Visit the Colorado riverbed in northwest Mexico this spring, and you’ll see something that hasn’t been witnessed in the area for decades: Flowing water.
The Los Angeles Times reports that authorities recently opened the gates of the Morelos Dam that sits between the international boundary of Yuma, Ariz., and Los Algodones, Mexico, with the goal of pouring 105,000 acre-feet of water into the barren Mexican side of the delta for eight weeks.
Besides the welcome sight of water, there are even signs of wildlife such as hawks, egrets, ospreys and beavers, the newspaper reports.
MORE: Robert Redford and Will Ferrell Team Up to Save Colorado River
This thirst-quenching move has been described by the Associated Press as a “landmark agreement” between the United States and Mexico, who are putting aside their bickering over water rights in an effort to restore the wetlands and wildlife that once flourished south of the border.
Conservationists are hailing this project as a victory. “Never before have we deliberately sent water below the Morelos Dam … to benefit the environment,” Jennifer Pitt of the Environmental Defense Fund, who was involved with the flooding project, wrote on her blog, according to the AP. “By abandoning the old framework of ‘who gets what’ and establishing cooperative management of our shared resource, the U.S. and Mexico are achieving benefits for communities and nature alike.”
At a time when the water-pinched West is experiencing a devastating drought, this restoration project can’t come soon enough.
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Tag: Colorado River
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The Odd Couple: Robert Redford and Will Ferrell Team Up to Save Colorado River
How do you get people’s attention focused on the parched Colorado River? Enlisting a famous actor and a hilarious comedian is a great place to start.
In the just-released sidesplitting PSA, Redford and Ferrell urge the public to help restore the once glorious delta. With all his usual gravitas, Redford encourages people to join his Raise the River campaign, which is an effort to reconnect the river back to the Gulf of Mexico and restore the delta’s ecosystem. Ferrell, meanwhile, has a whole different approach to solving the problem: Moving some of the ocean with his team of “scientists.”
“We got Old Sundance riding around, trying to raise the Colorado River and restore it’s flow. And I say ‘Do we really need more river?'” says “William” Ferrell against some terrible CGI imagery. “I mean hell, we’ve got plenty of ocean. Let’s move it.” The funnyman, with the help of pro surfer Kelly Slater, then asks you to send money to his mock MoveTheOcean.org campaign.
MORE: To Restore Water to the Colorado River, All These Teens Had to Do Was Send a Text
But in all seriousness, the formerly mighty Colorado River is drying up due to agriculture, urbanization and climate change. And even worse, this year’s horrific drought is sapping up the little bit of flowing water that’s left. More activism and awareness is needed, so why not try being funny for this important cause? According to MediaBistro, there will be more of these videos with the aim to raise $10 million dollars for river’s restoration.
“We saw this idea of a fictitious debate between Mr. Redford and Mr. Ferrell as a novel way to generate greater awareness of the very serious issues facing the Colorado River,” said Jill Tidman, executive director of the Redford Center. “Bringing a sense of humor to the effort opens the door for a much greater audience and offers everyone a chance to be part of winning this campaign—and this is one we are going to win.”
To Restore Water to the Colorado River, All These Teens Had to Do Was Send a Text
Change the Course is working to restore water to the Colorado River, which flows through seven thirsty states. Part of the nonprofit’s mission is to get young people involved with the cause, so they set up partnerships with donors who give money for every text they receive. As seen in this video, Christian McGuinn recently motivated young people attending We Day in Minnesota to text RIVER to 77177 and make a pledge to add their voices in support of water conservation. Partner organizations agreed to donate enough money to restore 1,000 gallons to the Colorado River Basin for each text received. At We Day in Seattle in March, teenagers’ texts restored 7 million gallons to the river. With the money from the pledges, Change the Course funds new irrigation methods, upgrades equipment to reduce water loss, and helps communities with the legal costs associated with water leases.
Source: National Geographic News Watch