Declining levels at Lake Powell increase risk to humpback chub downstream
As temperatures rise, so does risk of invasive fish
By Heather Sackett | June 13, 2022
The problem from which all others stem, including the changing fish communities, and the reason Powell is so low in the first place is the climate-change-driven supply-demand imbalance, Schmidt said.
Data dashboard: Streamflows exceed May peak in many local reaches
Lake Powell’s elevation has increased two feet since last week.
By Laurine Lassalle | June 14, 2022
• The Crystal River near Redstone flowed at 1,770 cfs on June 12, while the Crystal at the CPW Fish Hatchery bridge ran at 2,100 cfs.
• Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,536.2 feet on Sunday, up from 3,534 on June 5.
• Roaring Fork Basin snowpack has almost entirely melted.
Tracking the Curve
Documenting COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties
By Laurine Lassalle | June 14, 2022
As of Monday, Eagle County reported 65 new COVID-19 cases since Thursday, Pitkin County added 65 cases and Garfield County recorded 55 cases since Thursday. Pitkin’s incidence rate spiked to 1,105, the second highest in the state.
Colorado will lose half its snow by 2080 and look more like Arizona, federal scientists conclude
“They concluded that large losses of snow will transform high elevation areas and that the phenomenon of melting snow that creates water will disappear entirely in some areas as temperatures rise.”
Source: denverpost.com | Read more
As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces ‘An Environmental Nuclear Bomb’
“The stakes are alarmingly high, according to Timothy D. Hawkes, a Republican lawmaker who wants more aggressive action. Otherwise, he said, the Great Salt Lake risks the same fate as California’s Owens Lake, which went dry decades ago, producing the worst levels of dust pollution in the United States and helping to turn the nearby community into a veritable ghost town. ‘It’s not just fear-mongering,’ he said of the lake vanishing. ‘It can actually happen.'”
Source: nytimes.com | Read more
Short-term rental regulations in Steamboat officially approved
“The overlay zone map will place limits on the number of short-term rental licenses issued within zones marked yellow on the map. The red zones prohibit the issuance of short-term rental licenses. Green zones have no restrictions, aside from procuring the appropriate license, and include the commercially zoned downtown area off Lincoln Avenue, and the properties closest to the base of Steamboat Resort.”
Source: steamboatpilot.com | Read more
The Ute Mountain Ute can’t access their Colorado River water rights. Here’s how the tribal chairman is trying to change that.
“We all need to work together to make a better future. There’s going to be challenges. There’s going to be something through legal battles. But they need to include everybody because everybody has that water right as governments. In the next five years, it’s going to really hit the fan, so to speak.”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
Biologists try to save ancient fish as Colorado River fades
“If large numbers of bass and other predator fish are sucked into the penstocks, survive and reproduce below the dam, they’ll have an open lane to attack chub and other natives, potentially unraveling years of restoration work and upending the Grand Canyon aquatic ecosystem.”
Source: apnews.com | Read more
A project looking to move water from Utah to Colorado’s Front Range gets new funding, partner
“Million argues that Flaming Gorge being tapped this year to help fill Powell only underscores how solid the water source is — ‘extremely firm yield’ is how Million described the water production in the part of the Colorado River Basin he wants to pull from. … ‘The reality is,’ Million said, ‘there’s very little consumptive use in the Green River; it has huge recreational and environmental uses, which need to be protected.'”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
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