is now considered “positive” for zebra mussels from its confluence with the Roaring Fork River to the Utah state line. CREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY OF COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE

“We’re continuing to sample the Colorado from below the Granby Dam all the way out to the [Utah-Colorado] state line,” said Robert Walters, who manages the invasive species program for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Adult zebra mussels, about the size of a thumbnail with a zebra-striped shell, reproduce quickly and can clog up pipes, valves and parts of dams, costing millions of dollars to remove. They also suck up nutrients, out-eating other native aquatic species, and their razor sharp shells cause headaches for beachgoers.

The state’s first adult zebra mussel showed up in Highline Reservoir near Grand Junction in 2022. But even after the lake was drained and treated, the mussels appeared again.

Then this year in July, the mussels showed up in a private reservoir in Eagle County near the Colorado River. And in September, specialists found adult zebra mussels in a stretch of the Colorado River itself.

Colorado has been working to keep these invasive species out of its waters since 2007, when a task force was created to coordinate management efforts.

In 2008, Colorado approved a law that makes it illegal to possess, import, export, transport, release or cause an aquatic nuisance species to be released.

Now, the program completes over 450,000 inspections each year, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s website. The teams have intercepted 281 boats with zebra or quagga mussels attached.

But their treatment options are limited on the Colorado River. CPW does not intend to treat the main stem of the Colorado River due to multiple factors, including risk to native fish populations and critical habitat, the length of the potential treatment area and complex canal systems, the agency said in a mid-September news release.

The goal continues to be educating the public — including lawmakers who are scheduled to hear an update on the zebra mussel issue during the Oct. 29 Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee meeting.

“What I think that we really need to help us more effectively tackle this issue is a higher level of public awareness,” Walters said.

The first year of infestations

For invasive species teams, the first year involves a lot of monitoring, according to Heidi McMaster, the invasive species coordinator for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

She’d know: She has helped Reclamation with its response to invasive species, like quagga mussels.

Quagga mussels were discovered in Lake Mead, Lake Mojave and Lake Havasu on the Colorado River in January 2007. The mussels were later confirmed in Lake Powell in 2013, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Hoover Dam with Lake Mead in the background December 3, 2024.

Colorado River water from Colorado’s mountains eventually collects in Lake Powell before flowing through the Grand Canyon to downstream states, Lake Mead and Mexico.

“I would think that the first response is probably panic, especially if people are not prepared for it,” McMaster said. “Once that initial panic wears off, it is tapping into the existing resources, the preparedness plans that state or managers have on how to deal with it.”

During the first year, specialists are looking at existing rapid response plans, vulnerability assessments and communication plans. They take samples and track life cycles to try to understand how the mussels reproduce, how environmental conditions impact breeding and what kinds of treatments might work to stop the spread.

In the Southwest and along the Colorado River, the temperature of the water allows invasive species to breed multiple times a year, McMaster said. Each one can produce a million larvae. Not all survive: There are turbulent waters, areas with fewer nutrients, and other threats, like predators. But if they grow to adulthood they can layer on top of each other on underwater surfaces.

If left unchecked, invasive mussels could clog up pipelines that carry cooling water to turbines used to generate hydroelectric power. Without the cooling effect of the water, the turbine would “burn up” and power generation would shut down, McMaster said.

The goal at the end of the first year is mainly to inform the public. That means repeating the “clean, drain, dry” refrain as often as possible to anyone moving watercraft from one body of water to another, she said.

After that, a successful first-year response will also include setting up inspection and decontamination stations. Then, specialists move onto treatment options, McMaster said.

At Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, on the Nevada-Arizona border, managers took an aggressive treatment approach to avoid damage to the dam, she said. They used UV lights to stun and temporarily paralyze the microscopic veligers so they cannot attach inside the dam.

“Prevention is still the No. 1 goal,” McMaster said.

It’s the cheapest and least risky option, she said. Once an invasive mussel species arrives in an area, however, the costs can ramp up exponentially into the millions of taxpayer dollars. The goal is always to keep them at bay as much as possible, she said.

“They might be in the state of Colorado,” McMaster said, “but if you look at the overall percentage of uninfested areas, that’s still a lot of maintenance that’s not having to happen.”

Pest control on a private lake

On July 3, Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff discovered adult zebra mussels in a privately owned lake in western Eagle County, according to a news release.

CPW also identified additional zebra mussel veligers in the Colorado River near New Castle, Highline Lake and Mack Mesa Lake at Highline Lake State Park, the release said.

There were too many mussels in the Eagle County lake to count, Walters said in late August. Any hard structure in the lake and any underwater rocks were relatively covered in adult mussels, he said.

An invasive species specialist said in July that they believed the lake was an upstream source of the mussels in the Colorado River, and that an outlet from the lake was bringing zebra-mussel-infested water into the Colorado River, according to news reports.

Walters said that has not been confirmed.

“We are just continuing to try to monitor,” Walters said during an interview Aug. 29. “What I can say is that, to the best of our knowledge, there currently is no connection from this privately owned body of water into any of the river systems of the state.”

The state’s team spent about eight hours on Aug. 25 treating the lake with a copper-based molluscicide, a substance used to kill mollusks, he said.

Staff also sampled the private lake’s water Aug. 27 to make sure the treatment’s concentration was at the right level and planned to continue monitoring and treating the water throughout September, Walters said.

No boats or other watercraft were entering or exiting the lake, he said.

“It’ll be a long time before we know if it was truly effective at eradicating the zebra mussels,” he said.

Zebra mussels. Photo credit: Colorado Parks & Wildlife

The state focuses its monitoring efforts on public waters, mainly those with high recreational use. Motorboats and other types of boats are the main way the mussels spread, he said.

However, that doesn’t mean the teams don’t survey private ponds and lakes, Walters said.

After the state discovered zebra mussel veligers in the Colorado River and Grand Junction area, they started asking landowners if they could survey private lakes, ponds, gravel pits and more near the river. They often survey privately owned recreational areas, like water skiing clubs, he said.

“We have been trying to work with those private landowners to allow us access to come out and sample them for invasive species,” Walters said.

We need to keep our existing funding

But with thousands of private and public water bodies in the state, CPW alone is never going to be able to monitor all of them as frequently as the high-risk water bodies, he said.

The staff normally work in teams of two to inspect reservoirs and lakes. They pull fine mesh nets through the water to try to find microscopic veligers. They do shoreline surveys to look for razor sharp shells and other signs of invasive species.

On a small pond, the process can take one to two hours. On a big reservoir like Blue Mesa, Colorado’s largest reservoir, it would take six to eight hours, he said.

“I don’t think that there is ever going to be capacity to monitor every public and private body of water in the state of Colorado. And I don’t think that that’s ever going to be our expectation,” Walters said.

The aquatic nuisance species program has more resources than ever, but there’s always room for more, Walters said.

“At this time, we feel like we do have a good amount of resources to be able to sample the waters that we consider to be the highest priority,” he said.

Formerly, the team was based in Denver. Now, the state has established a traveling team to cover the Western Slope and another focused on the Grand Junction area.

They don’t need more authority to monitor private water bodies, he said.

“What we need is to continue to receive the funding that we are receiving today, and hope that does not get threatened if there’s any sort of budget cuts that are considered,” Walters said.

Aquatic nuisance species stamp sales cover about $2.4 million, or 50%, of the program’s annual funding needs. All motorboats and sailboats must have this stamp before launching in state waters, according to the CPW website.

Colorado state law calls on federal agencies, like the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Forest Service, to cover the other half of the funding needs since many high-risk waters in Colorado are federally owned or managed.

How are other water providers responding?

Zebra mussels go with the flow. They naturally move downstream with the river’s current, but boats traveling from one lake to another can carry them upstream.

That has upstream water managers, like Northern Water and Denver Water, keeping a close eye on developments along the Colorado River.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District works with the federal government to transfer Colorado River water on the Western Slope through a series of reservoirs, pump stations and tunnels — called the Colorado-Big Thompson Project — to farmland and over 1 million residents from Fort Collins across northeastern Colorado.

Horsetooth Reservoir looking west from Soldier Dam. Photo credit: Norther Water.

Zebra mussels are such prolific reproducers they can clog up water delivery pipelines, the main concern for a water manager like Northern Water, spokesman Jeff Stahla said.

The C-BT project is no stranger to invasive species. In 2008, quagga mussels showed up in several reservoirs, including Grand Lake, Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Reservoir. Another reservoir, Green Mountain, was also positive for quagga mussels in 2017.

All of the lakes are mussel-free and delisted, Stahla said. Now they’re tightening up security.

“The biggest task we can right now is to inspect those boats going into the reservoirs to make sure that they’re not going to be causing the problem,” he said.

Dillon Reservoir in Summit County is Denver Water’s largest reservoir. Photo credit: Denver Water.

Denver Water, which serves 1.5 million people in Denver and nearby suburbs, is also focused on inspecting and decontaminating boats.

“It’s a little unnerving. That’s for sure,” Brandon Ransom, recreation manager for Denver Water, said. “It’s certainly not welcome news that anybody in the state wants to see.”

The water provider also transfers Colorado River water through mountain tunnels and ditches to Front Range communities. Not only are the invasive mussels a concern for gates, valves, pipes and tunnels, they also cause problems for recreation. The shells are sharp enough to cut feet and the decaying mussels and old shells “smell to all heck,” Ransom said.

They haven’t launched new prevention efforts in response to zebra mussels reports, but that’s because the provider and its partner agencies already had fairly controlled boat launch and inspection procedures, he said.

A view of part of Eleven Mile State Park in Park County, Colorado. The view shows the Eleven Mile Canyon Dam and part of the Eleven Mile Canyon Reservoir. By Jeffrey Beall – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154086653

They already intercepted adult zebra mussels on boats this year, he said. The latest catch was at Eleven Mile Reservoir in early October.

They’re trying to get the word out to people to make sure their boats and gear are clean, drained and dry. The zebra mussels like to hide in dark cavities, particularly around motors.

The good news is that Denver Water’s reservoirs, pipelines and tunnels on the Western Slope are upstream from the main infested areas, Ransom said.

“It doesn’t help me sleep at night, let’s put it that way,” he said. “We know that it’s closer and closer, and we’re trying to be extra vigilant when it comes to prevention in our waters.”

More by Shannon Mullane

Mrs. Gulch’s landscape November 7, 2025

Are “Day Zero Droughts” Closer Than We Think? Here’s What We Know: A new study warns that day zero droughts—when reservoirs fail to supply taps—could become common within this decade — EOS.org

A new paper proposes that devastating “day zero droughts” like the one that struck Cape Town, South Africa, in 2017–2018 will become more common. Credit: Daniel Case/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Click the link to read the article on the Eos website (Mariana Mastache-Maldonado). Here’s an excerpt:

October 5, 2025

The outlook for our planet’s water future is anything but reassuring. Across much of the world, communities are already confronting prolonged drought, shrinking reservoirs, and the growing struggle to secure reliable access. Now, a new study in Nature Communicationssuggests that so-called day zero droughts (DZDs)—moments when water levels in reservoirs fall so low that water may no longer reach homes—could become common as early as this decade and the 2030s. To find out where and when DZDs are most likely to occur, scientists at the Center for Climate Physics in Busan, South Korea, ran a series of large-scale climate simulations. They considered the imbalance between decreasing natural supply (such as years of below-average rainfall and depleted river flows) and increasing human demand (including surging economic and demographic growth)…

“Most studies tend to focus on supply alone, not on the interplay between supply and demand,” explained Christian L. E. Franzke, a climate scientist and coauthor of the study. “But even without global warming, if water demand continues to rise steadily, scarcity is inevitable.”

The team found that urban areas face the highest risk of DZDs. As cities expand, their thirst for water often exceeds what local systems can provide, leaving them exposed to shortages and instability. The near catastrophe in Cape Town in 2018, when water was rationed to avoid a complete shutdown, remains a stark warning for cities worldwide. “I remember the measures that had to be taken,” Franzke said. “There were severe restrictions—people had to limit their use to just a few liters a day.”

The human toll of DZDs goes beyond empty taps. It deepens existing inequalities, hitting low-income communities hardest because they are generally less able to endure rising costs of accessing clean water while also being more reliant on public utilities that are slower to secure alternate water sources. Urban DZDs also threaten public health by disrupting sanitation. Overall, a DZD weakens economies and undermines social stability—especially in developing regions where physical, economic, and institutional vulnerabilities overlap.

Central spatial maps (a) and (b) show the spatial distribution of the ensemble mean waiting time and duration of day zero drought (DZD) events, respectively, following the time of first emergence (TOFE) at each grid point of DZD-prone regions across the globe. Map (c) represents the spatial distribution of the frequency (%) of extreme DZD events, defined as those where the event duration exceeds the waiting time, indicating prolonged water scarcity impact and short recovery period. The accompanying inset circular diagram illustrates the distribution of these events, with the color scale indicating the proportion (percentages) of grid cells experiencing such conditions. The surrounding paired panels depict the probability density function (PDF) of waiting time and duration for DZD events across seven DZD-prone regions. The vertical dashed lines mark the ensemble mean (black), 90th percentile (blue), and 99th percentile (green) for each region. The red dashed line represents the monthly scale of the compound extreme event, which is 48 months. The period considered for each grid point starts from the month after each decade of their respective TOFEs and continues until 2100. Click image for larger version. Credit: Ravinandrasana and Franzke, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63784-6, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Black Eyed Peas could replace water thirsty crops on the Western Slope — KVNF

Black-eyed peas, in and out of the shell. By Bubba73 (Jud McCranie) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40953002

Click the link to read the article on the KVNF website (List Young). Here’s an excerpt:

October 6, 2025

Black eyed peas could replace water thirsty crops on the Western Slope. That’s the hope of Srinivassa Pinnamaneni, Ph. D, at Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences in Fruita, Colorado. Pinnamaneni, said the project was initiated in his brain after seeing the decrease in pinto beans in the state. He said in the last three decades the crop has decreased from almost 300,000 acres to currently 25,000 acres in Colorado. He said most farmers have replaced pinto beans with corn, in part due, to more pests and diseases plaguing the bean crops.

“We want to introduce a new crop that saves water at the same time increases on farm returns and also take care of soil health. So the crop that came into my mind is black eyed peas. They have same duration, like 85 to 95 duration like pinto beans. And you farmers need not change any machinery for growing black eyed peas,” said Pinnamaneni.

Prior to the pilot program on the Western Slope, Pinnamaneni reached out to Trinidad Benham in Nebraska for a contract on the black eyed peas raised by Mike Ahlberg of Delta, Colorado.

“I went there to Gering, Nebraska to get the seeds and this spring I gave them to Mike Ahlberg, who planted them on Memorial Day and harvested on 13th of September.”

The researcher said Ahlberg’s pinto beans yielded around 30 hundred weight while the black eyed peas, they gave 25 hundred weight. He also noted that the current price of pinto beans nationally is $28 dollars to anywhere between $24 to $28 dollars per hundredweight. Trinidad Benham Corporation has made a contract with Ahlberg to buy the black eyed peas at $49 nine dollars per hundredweight.

“Luckily, they are trying to send the semi this week to ship these beautiful peas back to their processing plant at Sterling, Colorado,” Pinnamaneni said.

He said next year the Colorado Department of Agriculture will once again fund the project that could improve both soil health and save water.

Colorado River Basin in Colorado via the Colorado Geological Survey

#Colorado State Land Board Acquires Lake Fork Ranch to Expand Trust’s Revenue and #Conservation Opportunities — Governor Jared Polis

Lake Fork Ranch. Photo credit: Fay Ranches

Click the link to read the release on Governor Polis’ website:

November 5, 2025

The Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners (State Land Board) has approved the acquisition of the approximately 800-acre Lake Fork Ranch, located just west of Leadville in Lake County. The purchase represents a strategic reinvestment of trust land proceeds into a high-quality property with strong natural and agricultural values, diverse income potential, and long-term value-appreciation prospects. Through this acquisition, continued agricultural use and carefully planned recreation access will ensure that the ranch remains an active and productive part of the local economy.

“With this acquisition, we are protecting a special and amazing outdoor space in Lake County, expanding recreational opportunities, investing in Colorado students, and supporting economic success in our rural communities. Today’s announcement highlights our work to bolster local communities, protect Colorado’s natural resources and lands, and ensure long-term funding and preservation for the next generation and in Lake County,” said Governor Polis.

“I’m proud of the work the State Land Board is continuing to do to preserve agricultural use and to thoughtfully plan recreation activities,” said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

“Lake Fork Ranch exemplifies how we’re building a more resilient and forward-looking land portfolio for Colorado’s public schools,” said Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Director of the State Land Board. “It’s an investment in both the economic and ecological future of our trust lands—balancing water, recreation, and natural-capital assets that will generate returns for generations to come.”

A Strategic Investment

The acquisition aligns with the agency’s current strategic plan—to grow recurring, diversified revenue through entrepreneurial, non-extractive ventures.

Located three miles west of Leadville and framed by dramatic views of Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, Lake Fork Ranch includes irrigated meadows, creek bottomland, and forested uplands served by numerous water rights. The property is one of the last large, intact, non-eased ranches near Leadville and offers year-round access via state and county roads.

The purchase was funded through Non-Simultaneous Exchange (NSE) proceeds—funds generated from prior trust-land dispositions that must be reinvested into new properties within two years. If NSE proceeds are not invested in real property within this timeframe, the funds are transferred to the Permanent Fund—an inviolate fund invested in financial instruments.

Building a Modern Land-Use Portfolio

The State Land Board will implement a phased business plan for Lake Fork Ranch through 2028, designed to engage multiple lines of business and with the goal of achieving recurring annual yields of 2 percent or greater, with the potential for outsized one-time returns through ecosystem-services projects. “This acquisition reflects the significant collaboration and analysis by our dedicated team working group that looked closely at how Lake Fork Ranch could strengthen our portfolio as a long-term asset,” said Matt LaFontaine, Acquisition and Disposition Manager for the State Land Board. “Our staff will continue to meet and develop the business plan for this property. I’m particularly proud to add a property that not only fits our investment strategy, but will also generate future opportunities for the schoolchildren of Colorado—the ultimate beneficiaries of every decision we make.”

Potential future initiatives on the property include:

Mitigation Banking: Lake Fork Ranch has strong potential for ecosystem services projects and associated revenue. In particular, the west side of the property contains significant riparian area and wetland soils.

Soil Carbon Sequestration: Staff believes that implementing a soil management carbon protocol can provide a reasonable income stream.

Biodiversity Voluntary Market Project: The property has the potential to generate biodiversity credits and soil carbon credits, due in part to the property’s two fens and several areas of high priority wildlife habitat.

Agritourism-Ecotourism and Short-term Rentals: Agritourism/ecotourism is an increasingly desirable recreation opportunity. The existing residential structures can provide a nucleus, and select development of a few small cabins and a two-unit bathhouse would ideally position the property for this use.

Traditional Recreation: One of the property’s greatest natural resources is Lake Fork Creek. A rod-fee based fishing lease on the creek to outfitters would be easy to implement in the Board’s first year of ownership. In addition, Staff believes that a small campground could be ideally located on the north side of the property.

Water Development: Lake Fork Ranch benefits from numerous water rights. There are potential leasing opportunities for the rights including for the irrigation of the property to produce hay.

Cultural Resource Preservation: The property’s historic ranch structures, including improvements dating to the 19th century, add cultural depth to its natural and financial value. Their restoration could support heritage tourism, interpretive programming, or similar offerings, complementing recreation and agritourism uses. Staff will assess the feasibility of these efforts.

Initial capital improvements—estimated at $2 to $3 million—could address infrastructure needs and position the property for these new revenue streams. Staff will return to the Board in the future to request expenditure authorization once project scopes are finalized.

A Smart Investment in Colorado’s Future

Through thoughtful management, Lake Fork Ranch will serve as an example of how working lands can produce income for Colorado’s public schools while simultaneously advancing the State’s broader goals for recreation, biodiversity, and water conservation.

“From wetland restoration to fishing access, Lake Fork Ranch gives us a living laboratory for nature-based enterprise,” said Eliot Hoyt, Assistant Director for Sustainability and Working Lands. “It’s part of our commitment to generate dependable revenue while protecting the landscapes that define Colorado.”

Future investments in habitat restoration and wetland protection will not only enhance the property’s long-term value, but also position the State Land Board for participation in emerging conservation markets that reward landowners for measurable ecological outcomes. Meanwhile, continued agricultural use and carefully planned recreation access will ensure that the ranch remains an active and productive part of the local economy.

Arkansas River Basin — Graphic via the Colorado Geological Survey

#Drought news November 6, 2025: The High Plains Region is currently the Region least-affected by dryness and drought even though coverage in sum increased slightly this past week when most of the region reported a few tenths of an inch of precipitation at best

Click on a thumbnail graphic to view a gallery of drought data from the US Drought Monitor website.

US Drought Monitor map November 4, 2025.

Click the link to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

This Week’s Drought Summary

Heavy precipitation again doused the Pacific Northwest, especially across the northern half of the Cascades and along the Washington and northern Oregon Coast. Between 6 and 10 inches of precipitation fell on most of northwesternmost Washington, and 6 to 8 inches fell on most of the northern Washington Cascades and a few areas near the Washington/Oregon border and along the northwestern Oregon Coast. From central Oregon northward, over 3 inches fell on the Cascades and coastal areas while 1.5 to 3.0 inches fell on other locations there from the Cascade Foothills to the Pacific Ocean. Farther east, locally heavy precipitation (1 to locally approaching 4 inches) was observed in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho. Other locations from the Great Plains westward to the Pacific Ocean were much drier, with most locations recording no measurable precipitation. Across the eastern half of the country, moderate to heavy precipitation (1 to locally 4 inches) fell on most of the Northeast, with the heaviest amounts falling on northern New York and in a swath from southwestern New England and the New York City area northward through northeastern New York and adjacent Vermont. Areas around the Outer Banks of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia also recorded heavy precipitation (2 to 4 inches) while amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches in most of central and eastern Maine, New Jersey, central and eastern Pennsylvania, parts of the Mid-Atlantic region, and across Kentucky, most of Tennessee, and the adjacent Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. The west side of the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley recorded generally 0.5 to locally 2.0 inches of precipitation, similar to totals reported across the upper Southeast, the central Carolinas, the central Appalachians, and the Upper Ohio Valley. In contrast, little or no precipitation was also observed across most of the Lower Mississippi Valley, near the central and eastern Gulf Coast, over the South Atlantic region from South Carolina through southern Florida, and through the Great Lakes region and adjacent portions of the Midwest.

These conditions led to broad areas of improvement across the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic region, most of the Carolinas, the central and southern Appalachians, the Ohio Valley, portions of the Middle Mississippi Valley and adjacent Lower Mississippi Valley, a few parts of the central and northern Rockies and southern California, and portions of the Pacific Northwest, where the heavy precipitation did not improve moisture shortages as much as might be expected due to quickly-increasing normal at this time of year. Meanwhile, after the prior week’s beneficial precipitation, low precipitation totals this past week allowed for broad areas of intensification or re-intensification of dryness and drought over most of Texas, southern Oklahoma, the northern Great Lakes, parts of the northern Great Plains, portions of the central High Plains, north-central Montana, and central Maui. A few areas of deterioration were also introduced from southern South Carolina through southern Florida and through parts of the Virginia Piedmont…

High Plains

The High Plains Region is currently the Region least-affected by dryness and drought even though coverage in sum increased slightly this past week when most of the region reported a few tenths of an inch of precipitation at best. Measurable totals were restricted to eastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska. The dry week induced a few areas of deterioration, but even so, less than 39 percent of the Region is experiencing some degree of dryness (D0+), and only 17.8 percent is enduring drought (D1+). Precipitation deficits on most time frames crept upward Region-wide, but areas of deterioration were relatively limited given the relatively low natural and human water demand this time of year…

Colorado Drought Monitor one week change map ending November 4, 2025.

West

Several inches of precipitation pelted central and northern sections of the Cascades and coastal Pacific Northwest, and 1 to 3 inch totals were common across northwestern Montana and northern Idaho, as well as the lower elevations in the Pacific Northwest between the coast and the Cascades. Several tenths of an inch of precipitation were reported farther south along the West Coast and in the lower elevations of the northern Intermountain West, but most of the West Region received no measurable precipitation for the week. This prompted areas of intensification in north-central Montana and southeastern New Mexico while the heavy precipitation led to areas of improvement in the Pacific Northwest. But given how early it is in the wet season and that normals are ramping upward fairly quickly there, improvement in dryness and drought was not as widespread as one might assume. Drought coverage (D1+) in Washington was unchanged from the prior week at 94.8 percent, and the extent of the more intense drought classifications (D2-D4) declined only slightly from 65.1 to 63.9 percent. There was even less change in Oregon, although dryness there is not as widespread as in Washington. Montana reported intensification in north-central parts of the state, but a little improvement farther west, as was the case in the fringes of the D3 and D4 areas in Idaho. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, flows along numerous rivers in the West remain very low. On the Missouri River at Great Falls, MT, in early November, streamflow was observed at 3,620 cubic feet per second, well below the mean for the date since the turn of the century (4,934 cubic feet per second, ranging from 3,880 in 2021 up to 6,470 in 2010). On the Firehole River, near West Yellowstone, MT, streamflow was 212 cubic feet per second in early November, below the 2002-2024 mean of 272 for similar dates, which ranged from 236 in 2022 to 318 in 2008. These amounts are up slightly since late summer. In late August, a field measurement of 193 cubic feet per second was bested only by 192 in early August 2016…

South

Moderate to heavy rain (1 to 3 inches) doused Tennessee, portions of Arkansas, and some adjacent areas last week. Dryness and drought over western Tennessee and much of Arkansas eased a bit as a result. Most other locations across Tennessee, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and northern Mississippi reported several tenths of an inch of rain, and similar totals fell on isolated areas across southern Mississippi, Louisiana, and coastal Texas. The remainder of the Region, including most of Texas and Oklahoma, observed no measurable rain. After beneficial precipitation the prior week, the precipitation-free week allowed dryness and drought to re-intensify or expand over large parts of Texas and southern Oklahoma. After drought coverage (D1+) declined to about one-third of the state the prior week, coverage increased to over 45 percent this past week, which is the greatest extent since early May. Areas of late-season crop stress and some die-off has been reported across Oklahoma and Texas over the past few weeks…

Looking Ahead

Over the next 5 days (through November 10), the Pacific Northwest is expected to remain relatively wet. Between 3 and 6 inches are anticipated in parts of the Washington and northern Oregon Cascades and far northwestern Washington. Generally 2 to 3 inches are forecast through the rest of the central and northern Cascades, most of coastal Washington, and coastal areas in northwestern Oregon and northwestern California. Elsewhere, moderate to locally heavy precipitation (1 to 2 inches) is anticipated in the remaining areas from northern California to the Canadian Border. Over much of the northern Rockies, in southern Michigan, to the lee of Lake Erie, across northern New York, and over parts of New England. Totals ranging from a few tenths of an inch to about an inch are anticipated across the northern Intermountain West, higher elevations of western Wyoming, isolated parts of the northern Great Plains, portions of the Midwest, the east half of the Great Lakes, most of the Appalachians, the middle and upper Ohio Valley, the central Gulf Coast states, much of the Northeast, and southeastern Florida. Other locations are expected to receive a few tenths of an inch at best, with little or none anticipated in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain, most of interior Florida, the Lower Mississippi Valley, and from the central and southern Great Plains westward into California. Temperatures are forecast to average warmer than normal in the West and cooler than normal in the East. A shot of cold air – the coldest of the season so far – should push through the East early next week. It will not linger for long, but on one or two nights temperatures could approach freezing as far south as the central Gulf Coast, and readings in the 50’s deg. F may reach into the southern Florida Peninsula. For the 5 days overall, high temperatures are expected to average 5 to 8 deg. F below normal from the Great Lakes and Midwest southeastward into northern Florida. In contrast, daily highs from the High Plains to the Pacific Coast should average 5 to 12 deg. F above normal, with the largest departures expected in parts of the Great Basin, near the California/Oregon border, and over the northernmost Rockies.

The 6- to 10-day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for November 11-15 favors subnormal precipitation for most areas from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast, except along the northern tier of the region. Odds for unusual dryness exceed 50 percent from the Lower Mississippi and Ohio Valleys eastward through the South Atlantic States outside southern Florida. Abnormally wet weather is favored from the High Plains to the Pacific Coast, with chances for unusually heavy precipitation exceeding 60 percent across central and southwestern California. Wet weather is also somewhat favored through Hawaii and over most of Alaska. Temperatures are expected to average below normal in the East from the lower Great Lakes, Middle Ohio Valley, and central Gulf Coast eastward to the Atlantic Coast. The likelihood for subnormal temperatures exceeds 70 percent from northern Florida northward along the Coastal Plain into southern New England. From roughly the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast, warmer than normal weather is favored, with odds topping 70 percent across a broad area covering most of the central and southern Rockies and High Plains. Warm weather is also expected over most of Alaska and across Hawaii.

US Drought Monitor one week change map ending November 4, 2025.

Just for grins here’s a slideshow of early November US Drought Monitor maps for the past few years.

US Drought Monitor map November 4, 2025.
US Drought Monitor map November 5, 2024.
US Drought Monitor map November 7, 2023.
US Drought Monitor map November 1, 2022.
US Drought Monitor map November 2, 2021.
US Drought Monitor November 3, 2020.
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2019.
US Drought Monitor November 6, 2018.
US Drought Monitor November 7, 2017.
US Drought Monitor November 1, 2016.
US Drought Monitor November 3, 2015
US Drought Monitor November 4, 2014
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2013
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2012
US Drought Monitor November 1, 2011
US Drought Monitor November 2, 2010

Rainfall brings #ColoradoRiver drought relief, but concerns for next year’s water supply remain — Cassie Sherwood (WaterDesk.org) #COriver #aridification

The Colorado River fills Glen Canyon, forming Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. The reservoir could drop to a new record low in 2026 if conditions remain dry in the Southwestern watershed. (Alexander Heilner/The Water Desk with aerial support from LightHawk)

Click the link to read the article on The Water Desk website (Cassie Sherwood):

November 4, 2025

This story is produced and distributed by The Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism.

Heavy autumn rains brought relief to drought-plagued portions of the Southwest, but across the Colorado River basin ongoing water supply concerns still linger amid tense policy negotiations and near record-low reservoir storage.

Even after accounting for the heavy rain, 57% of the Colorado River watershed remains in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. More than 11% of the basin is in extreme drought.

A less than average upcoming snow season combined with a dry spring or early summer in 2026 could create conditions for another low runoff year. The Colorado River’s headwaters saw a weak snowpack last winter, which contributed to one of the worst spring runoff seasons on record in 2025. Drought conditions spread and worsened into summer throughout the southern Rocky Mountains.

Peter Goble, Colorado’s assistant state climatologist, explained that the recent rainfall “certainly recharged soils,” in some watersheds.

Flows on the Animas River at Durango. Water Year 2026 is shown in black in comparison to past years. From https://climate.colostate.edu/drought/#streamflow

Streamflow in the Animas River and Rio Grande increased significantly following the October rains and flooding. Rain in southwest Colorado, particularly around Pagosa Springs, brought flooding that damaged homes and downtown businesses. Rain gauges near the San Juan Mountains recorded 7 to 10 inches of precipitation from October 9-15.

“We would love to see this rain come over a more steady incremental period,” Goble said. “But oftentimes it is these flooding events that kind of put the kibosh on a drought more locally.”

The flooding erased drought designations on the Drought Monitor map in those localized areas, but basinwide drought conditions tell a different story. Dry soils, depleted reservoirs and winter weather forecasts continue to cause water managers to worry.

Even with the recent rain, soils in many parts of the Colorado River basin remain dry. Soil absorbs moisture almost like a sponge. When the soil moisture is low, spring runoff soaks into the soil, saturating the ground first. Soils that are more saturated lead to more water filtering into streams and reservoirs when runoff occurs, making the process more efficient.

“We’re still going to need a good snowpack in order to be set up nicely, but this (rain) improves our outlook for the efficiency of that snowpack,” Goble said.

La Niña causes the jet stream to move northward and to weaken over the eastern Pacific. During La Niña winters, the Southwest tends to see warmer and drier conditions than usual. Since La Niña conditions are more common during the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a negative PDO is likewise associated with warmer, drier conditions across the Southwest. (Image credit: NOAA)

Federal forecasts show the possibility of a mild La Niña through February. The climate pattern occurs when Pacific Ocean waters cool down and alter global weather conditions. La Niña patterns often impact the amount of snowpack accumulation in the coming year. The southern part of Colorado is often drier in a La Niña year while northern areas, around Steamboat Springs, typically see snowier conditions.

The stakes for an above average runoff next year are high. The two biggest reservoirs in the country, Lake Powell and Lake Mead have steadily declined over the last 25 years. Powell is currently at 29% of its capacity and Lake Mead is at 32%. A lessened runoff could push them dangerously low.

While the rain slightly alleviates local drought, it’s “only a drop in the bucket when it comes to refilling Lake Powell and Lake Mead,” Goble said. “We’re still going to see those regional water shortages persist.”

Glen Canyon Dam holds back the waters of Lake Powell, which has reached critically low levels in the last three years. The reservoir serves downstream water use in Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. (Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk)

If water levels continue to decline in these larger reservoirs, the dams’ infrastructure is threatened and the hydropower turbines can’t be used. Lake Powell, for example, has different outlets installed so water can be released in low conditions, however they are not designed to be the main outlet source. New federal projections show it’s possible Powell’s levels could drop low enough to cease hydropower production as early as October 2026, if conditions remain dry.

“They could reach levels they have never reached before and potentially reach catastrophic levels,” said John Berggren, regional policy manager for Western Resource Advocates.

In response to extremely low water conditions, it’s possible water from upstream reservoirs in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico could be released to support Powell’s hydropower turbines.

“We are seeing a new normal because of climate change, because of aridification,” Eric Kuhn said, former general manager of the Colorado River District, on the state’s Western Slope. In 2022, the basin saw similar drought conditions.

“We are back where we were just a few years later,” Kuhn said. “The system is slipping away.”

The basin states are also engaged in negotiations for new operating guidelines for the Colorado River, set to be in place by 2027. Given the ongoing drought conditions, water experts say the two reservoirs cannot wait for new guidelines.

“Don’t forget the short term problem while you are focused on a long-term agreement,” Kuhn said. A recent research paper, co-authored by Kuhn, highlights the need for urgent consumptive cuts basinwide. “We have got to figure out what’s going to happen next year if next year happens to be dry.”

Map of the Colorado River drainage basin, created using USGS data. By Shannon1 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

#Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs rips Upper Basin States’ ‘extreme negotiating position’ on #ColoradoRiver — Tucson.com #COriver #aridification

Udall/Overpeck 4-panel Figure Colorado River temperature/precipitation/natural flows with trend. Lake Mead and Lake Powell storage. Updated through Water Year 2024. Credit: Brad Udall

Click the link to read the article on the Tucson.com website (Tony Davis). Here’s an excerpt:

November 5, 2025

Gov. Katie Hobbs blasted officials of the four Upper Colorado River Basin states for what she called their “extreme negotiating position” in refusing to offer curbs on their water use to help save the depleted river.

“This river is shared by seven states, and it benefits seven states. Therefore there must be water conservation efforts in all seven states within the Colorado River Basin,” Hobbs said Wednesday in Tucson at a gathering of the National Water Resources Association Meeting Leadership Forum.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. Photo credit: Arizona Office of the Govenor

“Yet as I stand before you today, after years of negotiations and meeting after meeting after meeting, and time running short to cut a deal, we have yet to see any offer or real, verifiable plan to conserve water from the four Upper Basin States who rely upon this shrinking river,” Hobbs said in a talk at Loew’s Ventana Canyon resort on the northeast side…

The seven states this century have been using far more river water for farms, homes and businesses than is provided by Mother Nature, with the overuse now reaching 3.6 million acre-feet a year, or more than one-fourth of the river’s annual average flow. Those annual flows have declined at least 20% since the turn of the century due to drought and human-caused climate change, many scientists have said. The Upper Basin states have so far not retreated from their position that they see no reason to conserve any additional water because they say many of their farmers, in particular, have already suffered many shortages in recent years when flows in the river and its tributaries aren’t enough to satisfy demand. The Upper Basin states also note that they use significantly less water than they have rights to use under the 1922 Colorado River Compact, while the Lower Basin states typically use more than their allocated rights, particularly when evaporation of water in the Lower Basin’s stretch of river and its tributaries is considered…In a brief interview Wednesday, Hobbs noted that Arizona has one of the fastest growing economies in the US and that could be undercut by an unfavorable CAP allotment. Hobbs went on to say the state maintaining a leadership role in the chip manufacturing industry is not only an economic issue, but also one of national security because some of the most advanced computer chips in the U.S. are being manufactured here. In her speech Hobbs said, “We see time and time again, Arizona, California and Nevada coming to the table, offering significant water cutbacks, and seeing nothing from the Upper Basin.

Fig. 1. The Colorado River Basin covers parts of seven U.S. states as well as part of Mexico. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

‘Burning Money’: Dept. of Energy Directs $100 Million to Modernize Declining Coal Plants

Craig station. Photo credit: Allen Best/Big Pivots

The funding represents Trump’s latest attempt at coal revitalization, but updating the nation’s aging facilities would cost billions, experts say.

By Anika Jane Beamer

November 3, 2025

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced up to $100 million in federal funding for projects modernizing the nation’s remaining coal plants, nearly half of which were slated to close by 2030.

The investment, a fraction of what would be needed for a comprehensive upgrade, is unlikely to make coal power more affordable, energy experts and anti-coal advocates say.

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued the Notice of Funding Opportunity, calling for applications to design, implement, or test refurbishments and retrofit systems that allow coal plants to “operate more efficiently, reliably, and affordably.”

The announcement outlined three key areas for development projects: advanced wastewater management systems, systems that enable plants to switch between coal and natural gas, and advanced “co-firing” systems that allow simultaneous combustion of both fuel types.

The funding comes just a month after the department announced $625 million to “expand and reinvigorate” America’s coal industry.

That investment already included $350 million to recommission closed coal power plants or modernize plants and $100 million for the three development areas outlined in Friday’s announcement. The DOE did not respond to questions about why additional funds were announced just a month later.

Trump’s investments in coal are a drop in the bucket of what would realistically be needed to revamp the plants, said Michelle Solomon, a manager in the electricity program at Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan energy and climate policy research firm based in San Francisco.

“Those types of retrofits for a single plant can cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Solomon. “To do that for every plant in the coal fleet, you’re looking at billions of dollars. And you’d be putting those billions of dollars into clunkers. Literally burning that money.”

In April, following Trump’s “Beautiful Clean Coal” executive order, the Department of Energy rolled out a series of actions intended to reinvigorate American coal production. The department reinstated the National Coal Council as a federal advisory committee, offered long-term financing for coal infrastructure, designated coal as a critical material and mineral and ended a moratorium prohibiting new coal mining leases on federal land.

“You’d be putting those billions of dollars into clunkers. Literally burning that money.”— Michelle Solomon, Energy Innovation

Last week’s funding announcement advances Trump’s commitment to restore U.S. energy dominance, the official press release read.

“For years, the Biden and Obama administrations relentlessly targeted America’s coal industry and workers, resulting in the closure of reliable power plants and higher electricity costs,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in the report. “Thankfully, President Trump has ended the war on American coal and is restoring common sense energy policies that put Americans first.”

Yet Trump’s attempt to save coal from the brink is unlikely to succeed.

In 2001, coal made up half of the electricity generated by utility-scale facilities in the United States. Today, it accounts for less than a fifth of generated power; the decline reflects the changing energy landscape.

The decline of coal energy is due to rising coal prices and the proven cost-effectiveness of alternative energy sources, including solar, wind and natural gas, said Solomon.

Analysis by Energy Innovation found that coal prices increased 28 percent between 2021 and 2024, while inflation rose only 16 percent in that time.

At 99 percent of U.S. coal plants—209 out of 210—it would be cheaper to replace energy with new wind and solar than to keep them operating, a 2023 Energy Innovation analysis found.

The Sierra Club has led the charge to close power plants in the U.S. through their decades-long “Beyond Coal” campaign. The new coal funding is “just the latest Trump administration action that harms people and the planet,” Sierra Club climate policy director Patrick Drupp wrote in a statement to Inside Climate News.

“Their pro fossil fuel agenda is intent on keeping deadly and expensive coal plants alive while Americans foot the bill and suffer the public health damage,” Drupp added.

Trump’s emergency orders to keep operating multiple coal plants slated for retirement have cost ratepayers tens of millions of dollars in the last year alone.

A 90-day emergency order requiring continued operation of Consumers Energy’s J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan has generated an additional $80 million in costs since May. The company has said that it will seek payment from ratepayers across the Midwest, in accordance with the cost-collection process set by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Trump has repeatedly argued that coal is critical to improving the reliability of the American energy grid amid surging power demand. But the reliability of coal plants may be overstated.

Between 2013 and 2024, forced-outage rates (excluding planned outages for maintenance) for coal exceeded those for other major sources of electricity, including gas, nuclear and hydroelectric power, according to a report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Most coal plants in the U.S. were built before 1990. Keeping those plants running as they age requires more and more money, leading utilities to schedule retirement dates for nearly half of all plants.

Solomon uses the analogy of car ownership to explain the decline of coal energy in the U.S. “If you have a car that has 250,000 miles on it, very little is going to bring that car back to new,” she said. “You can only do so much when the infrastructure is that old.”

Correction: This story was updated Nov. 4, 2025, to reflect that inflation rose 16%, not 6%, between 2021 and 2024, according to Energy Innovation’s analysis.

2 ways you can conserve the water used to make your food — Huma Tariq Malik and Thomas Borch (#Colorado State University)

Irrigation equipment waters an alfalfa field in Kansas. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Huma Tariq Malik, Colorado State University and Thomas Borch, Colorado State University

As the world’s climate warms and droughts and water shortages are becoming more common, farmers are struggling to produce enough food. Farmers continue to adapt, but there are ways for you to help, too.

For decades, farmers have sought to conserve water in agriculture, with a focus on improving irrigation efficiency. That has included decreasing the practice of flood irrigation, in which water flows through trenches between rows of plants. Instead, many farmers are adopting more precise methods of delivering water to plants’ roots, such as sprinklers and drip systems.

In recent years, policymakers, researchers and consumers have come to look more closely at opportunities to conserve water throughout the entire process of growing, shipping, selling and eating food. Working with colleagues, we have identified several key ways to reduce water used in agriculture – some of which directly involve farmers, but two of which everyone can follow, to help reduce how much water is used to grow the food they eat.

Some work for farmers

Farmers can match crops to local land, water and climate conditions to reduce stress on scarce resources and make food production more sustainable in the long run. That could include reducing the amount of alfalfa and other hay crops used to feed livestock, or swapping out wheat and sorghum and instead planting corn and potatoes.

The condition of the soil also matters. Many farmers have focused on short-term productivity, relying on fertilizers or frequent tillage to boost yields from one season to the next. But over time, those practices wear down the soil, making it less fertile and less able to hold water.

Soil is not just a surface to grow things on. It is a living system that can be built and fed or depleted. Practices such as planting cover crops in the off-season to protect the soil, reducing tillage, applying compost and rotating different types of crops can all help soil hold more water and support crops even during droughts.

A choice for consumers

Adapting on-farm practices addresses only part of the water conservation effort. While crops are grown in fields, they move through a vast network of processors, distributors, supermarkets and households before being eaten, wasted or lost. At each link in this chain, consumers’ choices determine how much agricultural water is ultimately saved.

People’s dietary preferences, in particular, play a major role in agricultural water use. Producing meat requires significantly more water than growing plant-based foods.

Per capita, Americans consume nearly three times the global average amount of meat each year.

While eliminating meat altogether is not everyone’s goal, even modest shifts in diet, whether reducing overall meat consumption or selecting proteins that use less water to produce, can ease the strain. Producing a pound of beef requires an estimated 1,800 gallons of water, compared with about 500 gallons for a pound of chicken.

Replacing all meat with the equivalent quantities of plant-based foods with comparable nutrition profiles could cut the average American’s food-related water use by nearly 30%. Even replacing a small amount of meat with plant-based foods or meats that require less water can make a difference.

While a single meal may seem inconsequential, if multiplied across millions of households these choices translate into meaningful water savings.

Discarded food and plant waste sits in a pile. — How much water did it take to grow all this discarded food? Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

A second savings opportunity

Perhaps the simplest and most powerful step people can take to save water used in agriculture is to cut back on food waste.

In the United States, 22% of total water use is tied to producing food that ultimately goes uneaten.

In developing countries, losses often result from limited storage and transportation, but in high-income nations like the United States, most waste happens at the retail and household level. In the U.S., households alone account for nearly 50% of all food discarded nationwide.

This creates a major opportunity for everyone to contribute to water conservation. Understanding the water embedded in different foods can make people more mindful about what ends up in the trash.

And on top of feeling good about helping the environment, there’s a financial reward: Wasting less food also means saving the money spent on food that would have gone to waste.

Huma Tariq Malik, Ph.D. Student in Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University and Thomas Borch, Professor of Environmental and Agricultural Chemistry, Colorado State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Weminuche Wilderness at 50 — and a way forward for public lands: The creation of Colorado’s wilderness area was remarkably nonpartisan — Jonathan P. Thompson (LandDesk.org)

A photo illustration of the Grenadier Range in the Weminuche Wilderness. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

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

October 28, 2025

Editor’s note: Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance celebration of 50 years of the Weminuche Wilderness, Colorado’s largest wilderness area at nearly 500,000 acres. Congress passed the legislation establishing the Weminuche in 1975, and it now covers some of the most spectacular landscape in the nation. This is an adapted version of the talk I gave (with a lot fewer umms and uhhs in it).

As I’m sure you all are aware, our public lands have been under attack for a while now, but especially in the last nine months, from both the Trump administration and from the Republican-dominated Congress.

This all out assault has given me many reasons to worry about the fate of some of my favorite places. I have worried about Sen. Mike Lee, the MAGA adherent from Utah, selling off Animas Mountain or Jumbo Mountain to the housing developers; I have fretted about Trump shrinking or eliminating Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, or Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon national monuments and opening them to the latest uranium mining rush; and I worry that regulatory rollbacks and the administration’s “energy dominance” agenda will make the San Juan Basin and the Greater Chaco Region more vulnerable to a potential new natural gas boom driven by data center demand for more and more power.

But one place I haven’t worried (as much) about being attacked by the GOP and Trump is the Weminuche Wilderness. That’s not because I think Trump or Lee are above messing with wilderness areas. They aren’t. In fact, just this week they opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge up to oil and gas leasing. Still, the Wilderness Act is one of the few major environmental laws these guys haven’t gone after directly — at least so far.

But more than that, the reason I feel the Weminuche is less vulnerable to MAGA attacks is because I am confident that even the most die-hard anti-environmentalist sorts understand that an attack on the Weminuche would be an attack on this region and its identity. The Weminuche has simply become ingrained in the collective psyche of southwest Colorado and beyond. If the feds were to try to open it to logging or drilling or mining or any other sort of development, there would be a widespread, deep revolt from this entire region, even from many a Trump voter.

In part, that’s because of how special the place is, with or without a wilderness designation. But it also has to do with the way the wilderness was established, and the widespread local support it ultimately garnered.

Not long after the Wilderness Act of 1964 was signed into law, federal and state agencies and residents of southwestern Colorado began talking about establishing a wilderness area in the remote San Juan Mountains. Areas such as the Silverton Caldera had been heavily mined, and no longer qualified for wilderness designation (even if the mining industry and local communities would have allowed it).

But the heart of the San Juans in and around the Needle and Grenadier ranges certainly fit the bill. In 1859, Macomb expedition geologist J.S. Newberry described the San Juans as a “thousand interlocking spurs and narrow valleys, [which] form a labyrinth whose extent and intricacy will at present defy all attempts at detailed topographical analysis. Among these are precipices, ornamented with imitations of columns, arches, and pilasters, which form some of the grandest specimens of nature’s Gothic architecture I have ever beheld. When viewed from some nearer point they must be even awful in their sublimity.”

“Awful” might be a bit harsh, but sublime? Indeed. That this should become a wilderness must have seemed like a no-brainer.

Nevertheless, the process to designate the Weminuche was no slam dunk. It took a half decade of wrangling and debate and boundary adjustments and congressional committee sausage-making. What to me is most remarkable, however, looking back on the process from our current, politically polarized era, is that the debates were not partisan. And even though there were differing opinions on where the boundaries should be drawn or even whether there should be any wilderness at all, the conversation was just that: a conversation, and a civil one at that.

Proposals were forwarded by the Forest Service and the Colorado Game & Fish Department. Meanwhile, the Citizens for the Weminuche Wilderness — made up of local advocates, ranchers, scientists, business people, and academics — came up with its own proposed boundaries.

My father chronicled some of the back and forth in an insert he put together and edited for the Durango Herald in 1969 called “The Wilderness Question.” It includes his editorials and news stories, but also opinion pieces from a variety of residents.

Looking back, it is a truly striking document. First off, there’s the fact that the Forest Service’s original proposal would have excluded Chicago Basin — now considered the heart of the wilderness area and a Mecca for backpackers and peak-baggers (and their attendant impacts) — and the City Reservoir trail and surrounding areas. They were left out, in part, because there were hundreds of mining claims in those areas, and the mining industry remained interested in them, despite their remoteness and difficult access.

The citizens group, however, was having none of that, and demanded that both areas be included in the wilderness area. Carving these areas out would be like cutting the soul from the place. Ranchers weighed in, as well. James Cole, who was described as a “prominent Basin rancher,” wrote this for the Herald supplement: “The La Plata County Cattlemen are in favor of the proposed Weminuche Wilderness Area … We would like to see Weminuche Creek and Chicago Basin, which the forest service would like to exclude, included in the Wilderness Area.”

It may seem odd, today, to see a livestock operators’ group advocating for morewilderness than even the feds wanted, but it makes a lot of sense. Not only are many ranchers conservation-minded, but their operations were unlikely to be affected by wilderness designation, since grazing is allowed in wilderness areas. It’s actually far stranger to see southeastern Utah ranchers become some of the most zealous opponents of Bears Ears National Monument, since its establishment didn’t ban or restrict current grazing allotments.

Fred Kroeger, a lifelong Republican1 and local water buffalo, who for years pushed for the construction of the Animas-La Plata water project, supported wilderness designation because it would protect the region’s water. (My grandparents, who were Animas Valley farmers and Republicans also supported the designation).

John Zink was a rancher, businessman, fisherman, and hunter and member of the citizens’ committee. In the Herald supplement he wrote that the proposed Weminuche Wilderness, “offers outdoor lovers an opportunity to support another sound conservation practice.”

He continued:

“For me it won’t be many years until slowed feet and dimmed eyes make the south 40 the logical place to hunt, and when the time comes, I expect to enjoy it. But a new and younger generation of outdoor lovers will then be climbing the peaks and wading the icy streams. I ask all outdoor enthusiasts to support the proposed Weminuche Wilderness Area, so each new generation may enjoy it much as it was when Chief Weminuche led his braves across this fabled land.”

That’s not to say everyone was in favor of the citizens’ proposal, but opposition was almost always on pragmatic, not political or ideological grounds. Probably the most strident opposing opinion piece in the Herald supplement came from an engineer at the Dixilyn Mine outside of Silverton, who didn’t want his industry shut out of any potentially mineralized areas, including Chicago Basin. Less than two decades later, the mining industry would be all but gone from the San Juans — and it had nothing to do with wilderness areas or other environmental protections.

John Zink’s son, Ed, who would go on to become a prominent businessman, pillar of the community, and the driving force establishing Durango as a cycling hub, asked that some areas, including the trail to City Reservoir, be excluded from the wilderness to accommodate the rights of “riders of machines.” He was talking about motorbikes back then, but would later focus more on mountain bikes. Zink, a staunch Republican, was undoubtedly bummed when the City Reservoir trail was included in the wilderness area, per the citizens’ proposal.

Nevertheless, a few years later, when I was about eight years old, I went on one of my earliest backpacking trips up the trail with Zink (who was my dad’s cousin), along with his sons Tim and Brian, nephew Johnny, and my dad and my brother. We hiked for hours without seeing anyone else — and without hearing the buzz of any motorized vehicles. Ed didn’t seem to miss his motorcycle one bit, nor did he or other motorized groups file lawsuits to try to block or shrink the wilderness, as is common practice today.

Ed would later be instrumental in establishing the Hermosa Creek wilderness area north of Durango, a compromise bill that left Hermosa Creek trail open to mountain bikes and motorbikes. Again, he worked from a pragmatic mindset: He wanted to protect the watershed from which his irrigation and drinking water came, and the forests that sustained game and wildlife, while also retaining recreational access.

When Congress finally passed the bill establishing the Weminuche, it went with the citizens’ group proposal and then some, designating 405,000 acres of federal land as a wilderness area and including Chicago Basin and City Reservoir. The Weminuche Wilderness was expanded in 1980 and again in 1993.

In the years since, public lands protection and conservation have become more and more politicized, along with just about everything else. The pragmatism of the 1970s has been abandoned in favor of ideology; public lands, somehow, have become a pawn in the culture wars. I’m sure both parties share some of the blame, but judging from their actions of late, the MAGA Republicans have become the staunchly anti-public lands conservation party — and bear absolutely no resemblance to the old school Republicans who fought for wilderness designation 50 years ago. Hell, for that matter, some Republican politicians don’t even resemble their selves from just a couple of decades ago.

The death of the pragmatic Western Republican: Extremism is killing the old-school GOP — Jonathan P. Thompson

Trump’s going to go away some day, and the attacks on public lands will probably ease off. But they won’t stop altogether. Humans’ hunger for more stuff and minerals and energy will undoubtedly put pressure on the places we hold dear, maybe even on the Weminuche. But polarization and political partisanship will only hamper our ability to save these places. Our only hope is to, somehow, recover some of the civility, the non-partisanship, and the pragmatism that fueled the designation of the Weminuche in 1975.

I have no idea how we’ll get there, but I do hold out hope. I really have no choice. I’ll leave you with some words written by my father, Ian Thompson, in the “Wilderness Question” insert in 1969:

“The Wilderness effort we are engaged in at the time is, in one respect, a pitifully futile struggle. Earth’s total atmosphere is human-changed beyond redemption, Earth’s waters would not be recognizable to the Pilgrims. Earth’s creatures will never again know what it is to be truly “wild.” The sonic thunder of man’s aircraft will increasingly descend in destructive shock waves upon any “wilderness area” no matter how remote or how large. No, there is no wilderness, and throughout the future of humanity, there will be no wilderness. We are attempting to save the battered remnants of the original work of a Creator. To engage in this effort is the last hope of religious people.

“The child seen here and there in “The Wilderness Question” would have loved Wilderness. There is tragedy in that knowledge. Hopefully we will leave him a reasonable facsimile of Wilderness. In the last, tattered works of Creation this child might find the source of strength necessary to love America and the works of man. If we care enough to act.”

*Nowhere in the several-page insert are political parties mentioned, most likely because people were less inclined to identify themselves according to political party, but also because environmental preservation was not at all partisan at the time. I mention their affiliations here to further demonstrate the way the discussion transcended party politics.

Speaking of the Weminuche: It looks like wolves may have made their way into the wilderness area. Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s most recent Collared Gray Wolf Activity map shows that the wolves have been detected in the San Juan, Rio Grande, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison River watersheds in the southwestern part of the state. Since the minimum mapping unit is the watershed, it’s not clear that the wolves have for sure ventured into the Weminuche. But it is certain that they have been recorded in the San Juan Mountains. It seems only a matter of time before they cross into New Mexico and maybe even Utah.

When Trump was elected for the second time, I figured there was no way he could make public lands grazing any less restrictive. After all, presidential administrations of all political persuasions have famously — or infamously — done very little to restrict grazing or to get it to pay for itself (the BLM’s grazing fee has remained at $1.35 per AUM, the mandated minimum) for decades. But, alas, the U.S. Agriculture Department recently announced its plan to “Fortify the American Beef Industry: Strengthening Ranches, Rebuilding Capacity, and Lowering Costs for Consumers.”

The plan, as you may imagine, looks to expand public lands grazing, among other things. And it was released at about the same time as Trump encouraged folks to eat Argentinian beef, since he seems to have developed a sort of crush on Argentina President Javier Milei.

I’ll get into the details of the USDA plan and offer some thoughts on it in the next dispatch. In the meantime, you can dive into my deep dive on public lands grazing here, though you have to be a paid subscriber (or sign up for a free trial) to get past the paywall.

The West’s Sacred Cow Public land grazing makes it through another administration unreformed — Jonathan P. Thompson

West’s Sacred Cow part II: Indian Creek case study Plus: Monarchs in trouble, Wacky weather, Living in f#$%ed up times — Jonathan P. Thompson

Windom, Eolus, and Sunlight — Weminuche Wilderness via 14ers.org

Coyote Gulch enjoying a lunch break at the top of Windom Peak or Sunlight Peak in the Weminuche Wilderness with a hiking buddy, 1986ish.

New Study Reveals Source of Rain is Major Factor Behind Drought Risks for Farmers — Christine Clark (University of #California San Diego)

Last night’s storm (July 30, 2021) was epic — Ranger Tiffany (@RangerTMcCauley) via her Twitter feed.

Click the link to read the release on the University of California San Diego website:

November 03, 2025

A new University of California San Diego study uncovers a hidden driver of global crop vulnerability: the origin of rainfall itself.

Published in Nature Sustainability, the research traces atmospheric moisture back to its source—whether it evaporated from the ocean or from land surfaces such as soil, lakes and forests. When the sun heats these surfaces, water turns into vapor, rises into the atmosphere, and later falls again as rain.

Ocean-sourced moisture travels long distances on global winds, often through large-scale weather systems such as atmospheric rivers, monsoons, and tropical storms. In contrast, land-sourced moisture—often called recycled rainfall—comes from water that evaporates nearby soils and vegetation, feeding local storms. The study finds that this balance between oceanic and terrestrial (land) sources strongly influences a region’s drought risk and crop productivity.

“Our work reframes drought risk—it’s not just about how much it rains, but where that rain comes from,” said Yan Jiang, the study’s lead author and postdoctoral scholar at UC San Diego with a joint appointment at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “Understanding the origin of rainfall and whether it comes from oceanic or land sources, gives policymakers and farmers a new tool to predict and mitigate drought stress before it happens.”

Yan Jiang, lead author of the Nature Sustainability study and postdoctoral scholar at UC San Diego with a joint appointment at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

A New Way to Forecast Drought Risk

Using nearly two decades of satellite data, Jiang and co-author Jennifer Burney of Stanford University measured how much of the world’s rainfall comes from land-based evaporation. They discovered that when more than about one-third of rainfall originates from land, croplands are significantly more vulnerable to drought, soil moisture loss and yield declines – likely because ocean-sourced systems tend to deliver heavier rainfall, while land-sourced systems tend to deliver less reliable showers, increasing the chance of water deficits during critical crop growth stages.

This insight provides a new way for farmers and policymakers to identify which regions are most at risk — and to plan accordingly.

“For farmers in areas that rely heavily on land-originating moisture — like parts of the Midwest or eastern Africa — local water availability becomes the deciding factor for crop success,” Jiang explained. “Changes in soil moisture or deforestation can have immediate, cascading impacts on yields.”

Two Global Hotspots: The U.S. Midwest and East Africa

The study highlights two striking hotspots of vulnerability: the U.S. Midwest and tropical East Africa.

In the Midwest, Jiang notes, droughts have become more frequent and intense in recent years — even in one of the world’s most productive and technologically advanced farming regions.

“Our findings suggest that the Midwest’s high reliance on land-sourced moisture, from surrounding soil and vegetation, could amplify droughts through what we call ‘rainfall feedback loops,’” Jiang said. “When the land dries out, it reduces evaporation, which in turn reduces future rainfall—creating a self-reinforcing drought cycle.”

Because this region is also a major supplier to global grain markets, disruptions there have ripple effects far beyond U.S. borders. Jiang suggests that Midwestern producers may need to pay closer attention to soil moisture management, irrigation efficiency and timing of planting to avoid compounding drought stress.

In contrast, East Africa faces a more precarious but still reversible situation. Rapid cropland expansion and loss of surrounding rainforests threaten to undermine the very moisture sources that sustain rainfall in the region.

“This creates a dangerous conflict,” Jiang said. “Farmers are clearing forests to grow more crops, but those forests help generate the rainfall that the crops depend on. If that moisture source disappears, local food security will be at greater risk.”

However, Jiang sees opportunity as well as risk:

“Eastern Africa is on the front line of change, but there is still time to act. Smarter land management — like conserving forests and restoring vegetation — can protect rainfall and sustain agricultural growth.”

Forests as Rainmakers

The research underscores that forests and natural ecosystems are crucial allies in farming. Forests release vast amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration (when plants produce moisture), effectively seeding the clouds that bring rain to nearby croplands.

“Upland forests are like natural rainmakers,” Jiang said. “Protecting these ecosystems isn’t just about biodiversity—it’s about sustaining agriculture.”

A Tool for Smarter Land and Water Management

Jiang’s research provides a new scientific framework connecting land management, rainfall patterns and crop planning — a relationship that could become central to future drought resilience strategies.

The study’s novel satellite-based mapping technique could help governments and farmers identify where to invest in irrigation infrastructure, soil water storage and forest conservation to maintain reliable rainfall.

Read the full paper, “Crop water origins and hydroclimate vulnerability of global croplands.”

#California’s 2025 use of #ColoradoRiver water is on track to be the lowest since 1949 — John Fleck (InkStain.net)

Lower Basin water use since 1964. 2025 data provisional, based on USBR projections Oct. 29, 2015.

Click the link to read the article on the InkStain website (John Fleck):

October 31, 2025

California’s projected use of Colorado River water this year, 3.76 million acre feet as of Reclamation’s Oct. 29 modeling runs, would be, as near as I can tell, the state’s lowest use since 1949.

Also notable:

Nevada’s 197,280 acre feet would be the lowest since 1992.

The two lowest years in Imperial Irrigation District’s history (my dataset goes back to 1941) were last year and this year.

This will be the third year in a row that Arizona’s main stem use has been below 2 million acre feet. The last time that happened (three consecutive years below 2maf) was in the 1980s.

Total take by the US Lower Basin states is projected to be 5.917 million acre feet, the lowest total US main stem use since 1983.

A few things to note.

First, the tenuous fabric of the Basin States negotiations is predicated right now, in part, on the Lower Basin cutting 1.5 million acre feet of annual use. They’ve already done that.

Second, the current cuts are enabled by significant federal payments to compensate the water agencies for their cuts. As my colleagues and I wrote back in September, counting on that money in the future would be unwise.

Third, the economies of Arizona, southern Nevada, and southern California are chugging along just fine right now. As I have written in the past, having less water does not mean scary doom. We can do this.

A note on the data:

The projection of total 2025 use by Lower Basin water users is based on model runs done by the Bureau of Reclamation every few days. It’s a rich source of data, with detailed accounting of the various conservation programs being run by the Lower Basin agencies. PDF here.

The comparison with prior years is based in part on the Lower Basin accounting reports, prepared each year since 1964. For prior years, I have a dataset I got years ago from the technical staff at the Metropolitan Water District of California, who had pieced together California numbers back to 1941. (Thanks, Met!)

Protecting the peak on the #CrystalRiver: Scientists studying tree rings as first step toward instream-flow safeguards — Heather Sackett (AspenJounalism.org)

Riparian ecologists David Cooper, left, and David Merritt take stock of the tree root crowns collected from the banks of the Crystal River the last week in October. They will take the trunks back to the lab in Fort Collins to study the tree rings, the first step in understanding how floods impact riparian vegetation. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Click the link to read the article on the Aspen Journalism website (Heather Sackett):

October 31, 2025

Over three sunny-but-cool October days, a team of scientists and volunteers dug up and hauled away the root crowns of trees along the Crystal River, a first step toward a potential strategy to protect flows on one of the last free-flowing rivers in Colorado.

David Cooper, a senior researcher on wetland and riparian ecology at Colorado State University, studies how spring floods affect riparian vegetation. His van was full of the tree samples that he would take back to the lab in Fort Collins to study their rings.

“We want to know the year the plant was established because once we know the year the plant was established, then we could relate that to the flow record that’s recorded by gauges,” Cooper said. “Then we can speak to the role of floods, which is important for the public to understand and for river managers to understand.”

The banks of the Crystal just upstream from Redstone are lined with narrowleaf cottonwood and blue spruce. Cottonwoods in particular need the rushing flows of spring runoff for their seeds to germinate and have evolved to disperse their seeds just after the high point of snowmelt each year. The seeds, carried along the wind by a bit of fluff, land in the bare, wet, mineral soil of streambanks where some of them take root.

Peter Brown with Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research takes a core sample from a tree on the banks of the Crystal River. A type of instream flow water right that protects peak flows could help maintain spring floods, which are essential for growing new cottonwoods. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Cooper’s work, which is estimated to cost $26,300, was commissioned by a subcommittee of the Crystal River Wild and Scenic and Other Alternatives Feasibility Steering Committee, which is looking at different tools that could be used to protect the river. The Crystal, which flows about 40 miles from its headwaters in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness through the towns of Marble, Redstone and Carbondale before its confluence with the Roaring Fork, is one Colorado’s last undammed major rivers.

Environmental and recreation advocates and local municipalities, as well as many residents of the Crystal River Valley, have long sought to protect the river from future dams and diversions — infrastructure projects that have left many other Western Slope rivers depleted.

Those who want to protect the Crystal River have for the past few years been exploring the best ways to do that. Although proponents say a federal Wild and Scenic designation would do the best job of protecting the river, that has been met with resistance from some property owners, leading the steering committee to explore other options, in addition to pursuing Wild and Scenic.

Scientists dug up this root crown next to the Crystal River in order to study the tree rings and how they relate to flood years. The Crystal River Wild and Scenic Instream Flow Subcommittee is looking at how to protect spring peak flows in the river. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Instream-flow subcommittee

After a year’s worth of meetings with a facilitator, the steering committee chose to pursue three potential ways forward: a “peaking” instream-flow water right; an intergovernmental agreement; and a federal Wild and Scenic designation. None of the methods would preclude the others; there could eventually be layers of protections for the Crystal.

The instream-flow subcommittee, which includes representatives from American Whitewater, and local governments and residents, is exploring how to keep water in the river by using the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s instream-flow program.

The CWCB is the only entity allowed to hold water rights that keep water in rivers and are designed to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. A “peaking” instream-flow water right would keep in the stream all of the water not claimed by someone else during years with high spring runoff, thereby maintaining these periodic floods, which are essential for growing new cottonwoods.

The idea is that if these peak spring flows are already spoken for by the environment, they can’t be claimed by future reservoir projects, which also tend to capture water at the height of spring runoff and store it for use later in the year.

“If you want to be a little more objective about it, it’s an argument for or against floods and natural river processes,” said David Merritt, a riparian ecologist and former instream flow coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service who has worked on other instream-flow projects around the state. “The dam goes in, it’s going to interrupt that and you’ll end up with a different ecosystem.”

If there is less water available to develop, it could make a particular river less attractive for building a reservoir, said Laura Belanger, a senior policy adviser with Western Resource Advocates. The environmental nonprofit has worked on these types of peak instream-flow projects in the Gunnison River basin.

“Infrastructure is expensive, so you need to get a certain yield out of it,” Belanger said. “That could potentially make a project not be cost effective and not have sufficient yield to be pursued. … Around the state, so much water is already claimed, and so, for a lot of new reservoir projects, the peak is the only thing that’s available.”

So far, this tool for protecting the peak is little used, but there are three recent examples on streams that drain the Uncompahgre Plateau: Cottonwood Creek, Monitor Creek and Potter Creek. In 2024, these three creeks secured an instream-flow water right for their spring peak flows in years with high runoff. All three still allow for some amount of future water development.

“They don’t kick in every year; they’re definitely unique,” Belanger said. “It doesn’t kick in until you hit a certain high flow and then it protects the hydrograph all the way up and then back down to a certain value.”

Wetland and riparian ecologist David Cooper, left, and campaign director at Wilderness Workshop Michael Gorman look for the best place to cross the Crystal River. Scientists and volunteers collected tree root crowns from the riverbanks the last week of October, the first step in understanding how floods impact riparian vegetation. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Subcommittee still looking at Wild and Scenic

The steering committee’s work, including the tree-ring study, is funded by Pitkin County Healthy Rivers, by the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, and in-kind donations from Western Resource Advocates and American Whitewater. But the majority of the funding – $99,699 according to Hattie Johnson, southern Rockies restoration director with American Whitewater and member of the instream flow and Wild and Scenic subcommittees – is through the state’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Fund.

The CWCB generally advocates for using state mechanisms such as the instream-flow program to protect rivers because it would rather avoid a federal Wild and Scenic designation. With increasing competition for dwindling water supplies, the state has been reluctant to support Wild and Scenic designations, which could lock up water and prevent it from being developed in the future.

The U.S. Forest Service determined in the 1980s that portions of the Crystal River were eligible for designation under the Wild & Scenic River Act, which seeks to preserve, in a free-flowing condition, rivers with outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, and cultural values. Wild and Scenic experts say the “teeth” of the designation comes from an outright prohibition on federal funding or licensing of any new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-permitted dam. A designation would also require review of federally assisted water resource projects.

Any designation would take place upstream from the big agricultural diversions on the lower portion of the river near Carbondale.

The subcommittee that is still looking at a Wild and Scenic designation has hired a facilitator team from the Keystone Policy Center to help the group produce a report of its findings at a cost of about $45,000. And the instream-flow subcommittee has also hired Ecological Resource Consultants to do a sediment-impacts study, which is set to begin before winter and is estimated to cost about $30,000.

Wild and Scenic subcommittee chair Michael Gorman said members have taken a deep dive into policy and legislation, and have learned a lot from stakeholders along the river.

“We’ve got more work to do and we’re excited to have the skilled facilitators at Keystone to help us compile what we’ve learned about how Wild and Scenic legislation ties into our specific priorities on the Crystal River,” Gorman said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to having a report that we can share with our community and inform future discussions.”

Map of the Roaring Fork River drainage basin in western Colorado, USA. Made using USGS data. By Shannon1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69290878

Uranium Monitoring, Testing and Modeling Continue — Northern Water E-Waternews October 2025

Map from Northern Water via the Fort Collins Coloradan.

From email from Northern Water:

Northern Water and Chimney Hollow participants are committed to keeping our customers, stakeholders and end users, as well as the general public, informed as we gather additional information on the discovery of uranium at the Chimney Hollow Reservoir construction site. Collecting data and modeling are crucial steps in the development of mitigation strategies, and we are actively working to learn more by evaluating test results from field investigations and modeling scenarios.

Before making mitigation decisions, we want to make sure we have all the information to evaluate operational and treatment options. We are following a rigorous process, starting with geochemical characterization and scoping studies, to inform mitigation alternatives analyses and ultimately select a final approach. Following these steps allows us to make informed decisions, evaluate trade-offs and determine the best path forward. 

Northern Water has been testing how the uranium minerals leach into water and what concentration to expect when the reservoir fills and its operation begins. To allow time for additional data collection and investigations to advance, we have elected not to fill the reservoir as quickly as initially planned. A small amount of water (less than 2 percent of total capacity) will be moved into Chimney Hollow Reservoir in November 2025. During this time, additional water quality data will be collected and used to evaluate the performance of model simulations, and required dam safety monitoring will begin. Even as the reservoir fills, no water will be released as further assessments are underway and mitigation options continue to be evaluated.

Because the mineralized uranium is coming from materials quarried at the site, excess (unused) rock from construction has been buried under a layer of water-sealing clay. The clay cap will effectively minimize uranium leaching from these materials.

We expect uranium leaching from the dam to decrease over time because there is a finite quantity of soluble uranium at the site. The duration of the leaching process is not yet fully understood and will depend on how the reservoir is operated over time. While the discovery of mineralized uranium has caused Northern Water and the Chimney Hollow participants to modify our plans, it is an issue that can be safely managed. The new reservoir remains an important part of securing water supply needs for Northern Colorado and its future. Please visit the Water Quality page on our website for more information and a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Michael Mann to Bill Gates: You can’t reboot the planet if you crash it — Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

Bill Gates poses with Rick Perry in 2019, during Perry’s tenure as Secretary of Energy under the first Trump administration. (Public Domain)

Click the link to read the article on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists website (Michael Mann):

October 31, 2025

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Thus wrote the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1966.

If Maslow were around today, I imagine he might endorse the corollary that if your only tool is technology, every problem appears to have a technofix. And that’s an apt characterization of the “tech bro”-centered thinking so prevalent today in public environmental discourse.

There is no better example than Bill Gates, who just this week redefined the concept of bad timing with the release of a 17-page memo intended to influence the proceedings at the upcoming COP30 international climate summit in Brazil. The memo dismissed the seriousness of the climate crisis just as (quite possibly) the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in human history—climate-fueled Melissa—struck Jamaica with catastrophic impact. The very next day a major new climate report (disclaimer: I was a co-author) entitled “a planet on the brink” was published. The report received far less press coverage than the Gates missive. The legacy media is apparently more interested in the climate musings of an erstwhile PC mogul than a sober assessment by the world’s leading climate scientists.

Gates became a household name in the 1990s as the Microsoft CEO who delivered the Windows operating system. (I must confess, I was a Mac guy). Microsoft was notorious for releasing software mired with security vulnerabilities. Critics argued that Gates was prioritizing the premature release of features and profit over security and reliability. His response to the latest worm or virus crashing your PC and compromising your personal data? “Hey, we’ve got a patch for that!”

That’s the very same approach Gates has taken with the climate crisis. His venture capital group, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, invests in fossil fuel-based infrastructure (like natural gas with carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery), while Gates downplays the role of clean energy and rapid decarbonization. Instead, he favors hypothetical new energy tech, including “modular nuclear reactors” that couldn’t possibly be scaled up over the time frame in which the world must transition off fossil fuels.

Most troublingly, Gates has peddled a planetary “patch” for the climate crisis. He has financed for-profit schemes to implement geoengineering interventions that involve spraying massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to block out sunlight and cool the planet. What could possibly go wrong? And hey, if we screw up this planet, we’ll just geoengineer Mars. Right Elon?

Such technofixes for the climate, in fact, lead us down a dangerous road, both because they displace far safer and more reliable options—namely the clean energy transition—and because they provide an excuse for business-as-usual burning of fossil fuels. Why decarbonize, after all, if we can just solve the problem with a “patch” later?

Here’s the thing, Bill Gates: There is no “patch” for the climate crisis. And there is no way to reboot the planet if you crash it. The only safe and reliable way out when you find yourself in a climate hole is to stop digging—and burning—fossil fuels. [ed. emphasis mine]

It was arguably Gates who—at least in part—inspired the tech-bro villain Peter Isherwell in the Adam McKay film “Don’t Look Up.” The premise of the film is that a giant “comet” (a very thinly veiled metaphor for the climate crisis) is hurtling toward Earth as politicians fail to act. So they turn to Isherwell who insists he has proprietary tech (a metaphor for geoengineering, again thinly veiled) that can save the day: space drones developed by his corporation that will break the comet apart. Coincidentally, the drones are designed to then mine the comet fragments for trillions of dollars’ worth of rare metals, that all go to Isherwell and his corporation. If you haven’t seen the film (which I highly recommend), I’ll let you imagine how it all works out.

For those who have been following Gates on climate for some time, his so-called sudden “pivot” isn’t really a “pivot” at all. It’s a logical consequence of the misguided path he’s been headed down for well over a decade.

I became concerned about Gates’ framing of the climate crisis nearly a decade ago when a journalist reached out to me, asking me to comment on his supposed “discovery” of a formula for predicting carbon emissions. (The formula is really an “identity” that involves expressing carbon emissions as a product of terms related to population, economic growth, energy efficiency, and fossil fuel dependence). I noted, with some amusement, that the mathematical relationship Gates had “discovered” was so widely known it had a name, the “Kaya identity,” after the energy economist Yōichi Kaya who presented the relationship in a textbook nearly three decades ago. It’s familiar not just to climate scientists in the field but to college students taking an introductory course on climate change.

If this seems like a gratuitous critique, it is not. It speaks to a concerning degree of arrogance. Did Gates really think that something as conceptually basic as decomposing carbon emissions into a product of constituent terms had never been attempted before? That he’s so brilliant that anything he thinks up must be a novel discovery?

I reserved my criticism of Gates, at the time, not for his rediscovery of the Kaya identity (hey—if can help his readers understand it, that’s great) but for declaring that it somehow implies that “we need an energy miracle” to get to zero carbon emissions. It doesn’t. I explained that Gates “does an injustice to the very dramatic inroads that renewable energy and energy efficiency are making,” noting peer-reviewed studies by leading experts that provide “very credible outlines for how we could reach a 100 percent noncarbon energy generation by 2050.”

The so-called “miracle” he speaks of exists—it’s called the sun, and wind, and geothermal, and energy storage technology. Real world solutions exist now and are easily scalable with the right investments and priorities. The obstacles aren’t technological. They’re political.

Gates’ dismissiveness in this case wasn’t a one-off. It was part of a consistent pattern of downplaying clean energy while promoting dubious and potentially dangerous technofixes in which he is often personally invested. When I had the chance to question him about this directly (The Guardian asked me to contribute to a list of questions they were planning on asking him in an interview a few years ago), his response was evasive and misleading. He insisted that there is a “premium” paid for clean energy buildout when in fact it has a lower levelized cost than fossil fuels or nuclear and deflected the questions with ad hominem swipes. (“He [Mann] actually does very good work on climate change. So I don’t understand why he’s acting like he’s anti-innovation.”)

This all provides us some context for evaluating Gates’ latest missive, which plays like a game of climate change-diminishing bingo, drawing upon nearly every one of the tropes embraced by professional climate disinformers like self-styled “Skeptical Environmentalist” Bjorn Lomborg. (Incidentally, Lomborg’s center has received millions of dollars of funding from the Gates Foundation in recent years and Lomborg recently acknowledged serving as an adviser to Gates on climate issues.)

Among the classic Lomborgian myths promoted in Gates’ new screed, which I’ll paraphrase here, is the old standby that “clean energy is too expensive.” (Gates likes to emphasize a few difficult-to-decarbonize sectors like steel or air travel as a distraction from the fact that most of our energy infrastructure can readily be decarbonized now.) He also insists that “we can just adapt,” although in the absence of concerted action, warming could plausibly push us past the limit of our adaptive capacity as a species.

He argues that “efforts to fight climate change detract from efforts to address human health threats.” (A central point of my new book Science Under Siegewith public health scientist Peter Hotez is that climate and human health are inseparable, with climate change fueling the spread of deadly disease). Then there is his assertion that “the poor and downtrodden have more pressing concerns” when, actually, it is just the opposite; the poor and downtrodden are the most threatened by climate change because they have the least wealth and resilience.

What Gates is putting forward aren’t legitimate arguments that can be made in good faith. They are shopworn fossil fuel industry talking points. Being found parroting them is every bit as embarrassing as being caught—metaphorically speaking—with your pants down.

For years when I would criticize Gates for what I consider to be his misguided take on climate, colleagues would say, “you just don’t understand what Gates is saying!” Now, with Donald Trump and the right-wing Murdoch media machine (the Wall Street Journal editorial board and now an op-ed by none other than Lomborg himself in the New York Post) celebrating Gates’ new missive, I can confidently turn around and say, “No, you didn’t understand what he was saying.”

Maybe—just maybe—we’ve learned an important lesson here: The solution to the climate crisis isn’t going to come from the fairy-dust-sprinkled flying unicorns that are the “benevolent plutocrats.” They don’t exist. The solution is going to have to come from everyone else, using every tool at our disposal to push back against an ecocidal agenda driven by plutocrats, polluters, petrostates, propagandists, and too often now, the press. [ed. emphasis mine]

This graph shows the globally averaged monthly mean carbon dioxide abundance measured at the Global Monitoring Laboratory’s global network of air sampling sites since 1980. Data are still preliminary, pending recalibrations of reference gases and other quality control checks. Credit: NOAA GML

#BlueRiver Watershed Group plans water quality monitoring website

Map of the Blue River drainage basin in Colorado, USA. Made using USGS data. By Shannon1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69327693

Click the link to read the release on the Summit Daily News website (Blue River Watershed Group):

October 31, 2025

With a newly approved grant of over $30,000 from the Colorado Basin Roundtable, the Blue River Watershed Group will install cameras and measuring devices on the river to report on stream conditions.

A news release stated the group will use a technical consultant to create a webpage with a community-facing geographic information system map to share water quality data, as well as information about how the data affects the Summit County community.

The database will share locations, data types, collection purposes and data quality objectives from each of the Blue River watershed’s collecting entities.

The grant was part of the more than $180,000 of spending the Colorado Basin Roundtable approved in its September meeting. The rest of the money is funding projects around the state.

#Drought is quietly pushing American cities toward a fiscal cliff: Drought is set to pose a greater risk to the $4 trillion municipal bond market than floods, hurricanes, and wildfires combined. — Tik Root (Grist.org)

US Drought Monitor map October 25, 2025.

Click the link to read the article on the Grist website (Tik Root):

October 27, 2025

The city of Clyde sits about two hours west of Fort Worth on the plains of north Texas. It gets its water from a lake by the same name a few miles away. Starting in 2022, scorching weather caused its levels to drop farther and farther. Within a year, officials had declared a water conservation emergency, and on August 1 of last year, they raised the warning level again. That meant residents rationing their spigot use even more tightly, especially lawn irrigation. The restrictions weren’t, however, the worst news that day: The city also missed two debt payments.

Municipal bond defaults of any kind are extraordinarily rare, let alone those linked to a changing climate. But with about 4,000 residents and an annual budget of under $10 million, Clyde has never had room to absorb surprises. So when poor financial planning collided with the prolonged dry spell, the city found itself stretched beyond its limits.

The drought meant that Clyde sold millions of gallons less water, even as it imported more of it from neighboring Abilene, at about $1,200 per day. Worse, as the ground dried, it cracked, destroying a sewer main and bursting another quarter-million dollar hole in the town budget. Within days of Clyde missing its payments, rating agency Standard & Poor’s slashed the city’s bond ratings, which limited its ability to borrow more money. Within weeks, officials had hiked taxes and water rates to help staunch the financial bleeding.

“There’s more to a drought than just the cost of water,” said Rodger Brown, who was mayor at the time and is now interim city manager. “It tanks your credibility.”

Drought, of course, isn’t the only climate-driven disaster hitting places like Clyde. Hurricanes, floods, and fires are bankrupting cities across America. After flames ripped through Paradise, California, in 2018, the town’s redevelopment agency defaulted on some of its obligations. Naples, Florida, resorted to selling $11 million in bonds to rebuild its pier after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had a harder time raising money after massive fires swept the city. Kerr County, Texas, is in the midst of raising taxes after devastating floods in July.

Each episode underscores how climate shocks once seen as exceptional are now straining local budgets. But drought may be the most insidious of these threats. Compared to other types of disasters, it often hits everyone in a community, affects large areas, and can last months, if not years. There are also fewer defenses and relatively limited government assistance. Experts worry that drought could ultimately prove an enormous risk to the $4 trillion municipal bond market that underwrites everything from roads and schools to the water running through millions of taps.

“I personally think this is a dark horse in the conversation right now,” said Evan Kodra, the head of climate research for the financial data company Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE. “It should be a bigger deal.”

This year alone has seen droughts in at least 43 states, from Vermont to California, affecting 125 million people. And ICE projects that more of the currently outstanding municipal debt will be located in areas prone to drought by 2040 than hurricanes, floods, and wildfires combined. The financial effects of prolonged water woes can mount in ways not seen in one-off events, said Jeremy Porter, the chief economist at First Street Foundation, a nonprofit climate research firm.

“Drought is one of those things, if there is an impact, there’s a step-function impact,” he said. “You just don’t have the capacity to cover the risk.”

Projected severe drought in 2055

Average weeks per year in severe drought conditions

Average weeks per year in severe drought conditions. Source: First Street Foundation Clayton Aldern / Grist

30-year change in drought risk

Increase in severe drought weeks from current conditions to 2055

Increase in severe drought weeks from current conditions to 2055. Source: First Street Foundation Clayton Aldern / Grist

Droughts are particularly difficult for cities to guard against. While building codes and insurance discounts can encourage homeowners to raise their houses, use wind-resistant shingles, or clear brush to slow fires, the options for making sure people have enough water are far more limited without curbing development.

Also unlike with its headline-grabbing cousins, drought has a much weaker federal safety net when something does go wrong. The Department of Agriculture offers some aid to farmers, but there’s little funding for individuals or municipalities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency hasn’t issued a drought-related emergency or disaster declaration in the United States since 1993, despite states requesting aid. “There is no adapting to drought,” said Porter. “The federal government is probably not going to come in.”

As the planet warms, the dry conditions that sent Clyde into the financial abyss are only set to become more frequent and more intense. Intercontinental Exchange researchers found that even in a “best-case” climate scenario, drought, heat stress, and water stress will place billions of dollars of municipal bonds at risk by 2040. Under a worst-case situation, that number could reach hundreds of billions. While Clyde’s default was relatively tiny, municipal debt is the bedrock of everything from hedge funds to retirement accounts, making a string of such events potentially catastrophic for the economy.

But well before dramatic rolling defaults, the financial pressures of drought will likely alter daily life in many regions. That’s already the reality for one community in Arizona, where the rush for water has turned into a years-long financial and political standoff.

Rio Verde Foothills lies on the outskirts of Scottsdale. Residents there have been trucking water in from its larger neighbor ever since the unincorporated, “wildcat” development was founded in the early 2000s. The arrangement worked well until 2021, when a severe drought gripped the area, and Scottsdale decided it could no longer spare the dwindling resource. Cut-off residents of Rio Verde scrambled and eventually signed a $12 million contract with the state’s largest private water company, Epcor Utilities, to build a permanent supply line.

Three years later, though, the feud continues. Scottsdale agreed to keep providing water through the end of this year while Epcor Utilities built new infrastructure. But construction is months behind schedule and Scottsdale is sticking to its deadline — leaving the foothills once again facing a cutoff. (Epcor remains confident this won’t happen.)

Even when the new line is connected, Rio Verde Foothills residents could see their water bills double or triple. Hikes like that are going to be a far wider concern across the West than outright disconnection, says Sara Fletcher, an environmental engineer at Stanford University who works on water scarcity issues. “Water prices are going up, and up, and up,” she said. “They are going to go up much faster than inflation for the past decade.”

The irony of drought is that as people conserve water to combat it, there is less money for the utility, whose costs remain relatively fixed. That results in “drought surcharges,” or other fees, for customers. [ed. emphasis mine] It’s a cycle that was on full display in Clyde.

By August 2023, the wave of aridity that hit West Texas had stretched for months, and officials in Clyde declared a stage 2 water emergency, which targets a 20 percent decrease in demand. By the following year they raised it to stage 3, or a 30 percent decline — one step below mandatory rationing. The measures worked, but at a cost. “Water sales are one of the main things that a city, almost any city, has,” said Brown. “That’s big for a city’s revenue generation.”

According to Clyde’s financial statements, it sold 7 million gallons less in 2023 than the year prior. It also had to import water from nearby Abilene at a premium of around $3 per thousand gallons. While Brown didn’t know exactly how much Clyde bought, he said it wasn’t as much as in some previous droughts but still significant. The bigger blow came when the parched ground split, shifted, and ruptured a major sewer line. The roughly $250,000 repair bill turned the cracks in the town’s finances into crevasses.

“You can’t have people out here without the services. So we had to fix it,” he said. These new liabilities and dwindling income came on top of millions of dollars in debt that Clyde had amassed over the years, despite having kept taxes or utility prices relatively flat. It created what Brown called a “perfect storm.”

On August 1, 2024, the city missed two bond payments — one for $354,325, another for $308,400 — and filed a claim on its bond insurance to cover them. By the end of the year Clyde had failed to meet a total of $1.4 million in liabilities. Standard & Poor’s slashed the ratings of the bonds with missed payments from A- to D, and the city’s creditworthiness to B, moves that will raise future borrowing costs for the city.

Outstanding debt

Current municipal bond debt by 2040 climate risk category, billions of dollars

Source: ICE Data Services Clayton Aldern / Grist / Bogomil Mihaylov / Unsplash

While drought wasn’t the whole story, Brown called it a “significant reason” for Clyde’s woes. Whatever the cause, the fallout rippled quickly. The city council raised property taxes by 10 percent and tacked a $35 surcharge onto monthly utility bills. “We have people in this very room who have to decide already, do I buy medicine [or] do I buy groceries?” pleaded one person at a city council hearing. “This is reality in Clyde. You can’t raise their typical water bills any further.”

So far residents have absorbed the added costs, which has allowed the city to continue to operate. But the spiral from expensive, inaccessible, or nonexistent water could have been much worse. High bills can lead to compromises in daily life, whether that be letting parks wither or skipping showers. Over time, those inconveniences could make a town a less desirable place to live, which, in turn, might result in lower property values, a dwindling tax base, and, consequently, more financial troubles.

“If you don’t have water, if you don’t have a functioning city, there is a vicious cycle dynamic that could come into play,” said Kodra at Intercontinental Exchange. “Once your property tax base is decently lower than it was, then it’s harder to borrow money to dig out of that hole.”

Just for grins here’s a slideshow of early November US Drought Monitor maps for the past few years.

US Drought Monitor map November 5, 2024.
US Drought Monitor map November 7, 2023.
US Drought Monitor map November 1, 2022.
US Drought Monitor map November 2, 2021.
US Drought Monitor November 3, 2020.
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2019.
US Drought Monitor November 6, 2018.
US Drought Monitor November 7, 2017.
US Drought Monitor November 1, 2016.
US Drought Monitor November 3, 2015
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2013
US Drought Monitor November 4, 2014
US Drought Monitor November 5, 2012
US Drought Monitor November 1, 2011
US Drought Monitor November 2, 2010

Fake beaver dams [Beaver Dam Analogs] help restore #Wyoming wetlands — Christine Peterson (WyoFile.com)

A beaver in the Lamar River. (Neal Herbert/National Park Service)

Click the link to read the article on the WyoFile website (Christine Peterson):

October 29, 2025

My rubber boots squelched as I grabbed another 5-gallon bucket full of mud from a Wyoming Game and Fish Department herpetology technician. We performed an awkward handoff before I dumped the mud on the ground in front of my sinking boots. The squelching continued as I used my boots to mash the fresh mud up against willow branches woven among 4-inch-wide posts rammed in a streambed.

Our little team, the herpetology technician, a Trout Unlimited project manager and another volunteer like me, were finishing up the first in a series of nearly a dozen fake beaver dams on a creek on the west side of the Snowy Range Mountains in southeast Wyoming. They’re technically called beaver dam analogues — since with their complex patterns of sticks and mud, they’re supposed to imitate real beaver dams. Although I’m not sure my noisy rubber boots really compare to the efficacy of the beaver tail.

The dams’ purpose, as the name implies, is to slow streamflow, lightly flooding banks and providing the water more time to seep into the ground.

If we’re lucky, a family of beavers will come along and make this analogue their home, even tearing out our handiwork to construct something they like better that’s more permanent and sturdier. Beavers are, after all, professional furry engineers, who perfected their craft over millennia.

A Wyoming Game and Fish Department herpetology technician pushes willow branches through posts in the South Fork of Lake Creek in the Snowy Range. The willow branches help create a beaver dam analogue, meant to slow water flow and replenish the water table. (Christine Peterson)

Our fake beaver dams aren’t meant to last forever. They’ll be maintained annually for about five years (unless real beavers take over earlier), but the result when established in the right place can be remarkable, restoring and rejuvenating wetlands, replenishing the water table, keeping water higher up in systems longer in the year, and providing habitat for everything from insects, frogs and toads to elk and moose, and yes, even beavers.

Stream restoration experts like Steve Gale, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s aquatic habitat biologist, can and do extoll the benefits of beavers and beaver dams. And while the rest of us standing in the stream bed see their utility, we also agreed with Gale when he said: “Who doesn’t want to play in the water with mud and sticks?”

Bigger than just beavers

Before European settlers streamed onto this continent, bringing an insatiable demand for beaver pelts, the rodents lived in streams, creeks and rivers almost everywhere. They dammed any flowing water they could find and had a hand in shaping large swaths of the nation.

While beavers can be a nuisance, falling ancient cottonwoods in parched areas and flooding creeks and irrigation ditches, they’re also one of the best examples of ecosystem engineers, Gale said, and their services have been missed. Without beavers and beaver dams, rivers run faster and cut down into the soil, they wash away sediment and move water faster from headwater states like Wyoming to other states downstream.

Biologists have tried reintroducing beavers across the country — the Army Corps of Engineers even famously airdropped beavers into an Idaho wilderness area — with mixed success.

So now watershed managers are turning to contraptions like the ones a team of nearly 20, including Game and Fish employees and volunteers from all over the state, helped build in mid-September.

Two specialists with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department weave willow branches between posts in one of 11 beaver dam analogues built in mid-September. (Christine Peterson)

We stood on the banks of the South Fork of Lake Creek in the Pennock Wildlife Habitat Management Area and listened to Gale walk us through the process. In the last few decades, the South Fork of Lake Creek had cut deeper and deeper into the earth, ultimately sinking lower than the floodplain and as a result offering little water to surrounding vegetation. When runoff hit each spring, the water rushed down as plants sat parched on the banks.

“We lost riparian habitat and riparian width, which is important for calving areas,” he said. “We’re doing this work primarily for the deer, elk and moose.”

Beavers had been reintroduced here before, but even the industrious rodents had a hard time building dams and ponds deep enough to keep them alive and safe through winter.

We were here to help, hopefully. We would spend the bulk of the day pounding posts made from trees across the width of the creek over a quarter-mile-long stretch and then weaving bendy willow branches through the posts. After building a wall of willows, we would use buckets of mud and sod to fill in the cracks. With any luck, water would begin backing up almost immediately, eventually filling and slowly trickling over the tops.

Life or death

As beaver dam analogues become increasingly popular, biologists with state agencies and nonprofits are teaming up to place them in streams across the landscape.

Austin Quynn, the Trout Unlimited project manager helping direct our team, worked with groups of youth corps members over the last couple summers building, maintaining and repairing hundreds of analogues on a stream called Muddy Creek southwest of Rawlinsto help habitat for four native fish species: flannelmouth and bluehead suckers, roundtail chubs and Colorado River cutthroat. Last summer, beavers came from miles downstream and tore out dozens of analogues in one stretch. He sounded amused that his work was destroyed, because in its place, they’d built a massive dam that must have been what the beavers wanted and needed.

A finished beaver dam analogue stretches across a section of the South Fork of Lake Creek in the west side of the Snowy Range. Mud and woven willow branches help slow water, keeping the creek from becoming too incised and restoring wetlands. (Christine Peterson)

Some of the dams blew out from spring runoff, scouring the creek bed of sediment and leaving behind gravel that cutthroat trout could use for spawning.

Deep pools created by the analogues — and eventually beavers themselves — also offer fish refuge from the heat on mid-summer days.

On the east side of the Snowy Range, Wendy Estes-Zumpf, Game and Fish’s herpetological coordinator, and others built eight analogues in a creek which contains one of the last boreal toad populations in southeast Wyoming. It had been a stronghold for the creatures, but in the absence of beavers, the creek became incised, leaving little wetland habitat for toads to breed and survive.

A few seasons after Estes-Zumpf’s team erected the fake beaver dams, boreal toad populations have started to come back. She counted as few as four toads on past spring surveys and found almost 30 this spring including multiple age classes.

Beaver dam analogues aren’t a silver bullet for a drought-stricken West, Gale said, but for some species and some creeks, they could be the difference between life and death.

Plus, it’s hard to beat a day playing in the mud.

Area entities awarded grants for river-related projects — The #GrandJunction Daily Sentinel

The Colorado River in De Beque Canyon, near Grand Junction, Colo. Photo/Allen Best

Click the link to read the article on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel website (Dennis Webb). Here’s an excerpt:

October 31, 2025

The Colorado Basin Roundtable has awarded $20,000 to Rivers Edge West and the Desert Rivers Collaborative to support restoration planning and coordination in the Gunnison and Colorado river basins, according to a news release. De Beque received $50,000 for improvements it is making to its 24.4-acre River Park on the Colorado River. Rivers Edge West and the Desert Rivers Collaborative plan to use their money to help identify priority restoration sites, develop a geospatial database and story map, and contribute to regional initiatives including the Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative, supporting health riparian ecosystems in Mesa County, according to the release. De Beque received the $50,000 to support engineering and design work needed for riverbank stabilization. The park is going to include an amphitheater, pavilion, parking areas, boat ramp and arboretum…Other allocations approved by the roundtable are:

$15,000 for the Middle Colorado Watershed Council’s Grand Tunnel Ditch flume replacement project;

$30,600 for the Blue River Watershed Group’s Blue River water quality monitoring dashboard and GIS resources;

$30,000 for the Eagle River Coalition’s Homestake Valley stream crossings project;

$30,000 for the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, for dust-on-snow data collection and cosmic ray evaluation, with this funding being contingent on the project receiving similar support from the state’s eight other basin roundtables.

Damage now estimated at $26 million as flood assessments continue — The #PagosaSprings Sun #SanJuanRiver

River stage for the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs from October 9-17, 2025. From https://water.noaa.gov/gauges/pspc2.

Click the link to read the article on the Pagosa Springs Sun website (Randi Pierce and Clayton Chaney). Here’s an excerpt:

October 30, 2025

Assessments of the damages caused by and the impacts of the historic floods on Oct. 11 and Oct. 14 continue, with estimates of public infrastructure damage now nearing the $26 million mark, up from a preliminary estimate of about $13 million. Pagosa Country experienced two historic floods in four days thanks to moisture from the remnants of a pair of tropical storms, Priscilla and Raymond. The flooding for the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs peaked at 8,270 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 12.66 feet at 6 p.m. on Oct. 11 and again at 8,560 cfs and 12.82 feet at 5:15 a.m. on Oct. 14, putting the two events as the fourth and third highest on record, behind floods in October 1911 and June 1927. Other area river levels were also significantly impacted, including the Piedra and Blanco rivers. During a work session held by the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 28, Commissioner Veronica Medina provided an update on the damage assessments being conducted throughout the county and the potential total cost of damage.

San Juan River Basin. Graphic credit Wikipedia.

The nation’s energy dominance falters: President Trump is killing clean energy, and it’s not even helping fossil fuels — Jonathan P. Thompson (High Country News) #renewable

Welcome to the Landline, a monthly newsletter from High Country News about land, water, wildlife, climate and conservation in the Western United States. Sign up to get it in your inbox. Screenshot from the High Country News website.

Click the link to read the article on the High County News website (Jonathan P. Thompson):

October 30, 2025

Amid all of Donald Trump’s haphazard policymaking and chaos-mongering, one part of his agenda has remained remarkably consistent throughout both terms: the quest for something he calls “energy dominance.” While Trump probably thinks he coined the concept, only the name is new; it’s really merely a macho rebranding of what was traditionally known as “energy independence,” the desire to produce the nation’s energy domestically rather than import it from potential adversaries. The yearning for energy independence became a focus back during the Nixon era, when geopolitical tensions sparked overlapping energy crises. Ever since, it’s been pursued by every administration, both Democratic and Republican.

So, yes, even cardigan-wearing, thermostat-adjusting Jimmy Carter was an energy dominance guy, maybe even the most successful one. Same goes for Presidents Obama and Biden. What distinguishes Trump — despite all of his regulatory rollbacks, his “Drill, Baby, Drill” and “Mine, Baby, Mine” and “Beautiful Clean Coal” rhetoric and various “emergency” orders — is that his push for dominance has not only been ineffective, it has actually served to weaken the domestic energy industry and has even diminished its ability to produce the power needed to keep modern society running.

If Trump really cared about energy dominance, independence or abundance, he would use all of the tools at his disposal to “win” this war. Even an energy warrior who didn’t give a hoot about pollution or the climate would insist on keeping the fastest-growing energy sources — wind and solar with battery backup — in the nation’s arsenal, along with nuclear, geothermal, hydropower and natural gas, simply for practical reasons, relying on what previous administrations have called an “all-of-the-above” approach.

Instead, Trump has essentially discarded the most promising and effective energy technologies by eliminating federal tax credits for wind power and both rooftop and utility-scale solar, shuttering new wind projects on federal land and in federal waters, subjecting proposed utility-scale solar on federal land to additional scrutiny and red tape, and canceling the Solar for All program that aimed to bring clean energy and energy self-reliance to lower-income families. More recently, the administration clawed back over $7 billion in Biden-era funding for clean energy and grid-reliability projects, many of which were in Western states and all of which came from states that favored Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 election.

Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is trying to prop up the decrepit and rusty weapons of old, i.e. fossil fuels, and putting them on the front lines in the apparent hope that they don’t crumble away before his term ends.

The administration plans to fork out about $625 million in subsidies in hopes of revitalizing the flagging coal industry and has rolled back myriad regulations (also a form of subsidy) on coal-fired power plants. It has also opened 13 million acres of public land across the West to new coal leasing and overturned Biden-era bans on new leasing in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. At the same time, it has inexplicably canceled funding for carbon capture projects aimed at prolonging nearby coal plants’ lives.

Trump is clearly not looking to achieve energy dominance, but rather to exercise his countless grievances and realize some historical fantasy — while, of course, helping fossil fuel executives rake in a few more bucks while they still can. It’s a sort of qualified bid for coal and oil dominance, so long as it benefits red-leaning states.

But so far, even that’s not going too well.

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Land Management held its first coal lease sale in over a decade on public land in the Powder River Basin. There was only one would-be buyer, the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, which bid just $186,000 for a tract containing about 167 million tons of coal — meaning about one-tenth of one cent per ton. That’s in contrast to sales in 2012 that brought in over $1 per ton. The feds rejected the bid on the grounds that it didn’t comply with the Mineral Leasing Act since it didn’t fetch fair market value. The Interior Department promptly canceled another sale in the Powder River Basin for 441 million tons of coal just days before it was scheduled to take place. And a third sale, this one on public lands in southwestern Utah, attracted only one low bid as well; and it, too, was rejected.

One of the generating units at the power plant at Kemmerer, Wyo., is being shut down this year [2017] to reduce emissions that are causing regional haze. 2009 photo/Allen Best

And just days after the administration announced its plans to pour taxpayers’ cash into the coal industry, PacifiCorp, the largest grid operator in the Western U.S., doubled down on its plans to convert its Naughton coal plant in Wyoming to run on natural gas. Idaho Power actually proposed a rate decrease for its customers after it cut costs by shutting down a unit at a Nevada coal plant. Meanwhile, no utility anywhere has seriously proposed building any new coal plants, mainly because it is simply an obsolete, expensive and dirty technology.

The president’s continual desire to “Drill, Baby, Drill” is experiencing a failure to launch, as well. The BLM has handed out drilling permits like Shriners throwing candy to the crowd at a parade, continuing to do so at an alarming rate despite the government shutdown. During the first six months of Trump’s term, the administration issued 2,660 permits to drill on public lands — about 524 per month. That eclipses Biden’s biggest year of 2023, when he issued 317 per month and garnered the disdain of climate activists.

And yet, drill rig counts, the most accurate indicator of the industry’s enthusiasm and a good barometer of future crude oil and natural gas production levels, have remained stagnant during Trump’s term. In fact, they’re significantly lower than they were a year ago, shortly before Trump was elected. That’s due in part to low oil prices, which is something Trump has pushed for (and maybe prodded Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to encourage by increasing their own oilfield pumping), but also because Trump’s disorderly trade wars are sowing confusion, while his tariffs on steel and aluminum are raising costs for drillers.

The most recent Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey of oil and gas executives revealed how poorly Trump’s policies are playing out in the oilfields. Most of the executives surveyed said that Trump’s regulatory rollbacks and federal royalty reductions would bring down their “break-even” costs only slightly, and that they would not appreciably increase production.

Generally speaking, optimism is in short supply in the oilpatch these days.

“It’s going to be a bleak three-plus years for the oilpatch,” one executive said, in a survey that was designed to be anonymous to encourage a candid response. Another noted: “After Liberation Day, we cut our drilling budget in half from 10 wells to five wells.”

And yet another declared, “We have begun the twilight of shale. Several multibillion-dollar firms that have previously been U.S.-onshore-only are making investments in foreign countries and riskier (waterborne) geologies.” They went on to question what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of abandoned and orphaned wells when the drilling boom ends, noting, “Society will not treat us kindly unless we do our part to clean up after we are gone.”

Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, looking south toward the Brooks Range. By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – images.fws.gov (image description page), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5787251

Last week, the Trump administration moved to reopen 1.56 million acres on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain to oil and gas leasing, just as he did in 2017 at the outset of his first term. The first lease sale in the refuge was held in 2021, just days before Biden was inaugurated, but it attracted only low bids — none from major oil companies — with most of the leases going to an Alaska state agency. Another auction in January 2025 drew no bids at all. The industry simply isn’t all that interested.

Just as Biden’s heightened regulations on oil and gas drilling didn’t slow drilling or production, Trump’s determined deregulation is unlikely to speed it up. Nor will his hostility toward solar and wind kill their momentum: Firms are bringing utility-scale projects online at a rapid rate and financing new proposals despite the lack of federal incentives. Federal policies can serve to mitigate energy development’s impacts or perhaps bolster the companies’ profits somewhat, but they are only one of many factors that influence how much and at what rate development occurs. All the political rhetoric in the world won’t help; so-called energy dominance simply cannot be willed — or forced — into existence.

Real action puts the Upper Basin at the forefront of #ColoradoRiver solutions — The Upper Colorado River Commission #COriver #aridification

Colorado River “Beginnings”. Photo: Brent Gardner-Smith/Aspen Journalism

Click the link to read the release on the Upper Colorado River Basin Commission website:

October 28, 2025

With new agreements and programs and decades of responsible management, the Upper Basin is preparing for future Colorado River operations

The Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC) is highlighting the real and measurable actions being taken by the Upper Division States — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — to live within the means of the Colorado River and secure a sustainable future. The Upper Basin is adapting to a drier, more variable river system.

The Upper Basin exemplifies responsible, supply-based water management through an innovative provisional accounting agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, coupled with decades of intensive water management and uncompensated mandatory reductions. These actions lay a transparent foundation for post-2026 Colorado River operating rules.

For more than 20 years, the Upper Division States have taken real actions, including fulfilling Drought Contingency Plan commitments, modernizing measurement systems, accounting for and reporting of all consumptive uses, implementing aggressive conservation programs, supporting advancements in irrigation efficiency and enforcing mandatory reductions through strict water rights administration. These actions go beyond the obligations in the 1922 Colorado River Compact, reflecting a shared commitment to the long-term stability of the Colorado River.

The new provisional accounting framework, now underway across the Upper Basin, will enable transparent, real-time documentation of voluntary reductions. Moving forward, this technical backbone will ensure future river operations continue to be grounded in facts.

“The Upper Basin is developing solutions that work not only for the Upper Basin but for the entire Colorado River system,” said Chuck Cullom, UCRC Executive Director. “The Upper Basin states and water users are already taking verifiable, on-the-ground actions to live within the river’s means.”

State Leadership in Action

Colorado: Strategic Reductions and Long-Term Investments

Colorado is leading with deep, uncompensated reductions and forward-looking investments to continue to adapt its water systems to a drier future. Farmers and municipalities adjust operations to match real supply, while the state funds millions in watershed health and data-driven conservation programs. Highlights include:

Investing $22 million in headwaters and watershed restoration.

Launching a diversion measurement installation program, which will provide no-cost structures to increase accuracy and transparency in water use and management on the Western Slope.

Committing $25 million in new CWCB conservation and resiliency grants and $110 million in Water Plan grants.

Implementing strict water rights administration, with the Dolores Project operating at just 30% of normal supply, the Ute Mountain Ute Farm and Ranch Enterprise receiving only half its typical allocation and senior water rights dating to the 1800s being curtailed.

Exploring temporary, voluntary, compensated conservation and strategic upstream releases.

Reducing municipal demands through turf removal, water recycling, rate restructures, public education and aggressive conservation. Denver Water has seen more than a 40% reduction in residential per capita use and a 16% reduction in total deliveries despite growing more than 29% since 2000. Colorado Springs has seen a 41% reduction in residential per capita water use and about a 20% drop in total water deliveries despite growing 39% since 2000.

“Colorado water users are taking deeper cuts than required under the Compact. This is not because they’re being paid to, but because they must,” said Commissioner Becky Mitchell. “These are real impacts happening right now, and we’re coupling them with smart investments to prepare for the future.”

New Mexico: Innovative Partnerships and Data-Driven Leadership

New Mexico has long been at the forefront of adaptive management, integrating advanced measurement networks and modeling tools to support efficient operations and now provisional accounting projects. Highlights include:

Jicarilla Apache Nation’s 20,000-acre-foot lease and strategic Navajo Reservoir releases (2024–2026) to balance flexibility and supply.

Implementing the 2023 Water Security Planning Act for regional scarcity planning and funding prioritization.

Establishing the Strategic Water Reserve statute to balance Compact deliveries and environmental needs.

Installing a river measurement network and implementing Active Water Resource Management initiatives.

Developing the San Juan RiverWare model to enable precise tracking of diversions, return flows and conservation gains.

Municipal partners, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, are leading the nation’s urban conservation by achieving significant per-capita use reductions under a joint conservation MOU. Albuquerque has cut residential per-capita use by 32% and total deliveries by 17%, despite 40% population growth since 2000.

“New Mexico has built the partnerships and tools that make transparent management possible,” said Commissioner Estevan Lopez. “We’ve been planning for a drier river for decades, and now we’re implementing those tools to lead by example.”

Utah: Operational Adaptation and Demand Reduction

Utah is aligning operations and policy to hydrologic conditions, applying provisional accounting principles to on-the-ground management. Highlights include:

Launching a $5 million, two-year Demand Management Pilot Program in 2025-2026 to compensate agricultural producers for temporarily and voluntarily reducing consumptive use in the Colorado River system in Utah (estimated total conservation of ~20,000-30,000 acre-feet).

Leveraging $1 billion state conservation appropriations to expand statewide turf conversion and municipal conservation programs: More than 7 million sq. ft. already converted, saving 200+ million gallons annually.

Developing an operational accounting and forecasting model of the Colorado River and its subbasins in the state to serve as a planning tool to evaluate impacts of drought mitigation measures, including demand management based on actual supply.

Employing state-of-the-art satellite-based, remote sensed Open ET data to measure consumptive water use from field to basin scale

Pioneering the first Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) flights in Utah in the Uintah Mountain headwaters to inform reliable water supply forecasting.

Implementing a farm-scale subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) pilot program to compare water consumption of a study alfalfa field using SDI against a sprinkler irrigated field.

Partnering with Utah State University and agricultural producers to develop irrigation management plans that identify suitable water conservation methods and programs for individual producers.

“Even our most senior users are taking deep cuts,” said Commissioner Gene Shawcroft. “We’re integrating provisional accounting into operations and moving toward rules rooted in reality, not history.”

Wyoming: Conservation and Transparency at Scale

Wyoming is demonstrating what large-scale, uncompensated reductions look like in practice while developing the technical foundation for provisional accounting and long-term conservation.

Highlights include:

In 2025, regulating off water rights to 164,000 acres, which were mandatory and uncompensated reductions.

Enforcing necessary reductions even though Wyoming has only developed about 30% of what it was promised under the Compact.

Securing $15 million in state and federal funding for consumptive use research and drought resilience.

Coordinating releases from Fontenelle Reservoir in August 2025 to study transit losses in the Green River and to advance accurate water accounting.

Promoting irrigation efficiency and long-term conservation across the Green River Basin.

Pursuing legislation to implement a voluntary, compensated conservation program.

Developing operational models for tracking and optimization of uses on the Upper Green River and tributaries.

“Wyoming’s regulation of water rights is real, mandatory and necessary when faced with dry hydrology,” said Commissioner Brandon Gebhart. “Wyoming has, and continues to investigate and implement, meaningful tools to help our water users and the entire system to deal with the hydrologic circumstances we are facing.”

About the Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC)

The UCRC is an interstate administrative agency made up of duly appointed representatives from the four Upper Division States — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Deadline closing in for #Utah and 6 other states hammering out a new water plan: Upstream and downstream states have less than two weeks to power through sticking points — Annie Knox (UtahNewsDispatch.com) #ColoradoRiver #COriver #aridification

The Colorado River is pictured where if flows near Hite, just beyond the upper reaches of Lake Powell, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Click the link to read the article on the Utah News Dispatch website (Annie Knox):

October 31, 2025

Utah and six other states along the Colorado River are pushing up against a deadline to figure out as a group how to manage the river and its reservoirs.

If they can’t reach an agreement by Nov. 11, the federal government is set to intervene and make its own plan. The existing agreement expires at the end of next year.

“There’s still hope,” Marc Stilson, principal engineer for the Colorado River Authority of Utah, said Thursday. “They’re working hard, and they’re close.”

The upstream Upper Basin states — Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming — and the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California pitched competing plans to the federal government last year.

Now, in the home stretch of negotiations, the seven states are working through questions including which reservoirs would be managed under the new agreement, how they’ll measure water use and whether the plan will include mandatory cuts to water allocations, Stilson said.

The Upper Basin states have resisted the idea of mandatory cuts in dry years, saying they typically use much less than their yearly allocation.

Lower Basin states have said all seven should share water cuts during dry years under the new plan, warning if they don’t, downstream states could face cuts that aren’t feasible for them to absorb, the Nevada Current reported.

The river provides water to 40 million people across the U.S. and Mexico, and contributes 27 percent of Utah’s water supply. Hotter temperatures tied to climate change have mixed with drought and overuse to reduce its flow.

Utah isn’t waiting to prepare for potentially significant changes to how it manages water, said Michael Drake, deputy state engineer with the Utah Division of Water rights.

It’s been investing in expanding its use of tools to better measure and monitor water use since 2023, Drake told reporters Thursday.

That year, the Legislature poured $1 million into a Colorado River measurement infrastructure project and approved $650,000 in annual funding to monitor water use, according to the division.

Whether the state ends up facing cuts as part of the new plan or just working toward new targets, Drake said, it sees a need “to be able to manage water better, and you can’t regulate what you can’t measure.”

“As we get close here, I think reality is starting to hit and so we want to put out the messaging, you know, we can do this,” Drake told Utah News Dispatch.

He noted the possibility of forced cuts is troubling to many of the state’s farmers.

“What we’re going to be asking people to do is to see water running in a stream, and to not take it, to leave it there,” Drake said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow.”

Scott Thayn, who farms alfalfa and the grain sorghum in unincorporated Carbon County, agreed.

“If something happens with this new treaty and they drop it 10, 15, 20%,” Thayn said, “most of the years we’re going to be hurting.”

What’s holding up the #ColoradoRiver negotiations? Experts break down the sticking points — Shannon Mullane (Fresh Water News) #COriver #aridification

The back of Glen Canyon Dam in 2023 when the surface level was about 3,522 feet above sea level. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

Click the link to read the article on the Water Education Colorado website (Shannon Mullane):

October 30, 2025

Seven states in the Colorado River Basin are days away from a Nov. 11 deadline to hash out a rough idea of how the water supply for 40 million people will be managed starting in fall 2026. And they’re still at loggerheads over what to do.

The rules that govern how key reservoirs store and release water supplies expire Dec. 31. They’ll guide reservoir operations until fall 2026, and federal and state officials plan to use the winter months to nail down a new set of replacement rules. But negotiating those new rules raises questions about everything from when the new agreement will expire to who has to cut back on water use in the basin’s driest years.

And those questions have stymied the seven state negotiators for months. In March 2024, four Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — shared their vision for what future management should look like. Three Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — released a competing vision at the same time. The negotiators have suggested and shot down ideas in the time since, but they have made no firm decisions.

This shows that Colorado’s Western Slope is the biggest supplier of water to the Colorado River. Source: David F. Gold et al, Exploring the Spatially Compounding Multi‐Sectoral Drought Vulnerabilities in Colorado’s West Slope River Basins, Earth’s Future (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024EF004841

As the clock ticks down, onlookers have been increasingly frustrated and critical of the lack of progress in the closed-door negotiations.

“They seem to have been stuck basically on the same stuff for the last two-plus years,” said Jim Lochhead, former CEO/manager for Denver Water, the state’s largest water provider. “Part of why it’s so frustrating is they keep circling around to the same conversations over and over again.”

The Department of the Interior is managing the process to replace the set of rules, established in 2007, that guide how key reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — store and release water.

The federal agency plans to release a draft of its plans in December and have a final decision signed by May or June. If the seven states can come to agreement by March, the Department of the Interior can parachute it into its planning process, said Scott Cameron, acting head of the Bureau of Reclamation, during a meeting in Arizona in June.

Colorado River Storage Project map. Credit: Reclmation

If they cannot agree, the feds will decide how the basin’s water is managed. The federal government already has significant authority in the Lower Basin. But federal officials have also said they could leverage their authority over federal water projects in the Upper Basin, like Blue Mesa and the Colorado River Storage Project, to manage water in coming years.

The states could also take the matter to court, which could take decades to resolve and would put water management in the hands of judges instead of Colorado River communities, experts say.

“I think, if the definition of failure is that they don’t come to an agreement, we’ll know on Nov. 11,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. “My sense is that they’ve all tried really hard.”

So what exactly is holding up progress? [Shannon Mullane] reached out to nine water professionals, from state negotiators to water experts, to break down the sticking points.

Water cuts in the Upper Basin (yes, that includes Colorado)

One of the top sticking points in the negotiations is whether the four Upper Basin states will commit to making firm water cuts or conservation goals during the basin’s driest years, experts said.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming officials say the states regularly do not use their full legal allocation of Colorado River water, about 7.5 million acre-feet per year. The four states’ usage usually hovers closer to 4.5 million acre-feet per year and can fall to 3 million acre-feet in drier years, according to Upper Basin accounting.

They’re already cutting off junior water users early in dry years, like 2022. Water sharing is based on “first in time, first in right,” which means more recent, or junior, water rights are cut off before older, senior rights.

The officials argue that they’re already cutting back, and using less than their share, so why commit to cutting more? Conserving more water is also dependent on how much water is flowing through rivers and streams in any given year, Commissioner Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s governor-appointed negotiator, said.

Rebecca Mitchell, John Entsminger, Estevan Lopez, Gene Shawcroft, JB Hamby, Tom Buschatzke at the Getches-Wilkinson Center/Water and Tribes Initiative Conference June 6, 2024. Photo credit: Rebecca Mitchell

“We cannot conserve water that is not there,” she said.

In March 2024, the states proposed voluntary, temporary cuts, but that doesn’t work for the Lower Basin officials.

The downstream states proposed in March 2024 that they could take the first cuts — up to 1.5 million of their 7.5 million-acre-foot legal allocation — if reservoir storage is 38% to 69% of its capacity. After that, the Upper Basin and Lower Basin could evenly split additional cuts, according to the Lower Basin proposal.

That was a nonstarter for the Upper Basin officials, who balked when the Lower Basin asked them to cut up to 1.2 million acre-feet, or about a quarter to a third of the typical water use in the upstream states. Some of the Upper Basin states also say they do not currently have the legal authority to impose mandatory water cuts within their states when it comes to interstate water sharing agreements. [ed. emphasis mine]

This is one of two major disagreements in the negotiations, according to California Commissioner JB Hamby. The other is how and when water is released from the Upper Basin at Glen Canyon Dam to the Lower Basin, he said.

“There’s been lots of proposals bandied about back and forth between the basins and the feds,” Hamby said. “We’re not any closer at this point in time because those are the two most critical sticking points.”

Arizona officials declined to comment for the story. Nevada’s representative did not respond to requests for comment.

The political sticking point

Each of the seven negotiators is accountable to their home state. They have to be able to sell a deal to their water users and state lawmakers in a way that feels like a win, Porter of Arizona State University said.

In Arizona, Commissioner Tom Buschatzke must strike a deal that water users and the state legislature can get behind.

“There may be a situation where no deal is better than trying to sell a deal to your water users that you know they will utterly hate,” Porter said.

There are certain nonstarters for Arizona: Everyone expects to see water cuts for communities, like Phoenix, that rely on the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile federal system that supplies Colorado River water to the most populated regions in Arizona. But it’s hard to see a benefit for Arizona in a deal with no water, or not enough water, for the project, Porter said.

And water users can sue if they don’t like the seven-state deal or if senior water users are asked to cut back on water to help junior water users. That would run counter to how the legal priority system has worked for over a century. Such lawsuits would tie up Colorado River water management in court for years, Porter said. [ed. emphasis mine]

“We’re really on the precipice of significant new, bigger shortages, and so the likelihood of a water user bringing legal action because of cuts outside of the priority system … is much higher than it was in 2019,” Porter said.

In past meetings, Cameron of the Bureau of Reclamation has called on water users to be more flexible so their state commissioners have room to negotiate.

“I urge you to continue to work with Tom (Buschatzke), embrace his leadership and give him the freedom to maneuver to strike an appropriate deal with his six colleagues in the other states,” Cameron said during an Arizona Reconsultation Committee meeting in June.

In Colorado, Mitchell said she is still working closely with water users within the state.

“We have firmly sat in the negotiating room with the principles we have always had,” she said. “That is something I have promised Coloradans: The principles that we developed are still the principles that I am taking into the room with me. Those are factored in as we are negotiating.”

What experts want to see

Water experts and professionals have been stuck on the outside of the closed-door negotiations, waiting on updates with greater frustration as the deadline draws near.

Now the states have less than two weeks to agree, at a high-level, on how to manage the water supply for millions of people, two countries, 30 Native American tribes, key food supplies and multibillion-dollar industries.

“They have the most thankless task that anyone in the Colorado basin could have,” Porter said.

Lochhead, formerly of Denver Water, said it seems impossible to reach any kind of comprehensive agreement before Nov. 11. They might be able to reach a conceptual outline, he said. They might be able to find a way forward if they were less entrenched in the Upper Basin versus Lower Basin dynamic, he added.

Jennifer Pitt and Brad Udall at the Getches-Wilkinson Center/Water and Tribes Initiative conference June 5, 2025. Photo credit: Allen Best/Big Pivots

Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director for the National Audubon Society, suggested that states work toward making the most out of water supplies instead of legal questions that are tough to resolve.

“Once the rules of the game become clear, people are going to lean hard into those solutions,” she said. “And there are many of them.”

John Berggren, regional policy manager for Western Resource Advocates, said the basin needs to see compromise as a win, not a loss. Officials need to educate their constituents that compromising empowers people to choose their destiny, instead of having courts or the federal government dictate it for the basin.

“A compromise is not a bad thing,” Berggren said. “Coming to agreement, coming to the table is actually a good thing for us.”

10 sticking points

The Colorado River water experts and negotiators highlighted 10 key sticking points:

The term of the agreement: The negotiators have weighed different options for how long the new agreement should last and whether there should be a short-term period for states to ramp up conservation programs and water use reductions. This is a lower-level sticking point where states might be able to find consensus more easily.

Reservoir management: The states have also debated which reservoirs will be managed under the new agreement. The Lower Basin wants to include upstream reservoirs, including Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado. The Upper Basin only wants Lake Mead and Lake Powell involved and worries that including upstream reservoirs will change how water flows through the basin or encourage Lower Basin overuse.

Rebuilding reservoir storage: Commissioner Mitchell of Colorado was adamant that the new plan needs to prioritize rebuilding reservoir storage, since key reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — are falling closer to critical levels. Commissioner Hamby of California said the states can figure out how to handle reservoir storage, and other issues, like water cuts, pose a greater challenge.

Operating Lake Mead and Lake Powell: The current operational rules are mainly based on reservoir levels and river forecasts. When Lake Mead reaches a certain water level, it triggers adjustments in Lake Powell. The state officials agree these rules did not work. Colorado wants to prioritize the health of Lake Powell and base operations on real water levels — not forecasts. The states almost came to an agreement on how to do this earlier in the summer, but the idea was re-shelved.

Cutting back on water: This is a particularly thorny issue. Would the Upper Basin commit to firm water conservation goals or mandatory cuts? Is the Lower Basin doing enough to address the Upper Basin’s concerns about overuse in the three downstream states? Officials in both basins say large cutbacks to their water supply would be an existential threat to their communities now and in the future.

Basic accounting: The states disagree on key numbers. How does each state count its water use, shortages and conservation efforts? How much water is the Upper Basin supposed to send down to Mexico, or is that the Lower Basin’s job? How do downstream states count water use from tributaries, like the Gila River?

100-year-old issues: The states are also bolstering their legal arguments when it comes to unclear language in the Colorado River Compact of 1922, which laid out how the two basins were supposed to share water. Does it say the four upstream states are required to deliver a certain amount of water to the three downstream states? Or does it say the upstream states aren’t supposed to cause the water deliveries to go below a certain level? Some Upper Basin lawyers say they can argue that climate change, not the states’ water use, is the cause.

Distrust: The basin states have thrown plenty of barbs at each other during the negotiations. Each has accused the other of gaming the system in some way. Lower Basin and Upper Basin officials have said other states could time reservoir releases from lakes Mead or Powell to benefit their state. The Lower Basin has questioned whether the Upper Basin has inflated shortage calculations. The Upper Basin has long complained about Arizona’s practice of taking Colorado River water out of Lake Mead and storing it underground.

Group dynamics: The basin has split into Team Lower Basin and Team Upper Basin. Could states make more progress if they operated more independently, threw out ideas, formed coalitions and convinced others to join?

In-state politics: Even if the state officials can work out the details of an agreement, they still have to take it home and convince their states it’s a good idea. That can be complicated. In Colorado alone, there are decades-old conflicts over water between the Western Slope and Front Range, farmers and cities, tribal and non-tribal water users.

More by Shannon Mullane

Snowmaking off to a fast start, even as Mother Nature takes her time: Ski resorts crank up the snow guns, thanks to ‘wet-bulb’ weather and Denver Water

Click the link to read the article on the Denver Water website (Todd Hartman):

October 27, 2025

The snow season in Colorado’s high country is off to a slow start, but snowmaking at the ski resorts? That’s going gangbusters.

As October draws to a close, ski resorts are cranking out the snow due to a combination of the resorts’ annual race to opening day, this year’s unusually compressed window for the right meteorological conditions, and long-standing water supply agreements with Denver Water.

Snowmaking underway on the slopes at Breckenridge Ski Resort, one of six ski resorts in Denver Water’s watershed with agreements in place to use some of the utility’s water to make snow in the winter. Photo credit: Denver Water.

This year’s race to be the first ski resort to open ended over the weekend, when Keystone opened Saturday for three hours of afternoon skiing, followed by Arapahoe Basin, which opened for a full day of skiing on Sunday.

Denver Water collects water from across 4,000 square miles of mountain watershed, an area that’s also home to six major ski resorts: Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Frisco Adventure Park, Keystone and Winter Park.

And stream gauges operated by Denver Water act as a proxy measure for snowmaking activity.

For example, the gauges monitoring streams affected by snowmaking at Winter Park and Keystone showed big overnight dips in recent days, as the resorts diverted water from the streams to their snowmaking equipment to get a head start on the ski season.

“The snow guns are blasting — and we can really see it reflected in those stream gauges,” said Nathan Elder, manager of water supply for Denver Water. “This appears to be one of the bigger starts to snow-making at the resorts as they gear up for opening day.”

The series of big drops in the amount of water flowing through the Moffat Tunnel last week indicates water being diverted to make snow at Winter Park Resort. Image credit: Colorado Water Conservation Board, Division of Water Resources.

The snowmaking boom can also be credited to something called “wet bulb” temperatures, a concept explained by 9News meteorologist Cory Reppenhagen in a story that aired Oct. 23.

It’s a reference to the impact of evaporative cooling in the dry Colorado air. In essence, the low humidity of the cold and dry air allows resorts to make snow even if the actual air temperature is above freezing.

“These ‘wet bulb’ conditions that are ideal for snowmaking have come later in the year than usual, so the resorts have had less time to make snow and are going strong now,” Elder said.

Water managers can see the activity in places like gauges on the Snake River, where overnight on Oct. 21, the stream that was flowing at 21 cubic feet of water per second plunged down to 6 cubic feet per second for several hours, then jumped back up to 32 cfs when the snowmaking at Keystone stopped the next day.

Importantly, the snowmaking machines couldn’t work their magic without the water the ski resorts are able to divert from high country streams. And the resorts can do that thanks to agreements with Denver Water that get the most use out of every drop of water.

Denver Water has very senior water rights in Grand and Summit counties, dating back to the 1920s and 1940s, before the ski resorts were open or made snow.

Agreements between Denver Water and the six ski resorts — Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Cooper Mountain, Frisco Adventure Park, Keystone and Winter Park —allow the resorts to capture and use water for snowmaking, helping get the ski season off to an earlier start than they likely would be able to do otherwise.

The resorts use water that would otherwise get collected and stored in Denver Water reservoirs.

But it all evens out in the end. When the machine-made snow melts, it will flow downstream and wind up in the utility’s reservoirs on its way to customer taps next spring and summer.

Providing water for snowmaking is just one way Denver Water helps improve recreation in our collection system.

Watch a video on how Arapahoe Basin makes snow:

And those agreements are crucial this year, due to a late start to the snowfall season.

The average amount of snow measured at mountain tracking sites (called SNOTELs) as of Oct. 23 was 0 inches. There have only been seven other years, in the 46 years since SNOTELs began tracking data in 1979, when the average measurement was zero that late in October.

However, says Elder, do not despair.

A slow October roll-out does not automatically translate to a bad snow year overall.

“A slow start does not mean the peak snowpack in April will be low,” he said. “In some of those years the peak was well above average.”

And forecasts indicate that ‘wet-bulb’ temperatures are looking good for the remainder of this week, meaning more snowmaking will be underway.

So, if you haven’t already, get ready to break out those skis.

Denver Water relies on a network of reservoirs to collect and store water. The large collection area provides flexibility for collecting water as some areas receive different amounts of precipitation throughout the year. Image credit: Denver Water.

Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money

A farmer in China operates a drone to spray fertilizer on fields. Wang Huabin/VCG via Getty Images

Ben Belton, Michigan State University and Leo Baldiga, Michigan State University

Drones have become integrated into everyday life over the past decade – in sectors as diverse as entertainment, health care and construction. They have also begun to transform the way people grow food.

In a new study published in the journal Science, we show that use of agricultural drones has spread extremely rapidly around the world. In our research as social scientists studying agriculture and rural development, we set out to document where agricultural drones have taken off around the world, what they are doing, and why they have traveled so far so fast. We also explored what these changes mean for farmers, the environment, the public and governments.

From toys to farm tools

Just a few years ago, agricultural drones were expensive, small and difficult to use, limiting their appeal to farmers. In contrast, today’s models can be flown immediately after purchase and carry loads weighing up to 220 pounds (100 kg) – the weight of two sacks of fertilizer.

Their prices vary from country to country due to taxes, tariffs and shipping costs. In the U.S., a drone owner can expect to spend US$20,000 to $30,000 for the same equipment that a farmer in China could buy for less than $10,000. However, most farmers hire service providers, small businesses that supply drones and pilots for a fee, making them easy and relatively affordable to use. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1_XkHEUIi5Q?wmode=transparent&start=0 A promotional video for the DJI Agras T100 agricultural drone, which can carry a maximum load of 220 pounds (100 kg).

Agricultural drones are now akin to flying tractors – multifunctional machines that can perform numerous tasks using different hardware attachments. Common uses for drones on farms include spraying crops, spreading fertilizer, sowing seeds, transporting produce, dispensing fish feeds, painting greenhouses, monitoring livestock locations and well-being, mapping field topography and drainage, and measuring crop health. This versatility makes drones valuable for growing numerous crops, on farms of all sizes.

Technological leapfrogging

We estimated the number of agricultural drones operating in some of the world’s leading agricultural countries by scouring online news and trade publications in many different languages. This effort revealed where agricultural drones have already taken off around the world.

Historically, most agricultural technology – tractors, for example – has spread from high-income countries to middle- and then lower-income ones over the course of many decades. Drones partially reversed and dramatically accelerated this pattern, diffusing first from East Asia to Southeast Asia, then to Latin America, and finally to North America and Europe. Their use in higher-income regions is more limited but is accelerating rapidly in the U.S.

China leads the world in agricultural drone manufacturing and adoption. In 2016, a Chinese company introduced the first agriculture-specific quadcopter model. There are now more than 250,000 agricultural drones reported to be in use there. Other middle-income countries have also been enthusiastic adopters. For instance, drones were used on 30% of Thailand’s farmland in 2023, up from almost none in 2019, mainly by spraying pesticides and spreading fertilizers.

In the U.S., the number of agricultural drones registered with the Federal Aviation Administration leaped from about 1,000 in January 2024 to around 5,500 in mid-2025. Industry reports suggest those numbers substantially underreport U.S. drone use because some owners seek to avoid the complex registration process. Agricultural drones in the U.S. are used mainly for spraying crops such as corn and soy, especially in areas that are difficult to reach with tractors or crop-dusting aircraft.

Safer, but not risk-free

In countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam, millions of smallholder farmers have upgraded from the dangerous and tiring job of applying agrochemicals by hand with backpack sprayers to using some of the most cutting-edge technology in the world, often using the same models that are popular in the U.S.

Shifting from applying chemicals with backpack sprayers to drones substantially reduces the risk of direct exposure to toxins for farmers and farmworkers.

However, because drones usually spray from a height of at least 6 feet (2 meters), if used improperly, they can spread droplets containing pesticides or herbicides to neighboring farms, waterways or bystanders. That can damage crops and endanger people and nature.

Saving labor or displacing it?

Drones save farmers time and money. They reduce the need for smallholders – people who farm less than 5 acres (2 hectares), which account for 85% of farms globally – to do dangerous and tiring manual spraying and spreading work on their own farms. They also remove the need to hire workers to do the same.

By eliminating some of the last remaining physically demanding work in farming, drones may also help make agriculture more attractive to rural youth, who are often disillusioned with the drudgery of traditional farming. In addition, drones create new skilled employment opportunities in rural areas for pilots, many of whom are young people.

On the downside, using drones could displace workers who currently earn a living from crop spraying. For instance, according to one estimate from China, drones can cover between 10 and 25 acres (4 to 10 hectares) of farmland per hour when spraying pesticides. That is equivalent to the effort of between 30 and 100 workers spraying manually. Governments may need to find ways to help displaced workers find new jobs.

A person pours liquid into a tank attached to a drone, while standing near a large field. — An agricultural worker fills a drone tank with pesticide spray at a farm in Brazil. Mateus Bonomi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sky’s the limit

Drones spray and spread fertilizers and seeds evenly and efficiently, so that less is wasted. They may also reduce damage to crops in the field and consume less energy than large farm machines such as tractors.

In combination, these factors may increase the amount of food that can be produced on each acre of land, while reducing the amount of resources needed to do so. This outcome is a holy grail for agricultural scientists, who refer to it as “sustainable intensification.”

However, much of the evidence so far on yield gains from drone-assisted farming is anecdotal, or based on small studies or industry reports.

The drone revolution is reshaping farming faster than almost any technology before it. In just five years, millions of farmers around the world have embraced drones. Early signs point to big benefits: greater efficiency, safer working conditions and improved rural livelihoods. But the full picture isn’t clear yet.

Ben Belton, Professor of International Development, Michigan State University and Leo Baldiga, Ph.D. Student in Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

#Drought news October 30, 2025: #Colorado and #Wyoming are the most drought-impacted states, in the High Plains region, with almost 55% of those states combined covered by D0 conditions or worse

Click on a thumbnail graphic to view a gallery of drought data from the US Drought Monitor website.

Click on the link to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

This Week’s Drought Summary

Heavy precipitation (over 3 inches) was observed last week over many of the higher elevations and coastal areas from northern California to the Canadian Border. Farther east, similar amounts doused numerous locations from Oklahoma southward to central Texas, a few areas across the lower Mississippi Valley, portions of the southern Appalachians, parts of the central Gulf Coast, the east-central Florida Peninsula, and some areas just downwind of Lake Erie. Between 5 and 10 inches of precipitation fell on a few areas in the coastal and higher elevations of Washington and Oregon, north-central through east-central Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, south-central Mississippi, and east-central Florida. Moderate to heavy precipitation (between 1 and 3 inches with isolated higher amounts) was reported across the rest of the Pacific Northwest, parts of the higher elevations in the northern Intermountain West, part of the northern Great Plains, most of central and western Michigan, a few patches across New England, and many areas from the central Carolinas to the central Great Plains, plus much of northern and central Texas, the southern Lower Mississippi Valley, and a few patches across northwestern and central Florida. Other locations across the Conterminous U.S. (“Lower-48”) received only a few tenths of an inch at best.

This resulted in significant areas of improvement in the Pacific Northwest, northern Intermountain West, the Great Plains from eastern Kansas through central Texas, the interior Deep South, the Ohio Valley, the eastern Great Lakes, the Carolinas, the southern Appalachians, and a few patches in New England. In some of the drier areas, dryness and drought conditions deteriorated in a few parts of the central and northern High Plains, the Texas Panhandle, Deep South and Coastal Texas, southern Alabama and Georgia, and small areas in the mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast from New York to coastal Maine. Deteriorating conditions also affected small parts of Hawaii (Upcountry Maui, northeastern Maui, and the southeastern Big Island). Conditions in Puerto Rico were unchanged with abnormal dryness persisting in parts of southeastern Puerto Rico, and Alaska remained free of any dryness or drought.

Overall, coverage of D0 or drier conditions across the Lower-48 declined slightly from 72 to 69 percent, remaining well above the average coverage since 2000 (49.2 percent). Drought (D1 or worse) extent also declined slightly from 46.1 to 43.6 percent of the Lower-48, also above the average since 2000 (31.1 percent)…

High Plains

The High Plains Region is currently the Region least-affected by dryness and drought. Only 37.2 percent of the Region is affected by dryness (D0) or drought (D1-D4). Colorado and Wyoming are the most drought-impacted states, with almost 55% of those states combined covered by D0 conditions or worse, and about one-third experiencing some degree of drought (D1-D4), primarily in the higher elevations. In the Great Plains states, there is no drought in North Dakota and D0 covers less than 3 percent of the state. Dry conditions are a little more common farther south, with D0 or worse covering 39 percent of South Dakota, 35 percent of Nebraska, and 25 percent of Kansas. In all 3 states, drought (D1 or worse) coverage is less than 13 percent. Last week, moderate to locally heavy rain induced areas of improvement in eastern Kansas and far northwestern Wyoming while patches of deterioration were introduced in eastern South Dakota and small parts of south-central Colorado and far northeastern Kansas…

Colorado Drought Monitor one week change map ending October 28, 2025.

West

Following substantial changes across the West Region last week, conditions generally persisted across all but the northern tier of the West Region, with no changes made relative to last week across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and most of California. Across the northern tier of the West Region, heavy precipitation engendered improvement in a few areas, mostly across northern California, Oregon, and Washington from the Cascades to the Pacific Coast. Many locations in the higher elevations of Washington and near the Washington and northern Oregon coastline measured over 3 inches of precipitation, with scattered amounts of 4 to locally over 8 inches recorded, particularly in northwestern and north-central Washington. Farther east, recent precipitation led to some improvement across western Montana and northern Idaho while, to the east, recent deficient precipitation totals led to deterioration across north-central Montana…

South

Heavy rains in many regions engendered broad areas of improvement across most of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Some areas of deterioration were observed in areas that missed the heavy rains, specifically southern and coastal Texas, part of the Texas Panhandle, and a few patches of the Red River (South) Valley. Several inches of rain resulted in a few swaths of 2-category improvement across central and east-central Texas as well as central Oklahoma, where upwards of 4 to 8 inches of precipitation were observed. Overall, coverage of dryness and drought dropped from 80.6 to 68.6 percent of the Region while drought coverage (D1 or worse) was reduced from 37.1 to 27.6 percent. D3-D4 extent inched down slightly from 10.7 to 9.6 percent. But despite the wet week, 90-day rainfall amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches below normal across much of the Red River (South) Valley, and from 4 to locally over 10 inches from central Texas eastward along and near the Gulf Coast…

Looking Ahead

Over the next 5 days (October 30 – November 3), a large part of the Lower-48 is expecting little or no precipitation, specifically most areas from the Appalachians to the Pacific Coast. Light to moderate amounts are forecast for most of interior New England, the central and southern Appalachians, the Oregon Cascades and Coast, the higher elevations of the Intermountain West, much of Peninsular Florida, and portions of the South Atlantic Coastal Plain. Heavier amounts exceeding 1.5 inches are anticipated across the Washington Cascades and Coast, isolated spots near the central and western Gulf Coast, much of the middle and upper Ohio Valley, most of a broad swath from Maryland through New York, and the Florida Keys. Daily high temperatures are forecast to average 2 to 4 deg. F below normal across the Southeast, and near normal over the Northeast and the Lower Mississippi Valley. Unusual warmth featuring daily Highs 4 deg. F or more above normal is expected across the northern Great Plains and most locations from the High Plains to the Pacific Coast, outside the Pacific Northwest. Average daily highs could reach 10 to 14 deg. F above-normal across the eastern Great Basin and the central and northern Rockies.

During November 4 – 8, wetter than normal weather is again expected in the Pacific Northwest, expanding to cover the northern Intermountain West, western Great Basin, and central through northern California. Odds for wetness exceed 50 percent from northwestern California through central and western parts of Washington and Oregon. Elsewhere, wet weather is marginally favored in much of the South Atlantic, south-central and southeastern Alaska, and portions of northern Alaska. Meanwhile, most of a large swath from the Rockies to the Appalachians have enhanced odds for drier-than-normal conditions, with chances topping 50 percent across New Mexico and the western half of Texas. Subnormal precipitation is also marginally favored across all but the eastern fringe of the Big Island in Hawaii. Warmer than normal conditions are favored from the Great Lakes and lower Ohio Valley through most areas from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Coast. Enhanced chances for warmer-than-normal weather also cover southern Florida, south-central and eastern Alaska, and Hawaii. Most areas over and near the central Rockies have chances for warmth exceeding 80 percent. Subnormal temperatures are only favored in New England and adjacent New York. In other areas, near normal temperatures are most likely.

US Drought Monitor one week change map ending October 28, 2025.

Exploring #Colorado’s untapped geothermal energy potential — Charles Ferrer (University of Colorado #Boulder)

Map of Western US geotthermal areas via the USGS

Click the link to read the article on the University of Colorado website (Charles Ferrer):

October 21, 2025

A major question looms over Colorado’s energy future: why does geothermal energy — a natural renewable resource — remain virtually untapped?

Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge. Photo credit: University of Colorado Boulder

Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge, based in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, along with Assistant Teaching Professor Shae Frydenlund from the Center for Asian Studies, will examine the technological and social barriers that have held back geothermal development in Colorado.

Geothermal energy comes from the natural heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface. It’s harnessed by tapping underground reservoirs of steam or hot water to produce electricity or provide direct heating.

Colorado is home to significant geothermal areas including the areas of Mount Princeton Hot Springs, Waunita Hot Springs and the San Luis Valley — yet no geothermal power plants currently operate in the state. That could soon change, thanks to growing collaboration among researchers, energy companies and policymakers.

Assistant Teaching Professor Shae Frydenlund. Photo credit: University of Colorado Boulder

“We know there is an abundant amount of geothermal energy potential in our state,” said Hodge, who brings two decades of experience in renewable energy integration and power systems simulation. “What we need is a better understanding of the social, economic and regulatory factors that influence its development.”

Bridging technology and community

Frydenlund’s work with Indigenous communities in Indonesia, some of whom oppose geothermal projects due to environmental justice concerns, sparked an interdisciplinary collaboration with Hodge.

“I became very interested in bringing together physical science and social science perspectives,” Frydenlund said, “and to understand why a place as geothermal-rich as Colorado hasn’t tapped into this natural resource.”

Her research, together with Geography Professor Emily Yeh, revealed that struggles over geothermal projects emerge in and through the politics of indigeneity, land tenure and uneven development.

“There are concerns over land rights, sacred territories, livelihoods and environmental justice,” she said. “We need to bring those perspectives as we think about using geothermal here.”

To capture both the human and technical sides of geothermal development, the CU Boulder team will combine tools, such as power systems modeling, spatial statistics and GIS mapping along with community forums, surveys and interviews. Gaining community input will be integral for this project.

One of their main goals is to create an interactive map tool of Colorado showing potential geothermal sites, layered with data on social and technological factors.

“Just because an area has strong potential doesn’t mean it’s a good place to develop geothermal energy,” Frydenlund said. “If it’s not culturally appropriate or desired by the community, resources can be wasted and projects can fail.”

The issue isn’t unique to Colorado.

“We’ve seen this already in the U.S.,” Hodge said. “Hawaii has been a leader in decarbonization goals and has great geothermal resources. Yet, there’s very little being developed there because you have to be mindful of the traditions in Hawaiian culture.”

The planning phase for the project includes three major steps: campus-wide town halls to connect with geothermal experts, identifying industry and community partners across the state and gathering preliminary data through stakeholder engagement. Between January and March 2026, Frydenlund will conduct fieldwork at six sites across Colorado, including Steamboat Springs, Buena Vista and Sterling Ranch in the South Metro area.

Building toward carbon neutrality

Geothermal exploration speaks directly to CU Boulder’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the Western Governors Association’s Heat Beneath Our Feet initiative, which announced $7.7 million in funding in May 2024 to advance geothermal technology in Colorado.

Geothermal technologies can operate at multiple scales from single buildings to community thermal networks to large-scale power generation.

“What’s really interesting from a power systems standpoint is that geothermal affects not only electricity supply, but also demand,” Hodge said. “If ground-source heat pumps became widespread, Colorado’s power grid could shift from a summer to a winter peak system.”

However, these technological advances alone can’t drive an increased transition to geothermal.

“Understanding the intimate relationships that people have with land and with energy and with each other will make for a much richer picture of what kind of future geothermal energy has in this state,” Frydenlund said.

The project is funded by a Research & Innovation Office New Frontiers Grant.

Geothermal Electrical Generation concept — via the British Geological Survey

Will data centers show up in #Colorado’s rural areas? — Allen Best (BigPivots.com)

Data construction at 49th & Race, Denver. Photo credit: Allen Best

Click the link to read the article on the Big Pivots website (Allen Best):

October 23, 2025

Data centers in Colorado have been almost exclusively located along the Front Range, more narrowly yet between Colorado Springs and Boulder County.

In other words, they have arrived at exactly those places within the state that have prosperous economies, jurisdictions even struggling with the challenges imposed by growth.

Might data centers make their way to rural areas of Colorado?

Leaders of several electrical cooperatives offer mixed responses. Some report getting interest already, others not.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Colorado’s second largest electrical provider, hopes to prime the pump. It has filed a proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a tariff that it believes will interest developers. It’s called HILT, which stands for high-impact load tariff. It is designed for demands of 45 megawatts or more.

Meanwhile, several state legislators continue to hone bills they expect to introduce into the next legislative session. In the last legislative session, one bill proposed incentives for data center development in some locations. Others thought that the state needed guardrails to ensure that other customers — as well as land and especially water resources — are not imperiled. (Look for a deeper story on that in coming days in Big Pivots).

“Absolutely,” said Duane Highley, the chief executive of Tri-State, in an interview with Big Pivots on Oct. 7 when asked about potential for data centers in places like Craig or Fort Morgan. “Our members have actually had quite a bit of interest across our entire footprint. So definitely not just the urban areas.”

The Westminster-based cooperative provides wholesale power to 40 electrical cooperatives and public power districts in Colorado and three adjoining states.

“Some of our high-elevation members get a lot of interest because of the cool air and less need for cooling a data center,” he said. This, he added, is particularly true in Wyoming, where Tri-State has 10 member cooperatives. It supplies electricity to 16 cooperatives in Colorado.

Tri-State does not deliver electricity to Craig and Hayden, although it does operate three coal-burning units at Craig. It plans a gas-fired power plant there after the coal units get retired. The first unit is scheduled to retire later this year and the final two before the end of 2028.

At 6,200 feet in elevation, Craig is consistently cooler than the Front Range. It is often below zero during winter nights, sometimes far below.

“I guess Craig would be an excellent spot,” said Highley. He cited the existence of a “really big substation” as well as transmission.

“So if anybody wants to start a conversation around Craig, we will have the tariff in place to allow that to happen. ”

Highley reported that Tri-State has had four gigawatts of requests on its system from data centers. Tri-State has a generating capacity of 2.5 gigawatts from Wyoming to Arizona. Not all that demand will materialize, Highley hastened to add. “A lot of them are just shopping, but I have to think that some part of that is real.”

A spot check by Big Pivots of electrical cooperatives in Colorado reveals little of substance — yet.

“We really haven’t had any inquiries about data centers in the Mountain Parks service territory to date,” said Virginia Harman, the chief executive of Granby-based Mountain Parks Electric. “That doesn’t mean they won’t happen.”

In Buena Vista, Jon Beyer, the general manager of Sangre de Cristo Electric, has the same report. “We are not getting any inquiries anywhere in the Arkansas Valley. Land prices are pretty expensive, and electrical infrastructure is probably not robust enough for stuff of that size. Finding employees is a challenge as well,” he said.

“Coops along the Front Range — Poudre Valley, United Power, Mountain View, maybe even San Isabel, I would guess they have all received inquiries, folks kicking the tires.”

In western Colorado, Delta-Montrose Association has at least heard a little bit of interest via upstream electrical providers but “nothing to take to the bank,” said Kent Blackwell, the chief administrative officer. “The fact that we have even heard any out there is shocking to me, this far removed from urban centers.”

Different sizes

Data centers do come in different sizes and flavors. Micro data centers generally are those in places of 5,000 square feet or less. Small comes in at 20,000 square feet. Hyper-scale data centers are classified as those with over 100,000 square feet and consuming 100 megawatts.

QTS, Colorado’s most high-profile data center, seems not to have divulged its square footage but has a 67-acre campus in Aurora, near the intersection of I-70 and E-470, and a demand of 177 megawatts. However, it still ramping up, with a 10-year expansion.

The QTS hypescale data center in Aurora occupies a campus of 67 acres and is still ramping up. Photo credit: Allen Best/Big Pivots

Many data centers are even larger. Meta (Facebook) has a data center in Oregon that covers 4.6 million square feet. A data center in Inner Mongolia covers 10.7 million square feet.

These definitions and other information, by the way, come in part from Google AI reports (which makes those of us who are actual providers of diminished relevance — or at least uncompensated.) They could be wrong — as AI often is. Of course, newspapers were never wrong, were they?

Tri-State’s Highley said he has talked with developers covered by non-disclosure agreements. “I can’t share who they are, but I’ll just say I’m inspired by them,” he said. “They have a lot of money, and they do have the ability to execute. I also believe they’re shopping multiple locations at once, and so it’s a little bit of competition.”

Will this new HILT tariff from Tri-State — assuming it is approved by FERC — become a model for others? Highley said he got a call from a White House office in late September. The individual had lots of questions about Tri-State’s FERC filing. The individual had read Tri-State’s FERC filing in detail.

“Why do you care so much? Why are you calling me?” Highley asked. ” And he said, ‘Because I think this tariff that you filed could set a precedent for the industry nation-wide.”

Highley said he has not noticed another large-load tariff approved at FERC, although he has seen two that were rejected. “I don’t think we have it perfect, but we think we’re moving down a good path. We had input from developers and from our own co-op members to design this.”

Stranded assets?

Will this interfere with Tri-State’s plans to decarbonize? It expects to be at 50% carbon free electricity by year’s end and 70% by 2030. No, said Highley. Tri-State can meet new demand with solar, wind and battery storage. It also plans another natural gas plant near Craig, pending approval by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

Tri-State and its members would also allow data center developers to produce part of their own generation. That tariff is called bring-your-own-resource, or BYOR. A developer might have better access to supply chains, Highley said. “Again, some of these hyper-scalers have such a big checkbook they can buy their way to the front of the line. ”

HIghley said the Tri-State’s tariff will ensure that it has the capacity to back up the data center developer while getting properly compensated, so no other members subsidize the project.

A September presentation by Matt Fitzgibbon, Tri-State’s vice president of planning and analytics, tells a slightly nuanced story. A slide deck reported “limited potential” for stranded assets resulting in financial risk to Tri-State and its members while enabling “economic development across our members’ systems at an unprecedented level and pace.”

This gets at the heart of one concern about data centers, as illustrated in the Xcel filing with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission last year. How much of the prospective demand from data centers is real? And if it is not real, who will be left holding the bag if a utility spends gobs of money building new generating capacity? How much risk will be put on ratepayers, in the case of Xcel, or in the case of cooperatives, members?

In Durango, Chris Hansen, the chief executive of La Plata Electric since November, foresees data centers arriving in more rural parts of Colorado.

“We have had significant discussions with three different data center operators who are interested in southwest Colorado,” he reported. “We are making sure that we are open for business and communicating our opportunities in the near term, in the next 24 months, and those requiring more lead time of three, four or five years.”

Data centers, he said, “are most focused on low cost of power and availability of water for cooling. Those are very high on their list.”

And Colorado’s sales tax policy will not make it a higher cost for developers when they are buying hundreds of millions of dollars for chips. “That is something that is relevant for them as they make their decisions.”

Hansen said he believes that data center demand can be met in ways that are highly beneficial to existing customers and the electrical system more broadly.

Some rural places could be limited by lack of sufficient fiber connectivity to more urban areas. Hansen acknowledges that but points out that data centers can have different needs. As for southwest Colorado, it is well connected.

Delta-Montrose’s Blackwell sees his cooperative being in a good position to interest data center developers. It has fiber connectivity to Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque. “A Facebook, an Amazon — the big data centers will want direct fiber connectivity.”

A map published last week by the Wall Street Journal using Department of Energy information showed data centers across the United States. Texas has, well, Texas-sized dots and maybe bigger. Virginia, with its data center alley, is well represented. But you see almost no dots of any size in the Rocky Mountain states beyond the urban areas with the exception of Cheyenne.

Hansen said he believes electrical cooperatives are positioned to meet demand that investor-owned utilities in urban areas cannot.

“Larger investor-owned utilities around the country are not in great position to meet demand. That is the trend I am seeing. Rural co-ops can move fast, as they don’t have to necessarily go through PUCs. Those things help make rural areas more attractive.”

Lots of shopping, little commitment

In Southwest Colorado, the data developers have been looking to get started at 50 to 100 megawatts. If things go well, they might want to grow to data centers of a gigawatt or more.

Data centers come in different flavors, said Hansen. Some data centers do have flexibility in their need for electricity, while others must respond immediately to needs of their consumers.

Then there is the bring-your-own power approach. The Wall Street Journal article on Oct. 15, “AI Data Centers, Desperate for Electricity, Are Building Their Own Power Plants,” noted the problems of building transmission and other infrastructure.

“Tech companies in the AI race need power, and lots of it. They aren’t waiting around for the archaic U.S. power grid to catch up,” reports Jennifer Hlller.

Data centers long took power for granted, a consultant told the Journal. “But that’s no longer possible given the city-sized amounts of electricity needed to train AI models. One data center can devour as much electricity as 1,000 Walmart stores, and an AI search can use 10 times the amount of energy as a Google search,” Hiller said.

Hence, they have taken to building their own power generating sources, often gas plants.

The downside to that, as Hansen pointed out, is that the data center developers could still need the reliability of the broader grid. “It’s a balancing act,” he said.

While Hansen in Durango has just started getting inquiries from data center developers, Mark Gabriel, chief executive of Brighton-based United Power, has been fielding inquires for two or three years.

The electrical cooperative covers 900-plus square miles from the foothills of the Rockies to the oil and gas territory of the Wattenberg Field. But it also serves land near DIA as well as along the fast-developing I-76 and I-25 corridors.

As such, United has been getting lots of “tire kickers.” Now, says Gabriel, United actually expects something to come of the talk. Two operators with large load demands have committed to the $650,000 up-front fees, two more are in active negotiations, and several others are talking with United.

“We anticipate at least one to come to fruition,” said Gabriel.

The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink — William J. Ripple, et al. (Oxford)

Figure 1. Time series of climate-related human activities. In panel (f),tree cover loss does not account for forest gain and includes loss due to any cause. For panel (h),statistics are based on total energy supply (Energy Institute 2025). Sources and additional details about each variable are provided in supplemental file S1. Credit: The 2025 state of the climate report

Click the link to access the report on the Oxford website. From the report:

August 10, 2025

We are hurtling toward climate chaos.The planet’s vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation. Almost every corner of the biosphere is reeling from intensifying heat, storms, floods, droughts, or fires.The window to prevent the worst outcomes is rapidly closing. In early 2025, the World Meteorological Organization reported that 2024 was the hottest year on record (WMO 2025a). This was likely hotter than the peak of, the last interglacial, roughly 125,000 years ago (Gulev et al. 2021, Kaufman and McKay 2022). Rising levels of greenhouse gases remain the driving force behind this escalation. These recent developments emphasize the extreme insufficiency of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mark the beginning of a grim new chapter for life on Earth.

In this report, we seek to speak candidly to fellow scientists, policymakers, and humanity at large. Given our roles in research and higher education,we share an ethical responsibility to sound the alarm about escalating global risks and to take collective action in confronting them with clarity and resolve. We show evidence of accelerated warming and document changes in Earth’s vital signs. These indicators build on the framework introduced by Ripple and colleagues (2020), who issued a declaration of a climate emergency that has garnered support from approximately 15,800 scientist signatories worldwide. We also examine recent extreme weather disasters and discuss physical and social risks. The final sections of the report include suggested climate mitigation strategies and the broader societal transformations needed to secure a livable future.A summary of key findings is given in box 1.

#SnowmassVillage’s wilderness water source poses unique wildfire risk: Pristine supply reliant on #EastSnowmassCreek is at once a blessing and a liability — Elizabeth Stewart-Severy (AspenJournalism.org)

The intake structure for the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District sits about 20 feet downstream of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area boundary along East Snowmass Creek. The proximity to the wilderness area is beneficial for water quality but complicates wildfire planning efforts. Photo credit: Aspen Journalism

Click the link to read the article on the Aspen Journalism website (Elizabeth Stewart-Severy):

October 22, 2025

If Snowmass Village ran an ad for its tap water, it might feature snow-covered, pristine high peaks above the town. Winter snowflakes gather on Baldy and Willoughby mountains and trickle through alpine tundra and conifer forests into East Snowmass Creek, where icy clear water tumbles past the U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Area sign. Snow to the river to the village’s faucets. In real life, after the water is diverted from East Snowmass Creek — just about 20 feet downstream from the boundary of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area — it makes a quick detour through the town of Snowmass Village’s filtration systems at the water-treatment facility on Fanny Hill. (The ad might as well include smiling skiers.)

“We get our water basically from a super-pristine source, so we’re literally drinking out of the mountain stream,” said Darrell Smith, water resources manager for Snowmass Water and Sanitation.

There are clear benefits to having a water supply come directly from wilderness, especially in terms of water quality. But it also means that the town is limited in how it can mitigate risks arising in a protected landscape from natural disasters such as wildfire and postfire flooding, debris flows and erosion.

The Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative is leading work on a Wildfire Ready Action Plan (WRAP) for the Roaring Fork watershed that can help local communities identify the risks of and prepare for these postfire hazards.

With a goal to make the Roaring Fork Valley more wildfire resilient, the collaborative is also undertaking several large-scale wildfire mitigation projects that aim to reduce the risk of wildfire near communities and critical infrastructure. The nonprofit recently secured a grant for $850,000 from the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to complete wildfire-mitigation work in Snowmass Village.

The town of Snowmass Village and the wildfire collaborative hired Hussam Mahmoud, a wildfire risk expert, to complete advanced modeling work that will identify the homes and areas that are most at risk, how a fire might spread in the village and the most effective mitigation strategies.

The recent grant will enable work to begin on key projects as soon as the modeling work is completed, as soon as this spring, according to Angie Davlin, executive director of the Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative.

Alongside such mitigation work aimed at preventing wildfire from reaching communities, the collaborative is working to ensure that if a fire occurs, there’s a proactive plan for recovery and reducing damage to infrastructure. That’s the focus of WRAP.

During a September tour of key sites in the watershed, engineers with Wright Water Engineers heard from local stakeholders about infrastructure systems and provided updates on data collection and highlighted some key areas — such as in Snowmass Village — that might be susceptible to postfire hazards.

“There are some quite vulnerable systems in the Roaring Fork Valley — Snowmass being at the very top of that list — that really need some advance planning,” said Natalie Collar, senior hydrologist with Wright Water Engineers and who is heading up the report.

Collar and engineer Madison Witterschein presented initial mapping results that illustrate postfire risks and hazards, and the message for Snowmass Water was clear.

“You need a plan prefire,” Witterschein told a group gathered at the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District’s office in Snowmass Village. “Especially with the wilderness area, if there was a fire, there’s not much you can do after. You have to have a plan before it starts.”

Darrell Smith, water resources manager for Snowmass Water and Sanitation, discusses Snowmass Village’s water infrastructure and vulnerabilities as part of the Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative’s work to create a Wildfire Ready Action Plan for the valley. CREDIT: ELIZABETH STEWART-SEVERY/ASPEN JOURNALISM

One-source water supply in Snowmass

Kit Hamby, director of Snowmass Water and Sanitation, said about 96% of Snowmass Village’s water is gravity-fed from the roughly 6-square-mile watershed of East Snowmass Creek, which is nestled in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area.

Such designated wilderness areas receive the highest protection under federal law, the 1964 Wilderness Act, which requires that land is managed for preservation, such that it “generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable.”

The water that comes from East Snowmass Creek is also primarily untouched by contaminants; the 2024 annual water-quality report shows contaminant levels far below limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency across the board.

“There’s not much above us other than elk and marmot, some bear,” Smith told the group assembled to discuss WRAP. “It doesn’t mean you want to drink out of the stream, for obvious reasons, but from an industrial or commercial standpoint, there’s nothing happening upstream from us.”

There is both a bubbling spring and a mountain stream in the East Snowmass Creek valley, and each contributes to turbidity — or suspended material — in the water supply. Much of the turbidity is caused by high oxygen content in the water and can be a challenge for the filtration system.

“In the summertime, during runoff, our filters are needing to be backwashed a lot, just because of entrained air in the water. Those bubbles become barriers to filtration in our water-treatment plant,” Smith said. “We have to take the water, reverse the flow, send it back through the filter, get the filters to kind of burp, essentially, and then it all settles back and we run again.”

A second intake system brings water from Snowmass Creek, which is below the confluence of East Snowmass Creek and the mainstem near the base of the Campground chairlift on Snowmass Ski Area. Because that diversion is downstream of the confluence of the streams, any pollutants from East Snowmass would also be present there, though somewhat diluted by the addition of Snowmass Creek.

That water is pumped up over a hill into Ziegler Reservoir, which holds about 82 million gallons of water and is primarily used for irrigation and snowmaking purposes.

Snowmass Water and Sanitation has three possible sources to provide water to Snowmass Village, but about 96 percent of the water comes from the East Snowmass Creek watershed, marked in blue. Water from Brush Creek, marked in purple, is high in turbidity and rarely used. Water pulled from Snowmass Creek can be pumped to either Ziegler Reservoir or to the water treatment facility on Fanny Hill. CREDIT: COURTESY OF DARRELL SMITH

There is an additional intake on Snowmass Ski Area; Snowmass Water and Sanitation can divert from the west fork of Brush Creek, but it isn’t often used because of poor quality due to the geography of the area. That stream comes down from the Cirque zone on the ski area and has high levels of sediment from the clay soils, according to Hamby.

Hamby, Smith and others at Snowmass Water have long known there are vulnerabilities for the system that relies so heavily on one drainage for its water. A wildfire in the East Snowmass Creek valley could raise myriad issues, some of which are reflected in challenges the utility has seen through other natural disasters and weather events.

Avalanches, including a large one that came down Garrett Peak in 2019, have left downed trees and lots of debris that has the potential to cause issues.

“I was concerned that it would change the water quality, though it didn’t,” Hamby said. “As some of the timber degrades and decomposes, it releases the heavy metals that are contained in the timber.”

This can also happen to downed timber after a wildfire.

Even large rain events can cause turbidity that is difficult for the system’s filtration systems to manage.

“That alone can deliver a slug of turbidity down the water course that means we have to turn off a particular intake and just draw from one of the others,” Smith said.

In these types of instances, Snowmass Water and Sanitation can turn to the storage in Ziegler Reservoir. Smith noted that it is rare that the water authority draws entirely from the reservoir because of taste and odor issues that can arise from algae growth in the hot summer months.

“We’re very fortunate to have Ziegler, and I personally believe it needs to be expanded,” Hamby said. “Ziegler is one of our strengths. Very few communities have 80 million gallons stored above the water treatment plan that could be gravity-fed to supply the town and also used to fight wildfire.”

The aftermath of a significant wildfire in the Snowmass area would present major challenges. The same filters that struggle to manage turbidity from sediment or oxygen bubbles after a heavy rain could be overcome by ash, runoff, pollutants or debris after a fire or rain following the burn.

“We don’t have a lot that we can do to prevent it,” Smith said.

If the utility were unable to use native streams, Smith said, Ziegler Reservoir could provide between three and six weeks of water to the town, a number that could probably be extended with water restrictions.

But still, Smith said, “It’s a short term tool, and a partial tool. I don’t think it’s really designed as an exclusive source. That’s not the goal.”

East Snowmass Creek runs through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area; the creek provides the vast majority of Snowmass Village’s water supply. CREDIT: COURTESY OF DARRELL SMITH

Postfire debris-flow danger compounded by wilderness area

Although WRAP is still in the data-gathering phase, Wright Water Engineers has completed drafts of maps that show the likelihood of a postfire debris flow and the volume of debris that those might produce.

There are several drainages around the Roaring Fork watershed that show a high likelihood of postwildfire debris flows, given a hard rain that would happen, on average, every two years. That includes the lower basin of East Snowmass Creek, where Snowmass Water’s headgate sits.

“A debris flow from a side drainage could come in and impact your headgate, could destroy it,” Witterschein said. “If there was enough material, it could be completely demolished, or it could be blocked with material.”

Wright Water Engineers, which expects to complete the analysis work by the end of this year, recommends actions for predisaster planning and mitigation this spring. But it’s already clear to Collar that some best-practices to mitigate risk might be off the table for Snowmass Village.

“There is, at least for Snowmass, very little we can prescribe because they are so high up in the watershed,” Collar said, and because so much of the drainage area is wilderness.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board, which provides funding for Wildfire Ready Action Plans, lists several possible measures to help protect water infrastructure in the aftermath of a wildfire, such as setback levees, debris nets and planned overflow channels. Those interventions are typically spread out upstream from critical infrastructure, but in the case of Snowmass Water and Sanitation, everything upstream of the intake structure is in a wilderness area.

Such postfire projects would need to go through the Forest Service’s minimum requirements analysis to ensure that there are no other less-impactful actions that could be taken, according to former White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams. He said temporary actions, like nets that stabilize a hillside for a few years until vegetation regrows, have a better chance of approval than permanent structures.

In planning for postfire impacts, Collar said the community may need to rely on steps to take outside the wilderness area.

“They might be stuck to installing a debris basin right before their intake, versus having more distributed best-management practices,” Collar said.

Past assessments of Snowmass Water’s infrastructure have yielded a recommendation that the utility upgrade its filter system, Hamby said. Such work would be costly, and Hamby estimated Snowmass Water might revisit the issue in five to 10 years.

Because of the location of Snowmass Village — up so high in the watershed, with one primary source — Collar said it’s particularly important to plan ahead.

“It’s not uncommon to have a population that is vulnerable to destruction of the water supply after a wildfire,” Collar said. “But it’s a bit unique to have someone positioned so high up in the watershed where it’s a long straw that you’d have to install to get to another source of water.”

In the event of an emergency, Snowmass Water and Sanitation does have some existing water rights on the Roaring Fork River, but no infrastructure in place to utilize that water, which would need to be pumped about 1,400 vertical feet and about 5 miles up the valley to reach the treatment facility.

Any kind of protective project would take time, from a filtration system to a debris catchment basin or a new water-supply line.

“Truly just from a time perspective,” Collar said, “thinking through these things and installing some of these projects before a wildfire occurs is the best way to get a project that’s designed well, that’s not installed in an emergency rush and that has adequate funding.”

The #Utah Supreme Court backs rejection of #Colorado water pipeline plan — The #GrandJunction Daily Sentinel #GreenRiver

Proposed pipeline by Water Horse would bring water from Utah to Colorado. (Courtesy//Utah Supreme Court)

Click the link to read the article on the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel website (Dennis Webb). Here’s an excerpt:

October 25, 2025

Utah’s high court has backed that state engineer’s decision to reject a proposal to pipe water from the Green River to Colorado’s Front Range. The project’s proponent is viewing the ruling as only a temporary setback.

“Look, the court gave us a C-minus on a couple homework issues. We’ll resolve it and get our thesis straightened up and get on down the road,” Aaron Million, founder, CEO and chair of Water Horse Resources, LLC., said Friday in an interview…

In 2018, Water Horse filed a water export application with the Utah state engineer. Million wants to divert 55,000 acre-feet a year of water from two points on the Green River south of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Daggett County in northeastern Utah…In 2020, Utah State Engineer Teresa Wilhelmsen rejected Million’s latest proposal, in part citing uncertainty over whether it would count against Colorado’s allocation of Colorado River water or Utah’s under a 1948 compact between Upper Colorado River states. Million says it would count against Colorado’s because that’s where the water would be used. A lower court had upheld Wilhelmsen’s findings. The state’s Supreme Court ruled in part that before the state engineer can grant Water Horse an export appropriation, the company must show the appropriation will be beneficially used in Colorado. Million indicated in comments to the Sentinel on Friday that meeting the beneficial use requirement won’t be a problem. He said the court in its ruling was helpful in showing that the state’s water export statute has a low bar for exports to be allowed. In upholding the Utah state engineer’s determination, both the lower court and Utah Supreme Court noted that Water Horse hasn’t filed any application in Colorado for approval of its water appropriation or project and hasn’t asked the state of Colorado or Upper Colorado River Commission to have the appropriation counted against Colorado’s Upper Colorado River Compact allocation…Water Horse had argued that the Upper Colorado River Compact required the Utah state engineer to approve its application even as the state export statute required it to be rejected, and that the compact pre-empts the state law. But the state Supreme Court disagreed that they were in conflict. Million voiced confidence that Water Horse will be starting construction on the project “in the near term” and the ruling won’t affect that.

What would it take to fix #NewMexico’s #drought? — The Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico Drought Monitor map October 21, 2025.

Click the link to read the article on the Santa Fe New Mexican website (Lily Alexander). Here’s an excerpt:

October 17, 2025

What would it take to get New Mexico out of megadrought? The short answer: water. The longer answer: multiple years of heavy winter snows. The Southwestern U.S. — including New Mexico — has faced a steady drought for a quarter century, improving and degrading as seasonal moisture comes and goes. The short-term drought in the state is now relatively mild, thanks to a rainy summer monsoon, but the longer-term conditions paint a different picture — one that’s harder to fix, said Andrew Mangham, a senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

“A really good, aggressively wet monsoon season — just one — can wipe out drought effects in terms of the short term,” Mangham said. “This can improve fine fuels, by which I mean grasses and shrubs; those can be quite healthy. Surface soils can be fairly wet. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to fill up the reservoirs.”

Drought is measured through multiple sectors: hydrological, referring to reservoir and river levels; agricultural, referring to how drought impacts crops; and ecological, referring to forest health. The U.S. Drought Monitor tracks the short-term drought across the state, categorizing it from “abnormally dry” to “exceptional” in intensity. A swath of northeastern New Mexico is not currently experiencing drought, but the rest of the state is facing at least abnormally dry conditions, according to the monitor’s most recent data; the drought is worst in southwestern New Mexico, as it has been for months…Around the time the reservoir storage levels dropped, the Southwest entered what scientists call a megadrought, now in its 25th year. This is believed to be the worst megadrought of the past 1,200 years, and recent research from the University of Texas at Austin indicates it could continue at least through the end of the century. New Mexico’s long-term drought wholly improving would require heavy wintertime snows in the northern part of the state and in southern Colorado, Mangham said, as that’s the source of much of the water that ends up “recharging” the state’s rivers and reservoirs…Snowpack is more helpful for drought than the spotty, hard-hitting storms of the summer monsoon, Mangham said. This is because snow is typically slower-moving than rain — and too much rain at once leaves only a little soaking into the soil.

New Mexico Lakes, Rivers and Water Resources via Geology.com.

Federal Water Tap, October 27, 2025: Rising Corn Production, Rising Ethanol Production — Brett Walton (circleofblue.org)

Map of the Mississippi River Basin. Made using USGS data. By Shannon1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47308146

Click the link to read the article on the Circle of Blue website (Brett Walton):

The Rundown

USDA forecasts the largest U.S. corn planting, by acreage, since the Great Depression, and record production.

At the same time, the EIA notes that U.S. ethanol exports are at a record high, pushing ethanol production higher even as domestic consumption is flat.

Salt water continues to move up the Mississippi River.

EPA intends to approve a carbon sequestration permit for a company operating in eastern Indiana.

And lastly, a Senate committee advances a bill on water research and forecasting.

“Recent weather events across the country have highlighted the need for advanced water prediction.” – Excerpt from a Senate committee report on a bill that would expand the responsibility of the National Water Center, a federal program that uses computer modeling to forecast river flows and levels. “These models are crucial for predicting and managing water-related hazards and enabling timely and informed decision-making by emergency managers and water resource planners,” the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee noted. It voted to send the Water Research Optimization Act to the full Senate.

By the Numbers

River Mile 56: Estimated location, as of October 24, of the saltwater “wedge” pushing up a weakened Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers just completed an underwater dam at river mile 64, in southern Louisiana, to impede the salty water’s upstream movement. Because it is denser than fresh water, the salt wedge moves along the river bottom. The wedge travels upstream when the river is weakened by drought. Two weeks ago the wedge was at mile 53.

News Briefs

Carbon Sequestration Permit
The EPA says it intends to issue a permit to One Carbon Partnership that would allow the company to inject carbon dioxide deep underground at a site in eastern Indiana.

Indiana and other midwestern states are centerpieces in a regional expansion of carbon dioxide pipelines and underground storage.

This carbon sequestration project would be located in Randolph County and store carbon generated by the Cardinal Ethanol production facility. One Carbon, a joint venture between Cardinal Ethanol and Vault44.01, a carbon-capture specialist, will be required to monitor the Class VI injection well so that the carbon does not pollute aquifers used as drinking water.

The injection zone is between 3,100 and 3,659 feet deep.

The EPA is taking public comments on its proposed permit approval through December 8. Submit them here.

Studies and Reports

Rising Ethanol Production
The Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. ethanol production has exceeded its pre-pandemic peak. Rising output is not due to domestic consumption, which is flat.

Exports instead are fueling the industry.

At the same time, U.S. corn production, a main input for the ethanol industry and a major source of groundwater demand in the High Plains, is breaking new ground.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that corn plantings, by acreage, in 2025-26 will be the largest since the Great Depression. Production is expected to be around 16.8 billion bushels, which would be roughly equal to this year’s record output.

The two trend lines point to ethanol production remaining “near record highs” in 2026, according to the EIA forecast.

On the Radar

Carbon Sequestration Hearing
The EPA will hold a public meeting on December 4 in Winchester, Indiana, to take comments on the proposed carbon injection project.

The meeting is from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Winchester Community High School Commons.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Flood damage estimated at $13 million — The #PagosaSprings Sun

Click the link to read the article on the Pagosa Springs Sun website. Here’s an excerpt:

October 23, 2025

Assessments and discussions have followed the historic floods that took place on Oct. 11 and 14, with several governmental entities continuing to work to determine the extent of the damage caused by the floods and their effects on the area. Pagosa Country experienced two historic floods in four days thanks to moisture from the remnants of a pair of tropical storms, Priscilla and Raymond. The flooding for the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs peaked at 8,270 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 12.66 feet at 6 p.m. on Oct. 11 and again at 8,560 cfs and 12.82 feet at 5:15 a.m. on Oct. 14, putting the two events as the fourth and third highest on record, behind floods in October 1911 and June 1927. Other area river levels were also significantly impacted, including the Piedra and Blanco rivers.

Area river levels have continued to decline since Oct. 14, with the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs running at 537 cfs and 5.52 feet as of noon on Wednesday, Oct. 22. That compares to a median of 88.00 cfs for the same date and a mean of 143.67 cfs. The increased moisture has also led to a significant increase in the level of Navajo Lake Reservoir. On Oct. 9, Navajo was at 6,020.44 feet elevation. By Oct. 21, that had increased by 12.10 feet to 6,032.54, according to the Lake Navajo Water Database. It remains 52.46 feet below full pool, or 6,085 feet elevation. It remains down 8.51 feet from a year prior. The database shows that total inflows for water year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, are at 421.49 percent of the average, and the rivers feeding Navajo are running at 147.04 percent of average.

Colorado Drought Monitor map October 21, 2025.

The storms also helped area drought. As of Oct. 14, the last update available by the U.S. Drought Monitor, 65.53 percent of the county was abnormally dry or above, with 3.71 percent of the county falling into moderate drought. A week, prior, 100 percent of the county was in moderate drought or above, with 30.18 percent being in severe drought or above, with 0.31 percent of that being in extreme drought…

On Oct. 21, Town Manager David Harris updated the Pagosa Springs Town Council on the damages to town infrastructure caused by the recent flooding along the San Juan River, with an early “thumbnail sketch” assessment showing around $9 million worth of damages. The major costs are associated with debris removal, riverbank stabilization, inflow and infiltration of unwanted water into the sewer system, 10th Street culvert replacement, sewer line replacement on the 1st Street bridge after the line was damaged by debris, and damages to a river restoration project that the town invested in some years ago, he explained…[Riley Frazee] noted total damages in the county based off of initial assessments is around $13 million. Of that $13 million, about $8.125 million is from the Town of Pagosa Springs and about $4 million is from damage to public roadways in Archuleta County. Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux noted that there are still about 200 miles of secondary roadways to be assessed. During the Oct. 18 tour with Bennet, Le Roux noted about 30 miles of primary county roads require “total reconstruction” and about 60 miles require significant patching and repair. Frazee also mentioned that the San Juan River Village Metro District sustained sewer system and roadway damage of about $2 million, which also qualify as infrastructure.

Two ranching properties awarded land conservation easements: Action helps preserve ‘Gateway to the Flat Tops’ — Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust brokered a new 2,348-acre conservation easement with the Snyder family on Fish & Cross Ranch west of Yampa. CCALT/Courtesy photo

Click the link to read the release on the Steamboat Pilot & Today website (Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust):

October 22, 2025

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust has completed a new 2,348-acre conservation easement with the Snyder family on Fish & Cross Ranch, a working cattle ranch located at the base of the Little Flattops west of Yampa.

The ranch is in an area known as “The Gateway to the Flat Tops” where landscape-level conservation investments through the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights program have created a “stronghold of interconnected agricultural lands and habitat corridors,” according to a land trust media release.

This new conservation easement adds to Routt County’s commitment to conserve working landscape and allows the family owners to continue taking care of the agricultural lands and wildlife habitat. In exchange for county funds, the landowner grants a perpetual conservation easement, or deed restriction, on the property, protecting the land from development.

Ownership of the property remains vested with the landowner, who can use and manage the property consistent with the terms of the conservation easement.

“Their commitment to agricultural conservation will carry on to future generations of their family and continue to support the rural economy in South Routt County,” CCALT Conservation Manager Monica Shields said.

“As was evident this summer, agricultural lands not only provide important wildlife habitat and scenic views, but the hay meadows and wetlands act as critical wildfire breaks during times of drought. The Fish and Cross Ranch, nestled up against the Flat Tops Wilderness area, serves all these critical community functions,” added Shields.

Routt County Commissioner Tim Redmond noted the “property links together U.S. Forest Service, BLM and state lands, as well as existing conservation easements, to form a pristine tract that protects views and critical wildlife corridors.”

Lands within the easement include sagebrush rangelands, aspen woodlands and irrigated pastures with senior water rights along Watson Creek tied to those lands through the conservation easement. The property is utilized as part of a larger cattle and hay operation operated by the Snyders as well as natural habitat. Allen Snyder and his family purchased the ranch in 2006, and four generations currently live and work on the ranch.

“We would like to thank everyone who helped make this easement possible, from the PDR board and county commissioners to the CCALT team and Natural Resources Conservation Service,” said Tyler Snyder. “We are very blessed to be able to take a step forward in continuing to pass down the generational legacy of ranching in the Yampa Valley to generations to come.”

Since the initiation of the program in 1997, Routt County has helped fund the purchase of conservation easements on 68,535 acres for approximately $32 million. Funding for the program comes from a 1.5 mill levy in county property tax approved by voters through 2035.

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust brokered a new 120-acre conservation easement with landowner Susan Larson on Wild Goose Ranch south of Steamboat Springs. CCALT/Courtesy photo

In addition, earlier in October the land trust and the county program worked with landowner Susan Larson to conserve 120 acres of Wild Goose Ranch south of Steamboat Springs.

The easement secures irrigated hay meadows and riparian habitat and fulfills the conservation vision of Susan and her late husband, Jim Larson. The Wild Goose Ranch is comprised primarily of irrigated hay meadows with 92% of the easement area in active hay production.

“Since our arrival in the Yampa Valley full time, our family has always felt a duty to protect the land and the water, especially here in the South Valley,” Larson said. “We have felt even more strongly about this responsibility with all the growth that has occurred in the last several years all over Colorado and notably here in Routt County.”

This protection safeguards valuable wildlife habitat for elk, mule deer, moose, black bear and species of special concern such as the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and greater sandhill crane, while also securing scenic views along Colorado Highway 131 and U.S. Highway 40, according to a media release.

Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys noted, “Nestled in the highly scenic South Valley floor corridor, the ranch is a vital part of the iconic landscape of working agriculture and conserved lands that residents and visitors alike enjoy when descending Rabbit Ears Pass.”

The land trust has conserved more than 820,000 acres of farmland, ranchland, wildlife habitat and open space across Colorado, including more than 83,000 acres in Routt County.

Save-the-Date / 2025 #ArkansasRiver Compact Administration Annual Meeting December 9, 2025

Map of the Arkansas River drainage basin. Created using USGS National Map and NASA SRTM data. By Shannon1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79039596

From email from the Kansas Department of Water Resources (Kevin Salter):

October 23, 2025

The 2025 ARCA Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at:

Historic Cow Palace Inn, 1301 N Main St, Lamar, CO 81052

Meetings of ARCA are operated in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The meeting room is on the second floor with no elevator access, if you will need accommodations to attend this meeting please contact Stephanie Gonzales at (719) 688-0799.

The ARCA committee meetings will be held on Monday, December 8, 2025 at this same location. Draft agendas for the ARCA Annual and committee meetings will be provided in advance of these meetings.

For those needing lodging at the Historic Cow Palace Inn, there has been a block of rooms reserved for $100 per night (plus taxes); just mention “ARCA” when making reservations. The hotel phone number is (719) 691-6167 and their website is https://www.historiccowpalaceinn.com/.

#Colorado tops nation in electric vehicle sales: Almost one-third of all new car sales from July through September were for EVs or plug-in hybrids — Allen Best (BigPivots.com)

Click the link to read the article on the Big Pivots website (Allen Best):

October 23, 2025

It’s another one of those good news, bad news stories.

First, the bad news. The federal government withdrew its tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchase or lease of a new EV (and $4,000 for a used EV). Congress made that decision in early July, as part of the One Big Beautiful Act. The deadline was Oct. 1.

The good news is that the deadline spurred Coloradans to set a new record for purchases of EVs. From July through September, 32.4% of new vehicle sales in Colorado were EVs or plug-in hybrids. Colorado led the nation, slight ahead of California.

Colorado now has surpassed 210,000 EV registrations. To put that into perspective, then-Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2018 declared a goal of 940,000 registered EVs in Colorado by 2030.

The state has a long way to go. But it does have momentum.

This chart from the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association shows how the sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids has grown during the last five years in Colorado. Sales of EVs dropped in the first six months of this year but leaped to a record in response to the imminent federal deadline.

In a statement issued by his office, Gov. Jared Polis heralded the sales. “Coloradans and the free market are saying loud and clear that affordable, clean and efficient electric vehicles are here to stay,” he said. Those electric cars, he said, save money while improving air quality.

First road charge for Coyote Gulch’s Leaf in Granby May 19, 2023. Note the Colorado Energy Office’s logo below the connectors on the unused charger.

We hear less about range anxiety. We still don’t have high-speed charging stations to match the “filling stations” created in the 20th century. However, the state as of early October, had 1,487 high-speed charging ports at 458 locations around Colorado. They can be found from Cortez to Holyoke, and from Dinosaur to Lamar.

And the number of EVs is, in some places, reaching a tipping point.

Travis Madsen, transportation manager for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, reports a trip to New Mexico recently along Interstate 25. At Pueblo, he stopped to recharge. For the first time ever anywhere in his experience, he had to wait. All the ports were busy.

Madsen also had good news. From July through September, a record 167 new fast-charging ports were installed in Colorado.

Will this momentum continue?

Madsen doesn’t expect sales to remain above 30% during the next few quarters. He does hope that public awareness has grown about the value of EVs regardless of federal tax credits. EVs still generally cost more, but they require less maintenance and can be fueled far more cheaply, especially at home. Department of Energy data show that current EVs are 2.6 to 4.8 times more efficient at traveling a mile compared to a gasoline internal combustion engine, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

To help maintain momentum, the state on Nov. 3 will raise Vehicle Exchange Colorado rebates from the existing $6,000 to $9,000 for new EV purchases and leases. For used EV purchases and leases, the prices will rise from $4,000 to $6,000. The program aims to enable income-qualified Coloradans to access EVs. Maybe that will include writers.

World Meteorological Congress endorses actions to promote AI for forecasts and warnings

Click the link to read the release on the World Meteorological Congress website (Clare Nullis):

October 23, 2025

The power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the accuracy, accessibility and reach of weather forecasts and early warnings has been recognized by the World Meteorological Organization, which will seek to ensure that all countries can benefit from its life-saving potential.

Key messages

AI can accelerate Early Warnings for All

Forecasts and warnings save millions of lives and billions of dollars

AI will compliment – not replace – traditional forecasting tools

WMO science for action supports the global economy

An Extraordinary World Meteorological Congress issued a call to the public, private and academic sectors to collaborate on the development of AI and machine learning (ML) technologies to protect communities and economies from hazards like extreme heat and rainfall. It also paved the way for AI/ML to be anchored in WMO’s global observation, data processing and forecasting backbone.

The resolutions were part of a wider package of measures approved by the Extraordinary Congress to accelerate progress towards WMO’s top overriding priority – to ensure universal coverage of early warning systems through the achievement of Early Warnings for All by the end of 2027.

“Early warnings are not an abstraction. They give farmers the power to protect their crops and livestock. Enable families to evacuate safely. And protect entire communities from devastation,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Extraordinary Congress on 22 October in a ceremony which was one of the highlights of WMO’s 75th anniversary activities.

“We know that disaster-related mortality is at least six times lower in countries with good early-warning systems in place. And just 24 hours’ notice before a hazardous event can reduce damage by up to 30 per cent. Early-warning systems work. And they’re finally getting the attention – and investment – they deserve,” said the UN Secretary-General.

Mr. Guterres launched Early Warnings for All in 2022 with the goal of ensuring universal coverage by the end of 2027.

A high-level event opened by Mozambique President Daniel Francisco Chapo heard an urgent Call to Action from WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo to accelerate progress.

“Throughout this week, one thing has been made abundantly clear: the World Needs WMO,” said Celeste Saulo in concluding remarks at the end of Congress.

“The visit of the United Nations Secretary-General, the participation of presidents and ministers and the global attention they attracted is a reminder that what we do matters. Now we must build on this momentum. This is the moment to turn visibility into impact. To translate recognition into investment. To make sure that our transformation continues — that WMO remains not only relevant, but more essential than ever,” she said.

Global forecasting backbone

Congress approved a new set of technical regulations concerning early warning services, providing a clear reference and ensuring that the authoritative and trusted role of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in issuing reliable and accurate warnings are supported and enshrined in national legislation

It issued a “call to all stakeholders” to collaborate on the development of AI/ML environmental monitoring and prediction technologies, tools and applications, noting the “unprecedented pace of progress” and the “transformative potential” to achieve Early Warnings for All.

The resolution builds on decisions by the WMO Executive Council in June 2025. It reaffirms WMO’s mission to facilitate international cooperation and standardization, building on decades of trust and data collection. AI must complement, not replace, existing well-honed scientific forecasting methods and infrastructure.

It emphasizes open data, open-source tools, and FAIR principles to foster transparency and global participation. It calls for ethical frameworks which establish principles for cooperation, intellectual property, and responsible AI use.

Congress also approved a resolution to integrate AI into the global forecasting infrastructure.

Acknowledging the significant disparity in forecasting capabilities among WMO Members, Congress stressed the need to support National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) globally, especially those in low- and middle-income countries, LDCs, and SIDS, to access and utilize new AI technology.

Due to rapidly evolving AI/ML technologies, Congress agreed to develop a new WIPPS strategy incorporating AI. The WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) is a worldwide network of operational centres that makes scientific and technological advances accessible and exploitable by Members, providing products related to weather, climate, water, and the environment.

While AI offers transformative potential for operational forecasting and warnings, the resolution recognizes that considerable challenges remain in AI systems’ capability to support forecasts of local high-impact weather systems and hydrological processes. These challenges must be addressed, tested, and demonstrated for operational use.

To ensure all Members benefit, the resolution requested WMO bodies enhance capacity development on AI use under WIPPS for low- and middle-income countries, LDCs, and SIDS. Furthermore, WIPPS pilot projects are essential to explore and deliver new prediction products, demonstrating AI’s potential to enhance developing countries’ capabilities.

An ongoing pilot project between the meteorological services of Norway and Malawi, which demonstrate an AI weather prediction and the concept of Forecasts-in-a-Box, was presented to Congress. It has showed improvements in forecasts – and is being closely watched as a model for other countries with resource constraints.

In other action, Extraordinary Congress:

Advanced the goals of the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch by integrating key components into existing programmes, including the expanded World Weather Watch and the Global Atmosphere Watch Programmes.

Approved WMO’s first Youth Action Plan, marking a structured approach to integrating youth perspectives into its work and empowering the next generation of leaders. This is a landmark step in nurturing young meteorologists, hydrologists and climate and ocean scientists, marking a new era of shared inter-generational responsibility and expertise in weather, water, and climate action.

Streamlined procedures on elections and appointment of the WMO Secretary-General.

Endorsed the WMO Secretary-General’s restructuring of WMO, responding to evolving global challenges, the need for a more integrated Earth system services and increasing financial constraints.

Requested the WMO Executive Council to set up a task force to develop recommendations for modification to the strategic and operating plans for 2026/2027 as a result of the ongoing liquidity challenges of WMO.

Executive Council

WMO’s Executive Council met on 24 October immediately following Extraordinary Congress.
It confirmed a total budget of 138.7 million for the biennium 2026/2027. It agreed to the terms of reference and composition of the new task force which will identify proposals for realignment of WMO’s Strategic and Operating Plans during the 2026–2027 biennium, given the ongoing financial uncertainty.
Science for Action

The Extraordinary Congress was held as WMO celebrates its 75th anniversary, with the theme of Science for Action.

WMO’s work underpins resilient development, food, transport, energy, security, health, water management and disaster risk reduction.

It is essential to the global economy and society and can leverage potential to unlock even more benefits for the global good.

Science for Action

The Extraordinary Congress was held as WMO celebrates its 75th anniversary, with the theme of Science for Action.

WMO’s work underpins resilient development, food, transport, energy, security, health, water management and disaster risk reduction.

It is essential to the global economy and society and can leverage potential to unlock even more benefits for the global good.

The driest year on #NewMexico’s Middle #RioGrande since 1964 — John Fleck (InkStain.net)

The driest year at Otowi since 1964. Code: https://github.com/johnrfleck/water-tools

Click the link to read the article on the InkStain website (John Fleck):

October 11, 2025

Total flow to date on the Rio Grande at Otowi is the lowest since 1964.

Otowi is the place where the river leaves the upper valleys and enters the canyons that lie at the head of the valley of Albuquerque, what we in New Mexico call the “Middle Rio Grande.”

The graph shows total flow to date this year, with previous drier years called out in red. You can see that the “drought of the ’50s,” (which really extended well into the 1960s) was the big impact decadal-scale event here, not the ’30s, Dust Bowl.

If you squint, you also can see the subtle impact of the San Juan-Chama Project, which beginning in the 1970s began importing Colorado River water. I’m measuring total flow with this calculation, not what is formally called the “Otowi Index Flow,” the official measure of native water used for Rio Grande Compact accounting. This is the number that matters the most to me – it’s the total amount of water we have to work with here in the Middle Rio Grande, the actual flow of water into the valley each year. You can see a subtle impact of that SJC water, raising up the floor in dry years. At least I think I can see that.

A Note on Method

I am not a computer programmer, or software engineer, or whatever you call that thing. But I’ve been writing computer code since I was a teenager in Upland, California, writing Fortran on punch cards that we would send to the guy who ran the school district mainframe to run in the middle of the night. (Southern California’s Mediterranean climate meant we did not have to trudge miles to school barefoot in the snow, but we did write code on punch cards.)

I’ve done it because it’s fun (I did a stint as a free software volunteer on the GNOME project 20-plus years ago), as a toolkit for analyzing data in my haphazard career as a “data journalist,” and in early days of newspaper Internet work, when we rolled our own web site code in Perl. I am a terrible coder, but with some help (site:stackexchange.com “cryptic error message”) I know enough to make my way around the data I have questions about. I was the guy at the newspaper who “borrowed” Lotus 1-2-3 from a friend to analyze city budgets, and persuaded the IT folks to put “R” on my desktop computer against their better judgment. But it’s laborious stuff because of the gap between my subject matter expertise and my coding skills. As a result, there were things I didn’t bother with.

Luis Villa, a friend from my GNOME days who went on to become a lawyer and big think person about “open” and the commons, posed a question on his blog last month about the gateway language model coding tools provide into open data. The provocative header to the section of the post was “Accessibility & Democratization”:

“Vibecoding” is a technique by which you tell a language model in plain language what you want your code to do. It writes it. You run it. It chokes, you paste in the error message and say “Fix this.” After a couple of iterations, it works. This is both dangerous and liberating. For me, it opens up vast areas of open data for analysis that I never would have bothered with because of the agony of pasting error messages into a search engine trying to find someone on Stackexchange who had the same problem, running their code, getting a new error message, turtles all the way down. I know the questions and the analytical structures I need, but turning those ideas into code was a pain in the ass!

In the case of the graph above, I had some old code I had written that downloaded USGS streamflow data, converted cubic feet per second (a rate) to acre feet over a specified time period (a volume), compared flow to date this year to flow to the same date in previous years, and made a graph.

This year has been super dry. I was curious about previous years that had been this dry. Updating the code to color those with lower flow than this year’s red was conceptually trivial, but would have been tedious and time consuming. Also, the old code’s visualization was ugly. Vibecoding the changes took an order of magnitude less time than writing all of that code by hand. I’m pretty sure it took longer to make the locator map in Datawrapper (which is fast!) than it did to update the code.

This would be a terrible idea, as Simon Willison argues, if my goal was to become a better programmer, or a software engineer writing production code. This is the same reason using language models to do your writing for you – if your goal is to come to understanding – is a terrible idea. The act of writing is an act of coming to understanding. For me, the knowledge work here is staring at the graph, incorporating what it is telling me into my knowledge framework, and doing the work of writing this blog post. I need to know enough to look at the code and the data it spits out to be confident that it’s sane. But I don’t care about the finicky syntax of R’s “mutate” and “ifelse.”

Code here, part of a set of water data analysis scripts I’ve used for years, updated this week with Anthropic’s codebase management tools to fix a bunch of messes I knew needed fixing, freely licensed under the MIT license so you can do with them what you will.

Boaters, anglers want clarity around public access to Colorado’s streams: Coalition wants lawmakers to consider right to float and to wade — Heather Sackett (AspenJournalism.org)

No trespassing signs line a section of the Fryingpan River flowing through private property upstream of Basalt. The Fryingpan is a popular stream for anglers, though public access is limited. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Click the link to read the article on the Aspen Journalism website (Heather Sackett):

October 22, 2025

A group of recreation advocates are hoping Colorado lawmakers will settle the state’s legal gray area surrounding public river access. The Colorado Stream Access Coalition is fighting for the public’s right to use the state’s waterways for recreation, a right they say is guaranteed in the Colorado Constitution.

“Our position is that under the Colorado Constitution, it’s always been understood that there was a public easement,” said Mark Squillace, a law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and an expert on water and natural resources policy. “And if there’s a public easement, even though it’s private property, the public gets to use it. We would like to see legislation that basically guarantees the right to both wade and float through private property.”

Squillace was referring to a clause in the state constitution that declares all unappropriated water in every natural stream to be the property of the public and dedicated to the use of the people of the state.

Kestrel Kunz, southern Rockies protection director at American Whitewater, testified at the Water Resources Committee in August, asking legislators to guarantee public access to rivers for all Coloradans, while respecting landowners’ property rights. Kunz said American Whitewater gets regular reports of conflicts between boaters and property owners.

American Whitewater is seeking legal public protections for boating on Colorado’s rivers, to portage around hazards and to scout when needed.

“Colorado offers no clarity, no protection and no certainty for landowners or the public,” Kunz said. “That lack of clarity is dangerous.”

The issue of stream access highlights a basic tension in Colorado’s laws and values: Are rivers just another category of property that can be privately owned and fenced off? Or are they so central to the state’s culture, identity and outdoor recreation economy that they should be considered public resources open to public use?

“There are a lot of very wealthy landowners in this state that are strongly opposed to the public having any rights in what they consider to be their rivers,” Squillace said. “And we don’t believe they own the rivers. We think those are public resources that should be held in common for all the people to use.”

Paddlers float through North Star Nature Preserve on the Roaring Fork River upstream of Aspen. Some river access advocates want the state to clarify the right of boaters to touch the beds and banks of streams, and the ability to portage and scout for safety. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

The public’s right to use waterways was codified in a 19thcentury U.S. Supreme Court decision that said states own the beds of “navigable” rivers, meaning rivers that were used for commerce at the time of statehood. But Colorado does not consider any of its rivers to be navigable, meaning the streambeds belong not to the state — and therefore the public — but to adjacent property owners. A 1979 Colorado Supreme Court decision in People v. Emmert ruled on the side of property owners, saying that the public could not float through private property.

A subsequent Colorado attorney general opinion said boaters can float through private property, and as long as they don’t touch the streambed or banks, they won’t be charged with criminal trespass. But stream-access supporters say this informal policy needs to be clarified into law and should also make allowances for boater safety.

Kent Vertrees, a board member and staffer for Friends of the Yampa, said any new law should make it OK for people to get out of their boats to scout hazards and rapids, and portage around obstacles without fear of getting in legal trouble or being harassed by landowners.

“If there is a new tree that’s fallen or something that’s blocking such as a fence, I believe I can get out of the river to safely get around,” he said. “All I’m doing is portaging for this safety element. And that’s the gray area that needs to be figured out.”

Vida Dillard, president of the Roaring Fork Kayak Club, agrees. Her organization is part of the coalition supporting clarity around stream-access laws. The club, which has 53 active memberships, focuses on improving access to the sport for everyone, especially beginners. She said situations such as helping a swimmer or scouting could cause tensions with landowners, and that uncertainty disproportionately affects newcomers to kayaking.

“We teach our students to scout hazards and make really conservative choices,” she said. “And if you’re afraid you’re going to be trespassing or have a confrontation, it might make you less likely to hike out or make choices on the river that you need to make to be safe.”

Private property signs line a section of the Fryingpan River upstream of Basalt. Some advocacy groups a pushing for more public river access for anglers. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Wading into murky waters

According to Squillace, stream access is ripe for legislation because of the case of Roger Hill, a fly fisherman on the Arkansas River, which thrust the issue into the national spotlight.

Hill had baseball-size rocks thrown at him by a property owner and later sued the state on the basis that he believed the river was navigable when Colorado became a state in 1876, and therefore the streambed he was standing on while casting his line was public. But the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that Hill had no legal standing in the case.

“I think it reflects the controversial nature of this issue,” Squillace said. “I think maybe the court was trying to duck the hard question of finally declaring that maybe the Arkansas River is navigable, in fact, and so should be open to public access.”

Coalition members will have to address a widening schism in their membership: those who think any new legislation should include the right of anglers, such as Hill, to wade and those who think it should remain more narrowly focused on the right to float. Some see the right to wade as an additional, expanded use and is where some landowners draw the line.

American Whitewater recently left the coalition and together with Colorado Whitewater and the American Canoe Association, is pursuing legislation that would grant just the right to float. Vertrees said the right to float and the right to wade are two separate issues that shouldn’t be lumped together.

“I personally cannot support [the right to wade] because I believe it will tank the whole thing,” he said. “I just personally believe that it’s going to be hard to do them both at once.”

Anglers want to be able to walk up and down a streambed to fish, but only after entering the river through a public access point and not trespassing across private property to get there. This right to wade is particularly relevant to the Fryingpan River, which is a popular Gold Medal trout fishery where only about half of the river below Ruedi Reservoir is public and no trespassing signs line stretches of the waterway.

Bill Nein, of Salida, prepares to release a brown trout he caught back into the Fryingpan River. Some river access proponents want the state to clarify rules regarding public use of streambeds and banks for fishing. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

More education needed

Opponents of a law expanding access say that this is a private property issue and that landowners have the right to exclude others from their property. Garin Vorthmann testified on behalf of the Colorado Farm Bureau at the Water Resources Committee meeting in August. She said she was also working with a broad coalition of landowners, private businesses and real estate agents.

“Depriving a landowner of the right to exclude people from their private property without just compensation is considered a taking,” she told lawmakers. “Legislation that would change the ownership of the bed or bank to be public or owned by the state obligates the government to provide just compensation to the landowner and will embroil the state in expensive litigation.”

Other experts say addressing this issue through legislation might only make it worse. A report released in September by the conservative-leaning Common Sense Institute said that “the path to clarification is fraught with innumerable bad outcomes where both sides and ultimately the state of Colorado will be worse off than they are now” and that “attempts by either side to expand those rights at the expense of the other are likely to create more problems than they solve.”

Greg Walcher, former director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and co-author of the report, said a better approach would be a public education campaign so that boaters know exactly where they are allowed to float: through land that is already owned by the state or federal government and therefore public. The study notes the importance of rivers to Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy, and the millions that the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant program has invested in stream access and conservation projects in recent years.

“The floating industry has become huge in Colorado, so we need to find a solution,” Walcher said. “And part of that is making sure people understand where they can and can’t float.”

Proponents of stream access agree that education is important, and to that end, Steamboat Springs-based advocacy organization and content studio Rig to Flip is releasing a short film by Cody Perry called “Common Waters,” which features the Hill case and outlines the issue as they see it: that Colorado is one of the worst states for providing public access to streams, and in a place that prides itself on an outdoor lifestyle, increased access and clarity on the rules are needed.

With proponents still hashing out differing options on what a policy proposal should call for, any new legislation for the 2026 session won’t be introduced by the Water Resources and Agricultural Review Committee, but there’s still a chance lawmakers could take it up. Coalition members say they are continuing to meet with stakeholders and figuring out the best way forward.

“At American Whitewater, we believe that people are really only going to protect the resource if they have the opportunity to explore that place and understand and experience a river,” Kunz said. “So our hope is that by allowing people to access these rivers in Colorado that we will ensure future generations of river stewards.”

2 Northern #Colorado communities back away from #NISP, but project is ‘pressing on’ — The #FortCollins Coloradoan #PoudreRiver

The Northern Integrated Supply Project, currently estimated at $2 billion, would create two new reservoirs and a system of pipelines to capture more drinking water for 15 community water suppliers. Credit: Northern Water

Click the link to read the article on the Fort Collins Coloradoan website (Erin Udell). Here’s an excerpt:

October 24, 2025

Key Points

Eaton and Evans recently announced they are backing away from the Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, due to rising costs.

The news comes months after Fort Collins-Loveland Water District, NISP’s largest participant, announced its hopes to sell its 20% share in the project.

Despite some growing reluctance, Northern Water plans to move forward with the full project.

Eaton and Evans recently notified Northern Water they will not be participating in the interim agreement or water allotment contract for its Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, next year. Eaton Mayor Scott Moser notified Northern Water in a Sept. 2 letter. Evans Mayor Mark Clark’s letter was dated Oct. 7. Both communities, which cited NISP’s rising project costs in their decision, would entertain offers to sell their NISP shares, Evans and Eaton staff told the Coloradoan on Oct. 21. The project’s largest participant, Fort Collins-Loveland Water District, notified Northern Water of its interest in selling its 20% share in NISP back in July, the water district’s General Manager Chris Pletcher told the Coloradoan at thetime...

Over the years, the project has grown in both scope and price. As NISP’s once conceptual designs met reality, the scale of its reservoirs, pipelines and pump stations increased and the relocation of U.S. Highway 287 to accommodate Glade Reservoir proved to be “more complex and expensive than originally planned,” according to a staff presentation to Evans City Council on Oct. 7.

As #LakePowell recedes, beavers are building back — Alex Hager (KUNC.org) #ColoradoRiver #COriver #aridification

Jace Lankow and Zanna Stutz measure a beaver dam in Glen Canyon on September 16, 2025. Environmental advocates say the return of beavers to the canyon is a sign that nature is thriving in areas that were once submerged by Lake Powell. Alex Hager/KUNC

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

October 24, 2025

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.

To hike up this narrow canyon, Eric Balken pushed through dense thickets of green. In the shadow of towering red rock walls, his route along a muddy creekbed was lined with bushes and the subtle hum of life. The canyon echoed the buzzing and chirping of bugs and toads. But not long ago, this exact spot was at the bottom of a reservoir.

“We would have needed scuba gear 20 years ago,” Balken said. “We would have been 150 feet underwater.”

As director of the nonprofit Glen Canyon Institute, Balken has tracked the rebirth of these canyons for years. They were once home to Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. But as the Colorado River is strained by drought and steady demand, Powell has shrunk to record lows. In the wake of that shrinking, a sprawling web of canyons like this one are seeing the light of day for the first time in decades.

They serve as an unsettling visual reminder of the rapidly-diminishing water supply that provides for roughly 40 million people across the Southwest. They also cradle thriving ecosystems – a humming network of oases in the desert.

Employees of Glen Canyon Institute look out onto a section of Glen Canyon filled with vegetation on September 16, 2025. Some portions of the canyon have been above water for more than two decades, allowing native species to return to areas that were once submerged by Lake Powell. Alex Hager /KUNC

On this September afternoon, Balken was joined by a team of environmentalists and scientists looking for one specific species of charismatic rodent.

“Basically,” said Zanna Stutz, Glen Canyon Institute’s program manager, “If the beavers are here, it means good things are happening.”

She explained that beavers are a “keystone species” and serve as an indicator for the health of the whole ecosystem. And in this particular side canyon — a snaking tributary that leads into Lake Powell — they are alive and well.

“There are all these different species of wildlife that are coming back here,” Stutz said. “It is a place that is full of life. It’s full of biodiversity.”

Dams, lodges and footprints

Lake Powell’s water levels have been retreating for the past two decades, revealing vast swaths of once-submerged land. The falling water levels have jeopardized hydropower generation and added anxiety to policy talks about managing the region’s water supply.

At the same time, they have put stunning geologic features and lush riverside habitats back in the open air.

Those habitats come back gradually. In the early stages, shortly after the reservoir has pulled out of an area, there is often little more than a flat plain of muddy sediment, with a few lonely seedlings poking out of the muck.

Further up the canyon, where the reservoir pulled out at least two decades ago, life has had time to come back in force. Plants grow thick and tall, teeming with the animals that call them home.

*Jace Lankow holds a northern leopard frog in Glen Canyon on September 15, 2025. Beaver dams create ponds that serve as habitat for a variety of plant and animal species.* Alex Hager/KUNC

Beavers are architects that make those animal communities even stronger. The continent’s largest rodents move slowly on land, but they’re built for speedy swimming and can escape from predators better in the water. When they settle into a new area, they dam up streams to create ponds that provide them shelter.

Those ponds are providing for more than just beavers. Stutz said they provide a home for native fish, frogs and insects. They also allow water to seep into the banks and provide for plants for a longer portion of the year.

Recent studies have tracked the emergence of old river features and the return of native plants. This one aims to track the return of healthy ecosystems, using beavers as a marker of progress.

Glen Canyon Institute is paying for the study, and scientists from the Tucson, Arizona-based Watershed Management Group are helping carry it out.

One of those scientists, Nadira Mitchell, stood at the foot of a beaver dam and marveled at its size.

“I don’t really know how long it would take them to build this huge structure,” she said. “But you can definitely tell that they put in a lot of effort.”

The walls of Glen Canyon reflect off of a beaver pond on September 15, 2025. Beaver ponds can spread out the water from a stream, making it easier for plants to grow near their banks. Alex Hager/KUNC

The dam loomed chest high — a messy tangle of branches, leaves, mud and rocks holding back a large pool of standing water. Little trickles emerged from the bottom of the dam, turning back into a babbling stream on the other side. Mitchell said this helps filter the water.

Upstream of the dam, on the other side of the pond, the landscape was littered with signs of beavers. Mitchell pointed to little footprints in the mud, a sign that the “ecosystem engineers” may have been at work mere hours ago. Their wide, paddlelike tails had clearly dragged through the soft sand. All around the stream’s edge, whittled-down branches bore tiny, distinct teeth marks.

Another scientist, Jace Lankow, pointed out a gently chirping toad that also called the pond home.

Lizbeth Perez bends down to look inside a beaver lodge in Glen Canyon on September 16, 2025. The area is rich with signs of beaver activity, from tiny footprints to large dams and lodges. Alex Hager/KUNC

His colleague Lizbeth Perez came across a strikingly large beaver lodge, a resolute-looking mound of sticks and mud with little openings near the bottom. She got down on her hands and knees, practically sticking her head underwater to peer inside.

“The water goes back all the way and it’s all dark,” she said. “It’s a pretty well contained lodge.”

The team fanned out and took note of each sign of beavers, from footprints smaller than a human hand to lodges wider than a human wingspan. The team pulled out a tape measure and noted the length of a stream-wide beaver dam.

“It’ll be really exciting to mark that data point and look back on that for the years to come,” Mitchell said.

Policies to protect

Lake Powell is at a crossroads. Dropping water levels are forcing difficult conversations about its future. They could soon drop too low to generate hydropower inside Glen Canyon Dam. They could even drop too low to allow water to pass from the reservoirinto the Colorado River on the other side. Some environmentalists are calling for a major shakeup to the region’s water storage system — a policy change that would take Lake Powell’s water and store it elsewhere.

The environmental advocates at Glen Canyon Institute say the habitats in these tributary canyons should be protected by those policies.

“Glen Canyon is viewed by many water managers as a storage tank,” he said, “And it’s so much more than that. It’s not a barren landscape, it’s a living, breathing place.”

The wreckage of a motorboat, once submerged beneath Lake Powell, sticks out above the water on September 16, 2025. The nation’s second-largest reservoir has fallen to record lows in recent years. Climate scientists say it is unlikely to rise to previous highs as the region gets drier. Alex Hager/KUNC

But Lake Powell’s decades-long legacy as a key piece of the West’s water storage system will make that difficult. The seven states that use the Colorado River are in the middle of tense negotiations about its future. As they try to balance the needs of major cities and a powerhouse agriculture industry, the needs of the environment can sometimes fall to the back burner. Sinjin Eberle, senior director of communications at the environmental group American Rivers, said that the balancing act may affect decisions about the beaver-laden streams of Glen Canyon.

“Managing [Lake Powell] specifically for those side tributaries,” he said, “I’m not sure that that would be a priority for all of the stakeholders that would be at the table for this.”

Eberle’s group receives funding from the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports KUNC’s Colorado River coverage. Eberle called the emergence of thriving habitats in Glen Canyon “inspiring,” but pointed to larger region-wide tensions that could get in the way of policy decisions designed specifically to protect them.

“It will be a real challenge to encourage leaders from the seven basin states and then the hydropower industry to be willing to keep Lake Powell at a level that is more beneficial for the side Canyon ecologies than the security that a higher Lake Powell gives to each individual state that depends on it,” he said.

Researchers explore a section of Glen Canyon on September 16, 2025. Receding water levels have revealed geologic formations and allowed plants and animals to return. Alex Hager/KUNC

The National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, which manage Lake Powell, did not provide comment for this story in time for publication.

Lake Powell levels sit below 30%, and climate change-fueled drought means the reservoir is unlikely to refill to the high marks set decades ago. Zanna Stutz said those climate trends may force the hand of policymakers. Lake Powell, she said, may never refill enough to drown these side canyons anew.

“The restoration of Glen Canyon is basically an inevitability,” she said. “The sooner we can recognize how what’s happening in Glen Canyon is tied into this larger trend, the sooner we can shift from this being a happy byproduct and have it be taken into consideration and valued accordingly.”

A bend in Glen Canyon of the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, c. 1898. By George Wharton James, 1858—1923 – http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll65/id/17037, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30894893

After Massive Wildfire, Flash Floods and Groundwater Contamination Grip New Mexico — Christian Thorsberg (circleofblue.org)

The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire will affect the Gallinas River for years to come. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue

Click the link to read the article on the Circle of Blue website (Christian Thorsberg):

October 23, 2025

Three years after the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire burned over 500 square miles in New Mexico — cementing the blaze as the state’s largest-ever — residents are feeling the ripple effects of flood damage and water insecurity.

Flash flooding is common following large burns, and the risks can last for a decade or more. Charred soils are unable to effectively absorb water, and trees are no longer around to soak up or slow rains, which run over burn scars “like water off a parking lot,” Reuters reports.

Last year alone, 105 fires put 6 million acres — primarily in the American West — at risk of flooding impacts.

In Mora, New Mexico, more than two dozen floods have ravaged homes since the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon blaze. More lives have been lost to water than fire. Meanwhile, mold after flooding has led to the abandonment or demolition of homes. Runoff of toxic heavy metals and other contaminants have left residents’ wells polluted and unusable.

In Context: As Flames Scorch Western Forests, Flagstaff Area Offers Roadmap for Post-Wildfire Flood Prevention

Rio Grande and Pecos River basins. Map credit: By Kmusser – Own work, Elevation data from SRTM, drainage basin from GTOPO [1], U.S. stream from the National Atlas [2], all other features from Vector Map., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11218868

Western Water Assessment has produced a rapid assessment about the extreme flooding event that affected southwestern #Colorado on October 10-14, 2025

Click the link to access the report on the Western Water Assessment website:

Purpose of the report: This rapid assessment, produced by the Western Water Assessment (WWA), serves as a scientific resource for understanding drivers and impacts of the flooding events that occurred from October 10th -14th, 2025 in southwest Colorado. The report is designed to support local resilience building efforts and hazard planning for communities in the region. It provides the longterm and recent historical context for the flooding, hydrologic characteristics of the flood event, and an assessment of the local probability of an event of this magnitude.

Key Findings:

• The October 10th-14th, 2025 floods were the 3rd largest on record for Pagosa Springs, CO, with river levels reaching a maximum gauge height of 12.82 feet and peak flow rates of 8,570 cubic feet per second

• A total of 12.5 inches of precipitation fell at a high-elevation observation site in the watershed over 5 days, saturating the watershed and driving the river to reach Major Flood stage twice in that period

• Flood frequency analysis based on historical observations of runoff in Pagosa Springs suggests this flood has a return period of 25 to 40 years, meaning that there is a 2.5-4% likelihood of a flood of similar magnitude occurring in any given year.

• Early reports following the flooding suggest that hundreds of residents and households were evacuated in Pagosa Springs and surrounding rural communities and many structures were damaged or destroyed by the floods including homes, bridges, and roadways.

• Nearly two decades of exposure to drought conditions, increasing wildfire activity, and now the recent flooding collectively highlight the geographically unique and increasingly frequent natural hazard risks that rural mountain communities face in southwest Colorado.

Supporting future resilience: Understanding the drivers, characteristics, and likelihood of extreme events like the floods of October 2025 is crucial for effective resilience planning. Scientific analysis that is tailored to local communities, like this assessment for Pagosa Springs and Vallecito, provides specific, actionable information that planners and residents can use to understand their unique exposure to hazards. The Western Water Assessment (WWA) is committed to providing usable science to support hazard planning and response in communities across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

For further information on how WWA can support your community, please reach out to our team at wwa@colorado.edu.

Mediation ordered for Denver Water, environmental group over turbulent Gross Dam project — Michael Booth (Fresh Water News)

The middle section of the dam is arched to give the dam strength as water pushes up against the structure. Photo credit: Denver Water.

Click the link to read the article on the Water Education Colorado website (Michael Booth):

October 23, 2025

Denver Water and Save the Colorado must enter mediation at the end of the month to see if a deal is possible on the mid-project challenge to the water utility’s $531 million dam raising underway at Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, according to an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals.

A federal trial judge initially halted construction on the nearly finished dam, saying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for Denver Water violated U.S. environmental laws and that the water level at Gross could not be raised. Judge Christine Arguello later lifted the injunction on construction, for safety reasons, while Denver Water appealed the permit issues to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 10th Circuit will take briefs from both sides of the dam dispute in November, and is now ordering a mediation session for Oct. 30. The conference is to “explore any possibilities for settlement” and lawyers for both sides are “expected to have consulted with their clients prior to the conference and have as much authority as feasible” on settlement questions, the court order says.

Construction has continued since the injunction was lifted, with Denver Water pouring thousands of tons of concrete to raise the existing dam structure on South Boulder Creek. Denver Water has argued it needs additional storage on the north end of its sprawling water delivery system for 1 million metro customers, to balance extensive southern storage employing water from the South Platte River basin.

Denver Water’s collection system via the USACE EIS

Save the Colorado and coplaintiffs the Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians and others argue too much water has already been taken from the Colorado River basin on the west side of the Continental Divide, and that the forest-clearing and construction at Gross is further destructive to the environment. Gross Reservoir stores Fraser River rights that Denver Water owns and brings through a tunnel under the divide into South Boulder Creek.

“We look forward to having a constructive conversation with Denver Water to find a mutually agreeable path forward that addresses the significant environmental impacts of the project,” Save the Colorado founder Gary Wockner said.

When securing required project permits from Boulder County, Denver Water had previously agreed to environmental mitigation and enhancements for damages from Gross construction. But Save the Colorado and co-plaintiffs sued to stop the project at the federal level, and Arguello agreed that the Army Corps had failed to account for climate change, drought and other factors in writing the U.S. permits.

Denver Water declined comment Tuesday on the mediation order.

The halt and restart of the Gross Dam raising came in what has turned out to be a tumultuous year for major Colorado water diversion and storage projects.

While the Gross Dam decisions were underway, Wockner was finishing negotiations with Northern Water over $100 million in environmental mitigation funding to allow the $2.7 billion, two-dam Northern Integrated Supply Project to move forward. Once the 15 communities and water agencies subscribed to NISP water shares saw the increasing price tag, some began pulling out.

Northern Water reviewed the scale of NISP with engineers, then said it planned to move forward at the previously announced scale. The consortium’s board has asked all 15 initial members to indicate by Dec. 31 where they stand with the project and its price tag.

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