Environment: Feds face lawsuit over tamarisk-killing beetle

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Southwestern willow flycatcher. Photo courtesy USFWS.

Non-native bugs threatening habitat for endangered songbirds

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Conservation advocates say non-native tamarisk-eating bugs have gone haywire, destroying habitat needed by endangered southwestern willow flycatchers, native songbirds that need thick riparian vegetation to survive.

The exotic beetles were imported from Asia to destroy invasive tamarisk plants seen as a threat to water resources, but now the bugs have invaded the nesting areas of southwestern willow flycatchers in southern Utah, Nevada, and northern and western Arizona. If the beetle spreads farther without mitigation, it could seriously threaten the flycatcher’s survival, according to Dr. Robin Silver, with the Center for Biological Diversity. 

Efforts to eradicate tamarisk are costly and labor-intensive, and some recent research by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that exotics (including Russian Olive) use about the same amount of water as native willows and cottonwoods.

In June 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture temporarily restricted release of the insects based on concerns about impacts to flycatcher habitat. The decision is outlined in this USDA memo. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Water: Lake Powell may dry up within a few decades

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Southwest, Great Plains most vulnerable to future water shortages

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Under some climate change scenarios, Lake Powell is at risk, according to a new study from the US. Forest Service. Photo courtesy Mission 31, ISS, via the Wikimedia Commons.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Some of the West’s biggest reservoirs could dry up completely as the region gets warmer and drier in coming decades, and major increases in storage capacity probably won’t help address regional water shortages, according to a new study authored by researchers with Colorado State University, Princeton and the U.S. Forest Service.

In the Colorado River Basin, “Lakes Powell and Mead are projected to drop to zero and  only occasionally thereafter add rather small amounts of storage before emptying  again,” the scientists concluded, adding that smaller upstream reservoirs might still be useful.

The report, published by the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, combined climate projections with socio-economic scenarios of population growth and water use to determine future water supply and demand, to assess the likelihood of future water shortages region by region. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Drought, Environment, water | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Water: USGS assesses Lake Mead

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Lake Mead. Photo courtesy NASA.

Invasive mussels now dominating lake-bottom ecosystem

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Better sewage treatment in Las Vegas, long-term treatment of persistent pollution from industrial sources and development of artificial wetlands have all helped protect water quality Lake Mead, according to federal scientists who recently released a report the status of the last big storage bucket in the Colorado River’s plumbing system.

Overall, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that Lake Mead’s water quality is good and that fish populations are holding their own. Lake Mead is even providing habitat for an increasing number of birds.

But the report also acknowledges that invasive quagga mussels have become the dominant lake-bottom organism, posing significant threat to the Lake Mojave and Lake Mead ecosystems. The report also acknowledges the long-term threat of climate change, which will bring reduced water supplies to the entire Colorado River Basin. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, rivers, water | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Environmental groups challenge EPA’s sulfur-dioxide emission exemptions for Southwest power plants

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Fight over regional haze plans now at the federal appeals court level

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Conservation groups continue to fight for air pollution cleanup in the Southwest.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Clean Air Act loopholes in regional EPA-approved air quality plans are unacceptable, according to a coalition of environmental and community groups who last renewed their challenge to the regs in a Denver-based federal appeals court.

According to the groups, the plans allow coal-fired power plants in Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming to escape federal requirements to reduce their emissions of haze-causing pollutants. Of particular concern are exemptions for sulfur dioxide emissions, responsible for obscuring visibility and for significant human health impacts.

The exemptions are being challenged by HEAL Utah, National Parks Conservation Association, Powder River Basin Resource Council, and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice. (more…)

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Federal draft climate assessment bodes ill for Southwest

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Less snow, longer droughts expected in coming decades

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Projected temperature increases in the Southwest under varying greenhouse gas emission scenarios range between 2.5 and 9.5 degrees.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The Southwest, already the warmest and most arid part of the country, is expected to get hotter and drier during the coming decades, a draft federal climate change report warns, describing how the region is already feeling the impacts of global warming.

The Draft Climate Assessment Report was released a few weeks ago for public comment. It outlines global warming impacts to various economic sectors like agriculture, transportation, agriculture and forestry, and also breaks down the information geographically.

The section on the Southwest explains that the period since 1950 has been hotter than any comparably long period in at least 600 years. The first decade of the 2000s was the warmest in the 110-year instrumental record, with temperatures almost 2 higher than historic averages, with fewer cold snaps and more heat waves.

Droughts will get longer and more intense, spurring competition between farmers, urban dwellers,for the region’s most precious resource, while the region’s populous coastal cities face rising sea levels, extreme high tides, and storm surges, threatening highways, bridges, power plants, and sewage treatment plants.

Impacts to the Southwest include:

  • Snowpack and streamflow amounts are projected to decline, decreasing water supply for cities, agriculture, and ecosystems.
  • The Southwest produces more than half the nation’s high-value specialty crops, which are irrigation-dependent and particularly vulnerable to extremes of moisture, cold, and heat. Reduced yields from increased temperatures and increasing competition for scarce water supplies will displace jobs in some rural communities.
  • Increased warming, due to climate change, and drought have increased wildfires and impacts to people and ecosystems in the Southwest. Fire models project more wildfire and increased risks to communities across extensive areas.
  • Flooding and erosion in coastal areas is already occurring and is damaging some areas of the California coast during storms and extreme high tides. Sea level rise is projected to increase, resulting in major damage as wind-driven waves ride upon higher seas and reach further inland.
  • Projected regional temperature increases, combined with the way cities amplify heat, will pose increased threats and costs to public health in Southwestern cities, which are home to more than 90 percent of the region’s population. Disruptions to urban electricity and water supplies will exacerbate these health problems.

The Southwest section of the report:

 

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Study: Southwestern forests may be susceptible to ‘vicious cycle’ of drought and global warming

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

‘Warmer temperatures linked to human-caused climate change areplaying a role in drying out the region’

The stump of a beetle-killed ponderosa pine looms over the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo by Bob Berwyn.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Even just the small amount of global warming measured to-date has pushed climatic growing conditions to extremes, according to a new report from University of Arizona researchers.

“Our concern is that vegetation will experience even more extreme growing conditions as anticipated further warming exacerbates the impacts of future droughts,” said Jeremy Weiss, a senior research with UA’s department of geosciences. “We know the climate in the Southwest is getting warmer, but we wanted to investigate how the higher temperatures might interact with the highly variable precipitation typical of the region.”

The study found that warmer temperatures magnify drought conditions by making turning the atmosphere into a giant moisture-sucking sponge that make trees more susceptible to insects and other pathogens. The biggest impacts are in low to middle elevations, according to the study, scheduled for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, forests, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

New pipeline to deliver water to Navajo Nation

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

A 280-mile pipeline will bring water deep into the heart of the desert Southwest.

Project touted as key piece in meeting longstanding obligations to Native Americans

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — About 40 percent of the 200,000 residents of the Navajo Nation must drive to get water for daily use, but that may change in the next few years, as crews last week started working on a 280-mile pipeline that will shunt water from the San Juan River deep into the heart of Navajo country.

“It is simply unacceptable that four in ten members of the Navajo Nation must
haul their water, often over long distances, from water stations,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said during a ground-breaking ceremony. “This project will be an engine for economic growth, create jobs, and supply the lifeblood for communities that have been without running water for far too long,” he said. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, rivers, water | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Morning photo: Travel to Colorado’s hidden arches

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A grand Meeander

A view of West Rim Arch as one first sees it.

Photos and text by Stan Wagon

The area southwest of Grand Junction offers immense opportunity for exploring interesting sandstone features. Taking a break from the endless snow in Summit County, some friends and I spent a week in the area starting April 27, 2011, the main goal being to hike to some remote arches. But we could not leave the snow behind entirely and spent one day skiing the famed east face of Mt. Tukuhnikivatz east of Moab.

Jonathan Kriegel and I needed perseverance and tools (ice ax, crampons, and a whippet) to climb the east ridge. While the descent was in skiable, but not great, snow conditions, it was overall a fanatastic day and very satisfying to reach this summit towering over eight thousand feet above Moab. Read about skiing the La Sals at Wagon’s website.

Back to sandstone, we first returned to West Rim Arch on the west side of Rattlesnake Canyon. We had visited the top of it last year, but this time we entered the canyon quite directly and contoured around to the bottom of the arch, which has a completely different feel than the top. One can climb right inside the arch for an intriguing view.

A view of West Rim Arch from just underneath it.

(more…)

Filed under: hiking, Morning photo, photography, recreation, Travel, West | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Tracking drought in the Southwest

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A NASA satellite image of the desert Southwest.

Current dry spell matches some of the most severe conditions on record

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — With Colorado River flows at Lees Ferry during the past 10 years registering  the lowest levels ever in the historic record, University of Arizona researchers say the Southwest could already be in the midst of a major dry spell comparable to the 12th century drought that drove the Anasazi from the Four Corners region.

Their conclusion is based on a review of previous studies that document the region’s past temperatures and droughts.

“Major 20th century droughts pale in comparison to droughts documented in paleoclimatic records over the past two millennia,” the researchers wrote.

By figuring out when and for how long drought and warm temperatures coincided in the past, the team identified plausible worst-case scenarios for the future. Such scenarios can help water and other resource managers plan for the future, the team wrote. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, global warming, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Southwestern forests especially sensitive to global warming

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

The stump of a beetle-killed ponderosa pine at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Climate change could lead to landscape-level tipping points

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A comprehensive new study shows that about 18 percent of forests in the Southwest have already been affected by global warming. The region’s forests are more susceptible to temperature changes than any other, and if current climate predictions hold true, they will experience more frequent and severe forest fires, higher tree death rates, more insect infestation, and weaker trees, according to the study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientific article is part of a special PNAS feature edition called “Climate Change and Water in Southwestern North America.”

“Our study shows that regardless of rainfall going up or down, forests in the Southwest U.S. are very sensitive to temperature –– in fact, more sensitive than any forests in the country,” said first author Park Williams, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara. “Forests in the Southwest are most sensitive to higher temperatures in the spring and summer, and those are the months that have been warming the fastest in this area.” (more…)

Filed under: Environment, forest fires, forests, global warming, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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