logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Endangered List—A River Runs through It

Marian Conway
April 14, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
“Glen Canyon, Colorado River” by Sharon Mollerus

April 12, 2017; Arizona Daily Sun

Lake Mead is shrinking. The lake, one of the largest manmade lakes on the continent, created in 1935 by the Hoover Dam, is fed by the Colorado River as it flows south.

The lake, located about 25 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada, has not been at full capacity since 1983. Since 2000, the lake has lost 19 percent of its overall volume while increasing population has increased demands for the lake’s water. The journal Water Resources Research published a study in February that demonstrated the contributing stress of drought and climate change on the river. In short, the study estimates that one-third of the lake’s decline since 2000 is attributable to higher average temperatures in the basin, which in turn the study attributes to climate change. In February 2017, Lake Mead only held 42 percent of capacity, and that’s in advance of the level drop that comes with the summer sun.

Arizona, Nevada, and California state water managers, along with federal managers, have been negotiating for several years to decrease use of the Colorado River’s water. In December, they announced they did not have an agreement and that negotiations would continue into the new president’s administration. As is often the case, a nonprofit has stepped up to move the needle. American Rivers Inc. has released an updated list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® for 2017, with the Colorado River at number one. (The Colorado topped that list in 2015 and 2013, too.)

“The communities, economy and natural resources of the southwestern U.S. will be threatened if the Trump administration and Congress don’t prioritize and fund innovative water management solutions,” American Rivers wrote in a press release announcing the list on Tuesday.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Major steps have been made by lower basin states and the federal government of the previous administration to figure out how to do more with less water, said Matt Rice, Colorado Basin director for American Rivers.

The president’s proposed budget includes significant cuts for agencies like the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Agriculture. Their programs, such as drought contingency and water conservation, will be vital to saving the ecosystem of the Colorado River and the communities the river touches economically and recreationally. In particular, the drought contingency programs will affect both the United States and Mexico via the bilateral agreement that shares future drought-related water cuts and wetlands protection. The current agreement expires this year.

American Rivers was founded in 1984 with a simple mission statement: “American Rivers protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves clean water for people and nature.” They have been involved in the removal of 200 dams and 16 million pounds of trash from waterways. The nonprofit might want to consider the successes India and New Zealand have had with giving vital resources a kind of personhood, similar to corporations in the U.S.

Mr. Rice expressed concern that this past winter’s excessive snow and rainfall, following the drought of several years, will “reduce the sense of urgency to complete the drought contingency plan.” As time goes on, Lake Mead slips further and further away from recovery.—Marian Conway

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marian Conway

Marian Conway, the executive director of the NY Community Bank Foundation, has a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies, Writing and a Ph.D. in Public Policy, Nonprofit Management. She has discovered that her job and education have made her a popular person with nonprofits and a prime candidate for their boards. Marian keeps things in perspective, not allowing all that to go to her head, but it is difficult to say no to a challenge, especially participating in change, in remaking a board. She is currently on eleven boards of various sizes and has learned to say no.

More about: Environmentenvironmental activismNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

Popular Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now

Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in 21st-Century Social Movements

Register Now

Remaking the Economy

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.