Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—WildEarth Guardians today asked the U.S. Department of the Interior (“Interior”) to stop negotiating secret backroom deals that deprive the Rio Grande of essential flows and instead commit to more transparency and public involvement in implementing innovative, forward-looking policies that support flows in the river and provide a safety net for fish and wildlife The request came in the form of a letter to Deputy Secretary Michael Connor.

The group’s letter detailed the agreement made this fall between the Bureau of Reclamation and the City of Santa Fe that determined the fate of12,000 acre-feet of water remaining in El Vado Reservoir at the end of the 2014irrigation season. The deal essentially traded—through a paper accounting mechanism called an exchange—the water in El Vado Reservoir with water already in Elephant Butte Reservoir so that no water would actually physically flow down the Rio Grande. This deal made water available for diversion by the City of Santa Fe at the expense of critical flows in the Rio Grande.

“This deal is just another example of the culture of secrecy that permeates water management in New Mexico,” said Jen Pelz the Wild Rivers Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. “To develop meaningful and fair engagement and cultivate trust around such important decisions, federal agencies need to consult not only those taking water from our rivers, but those who have an equally compelling interest in seeing our rivers thriving and healthy.”

The letter also proposes Interior implement a new policy that would provide for carryover storage of the water stored for the Pueblos with a portion dedicated to serve environmental purposes. Guardians suggests that carry over of the Pueblos’ prior and paramount water into successive seasons would provide a water safety net in the Rio Grande Basin, benefit flows in the river, meet delivery requirements of the Rio Grande Compact, and provide flexibility and security to the most senior water user in the Basin—the six Middle Rio Grande Pueblos.

“A century of unbalanced management of the Rio Grande is threatening the future of our river,” added Pelz. “The inequities of the past must be remedied by bolder, river-friendly solutions implemented going forward. We ask that Interior begin to lead in implementing such solutions.”

A copy of the letter can be seen here.