The Colorado River “psst psst” scheme emerges into public view: the “Supply Driven” concept

    See note of correction/clarification below: Arizona yesterday finally moved the super-secret idea at the heart of current Colorado River negotiations out of the shadows. The idea is deceptively simple: base Lake Powell releases on a percentage of the three-year rolling average of the Colorado River’s estimated “natural flow” at Lee Ferry. Allocate water …

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Brad Udall on climate change and the Colorado River

Via Allen Best, Brad Udall’s critically important comments at last week’s Getches-Wilkinson Colorado River conference: Within this basin, we can and have worked together to deal with a really sticky, difficult issue like climate change, to inform decision-making given the right partners, including the federal government at the table. Point two is our current climate …

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The Colorado River Conclave

Fascinating observation from Jim Lochhead this morning at the Getches-Wilkinson Center Colorado River Conference about the nature of the current negotiations and the role of the federal government. It came during a panel moderated by Anne Castle focused on what we learned from the expiring 2007 river management guidelines, which are the subject of intense …

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Raton, New Mexico: notes on western railroad towns and urban form

RATON, NEW MEXICO The decorative streetlights, the hanging planters, the Chamber of Commercial-style tourist banners, the antique stores, the nascent brew pub scene. The old motels, with their seen-better-days charm. The newer motels (but still old), out by the interstate, with U-Hauls in the parking lot and their seen-better-days lack of charm. The abandoned buildings, …

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Colorado River Basin Reservoir Storage: where do we stand?

Jack Schmidt* and John Fleck** *Center for Colorado River Studies, Utah State University **Utton Transboundary Resources Center, University of New Mexico School of Law 1 June 2025   We now begin June, when the Colorado River’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, should be swelling with melting snow for use later this year …

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What the Mexican Treaty negotiations of the 1940s can tell us about 21st century Colorado River governance

Eric Kuhn, with some help from Anne Castle and myself, has taken a useful dive into what was known in the 1940s as Congress was considering the treaty between the United States and Mexico regarding how to share the waters of the Colorado River. Drawing on the analysis of Colorado’s Royce Tipton, Eric draws out …

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