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GLEN CANYON ACTION NETWORK & LIVING RIVERS present:
- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 21:10:26 -0700
- From: David Orr Jr <david@drainit.org>
- Subject: [southwestdan] SIGN-ON LETTER: "One Percent for the Delta" Campaign--and the Sustainable Water Project Tour!
THE SUSTAINABLE WATER PROJECT TOUR
NINE DAYS - SIX CITIES - ONE PERCENT
___________________________________________________
To: Colleagues and NGOs active in Rio Colorado/Colorado River
delta restoration
Fr: Glen Canyon Action Network and Living Rivers
Re: Sign-on letter requesting for "One Percent for the Delta" Campaign
and endorsement of Sustainable Water Project Tour
Dear Friends:
The Rio Colorado/Colorado River delta is dying. This internationaly
acclaimed bioregion is suffering because in most years the river's entire
flow is diverted before it can reach the delta. The delta's wetlands
have been reduced to ten percent of their original size. Activists in
the United States and Mexico are working to obtain restorative flows to
the delta region, now a designated Ramsar site.
Below is a letter we plan to deliver to all Colorado River water users
and agencies, which collectively divert the entire flow of the river. We
are requesting that they give back one percent of their allocated water
to help restore the delta. Glen Canyon Action Network, Living Rivers,
and the other groups involved would like your organization to consider
endorsing this letter, which we will deliver to the water agencies
beginning March 5.
This message will be taken on a six-city travelling roadshow from March
5-14 (Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Blythe CA, and Los
Angeles) to encourage the water-consuming agencies to make the requested
voluntary contributions. Known as the "Sustainable Water Project Tour,"
this series of events will be hosted by our NGO partners throughout the
basin, promoting water conservation in the Rio Colorado and Rio Grande
watersheds, and encouraging water agencies to donate 1% for the delta's
restoration. More information can be found on the web at
www.drainit.org.
This tour coincides with the Fourth International Day of Action For
Rivers on March 14, 2001. Last year there were seventy events in
twenty-six countries.
Groups that have already signed-on include the following: Action
Resource Center-Los Angeles, American Lands Alliance, California Earth
Corps, Center for Biological Diversity, El Dorado Audubon Society, Forest
Guardians, Friends of the Earth, Green Party of Utah, John Muir Project,
Rio Grande Restoration, Sierra Blanca Legal Defense Fund, Sierra Club
(Angeles Chapter, El Paso Group, Glen Canyon Group, Southern Nevada
Group, Tahquitz Group), Utah Animal Rights Coalition, Utah Environmental
Congress, Utah Rivers Council, and West Texas Water Protection Fund.
More are signing on every day!
Please let us know if your organization will support this letter and/or
the Sustainable Water Project Tour.
Thank You,
Owen Lammers
Glen Canyon Action Network
Moab UT
Lisa Force
Living Rivers
Phoenix AZ
_________________________________________________
Letter to Colorado River water agencies and users
[Individual letters will be sent to each agency or user]
Dear (Agency/User):
As you know, the Colorado River/Rio Colorado is a limited source of water
for millions of people in seven of the United States, Mexico and numerous
Indian tribes. The river once supported a delta, marshland and estuary
system of almost two million acres, but today has been reduced to less
than ten percent of its original size because of near-total utilization
of the river's flows, on both sides of the international border. It has
been further compromised by land use changes in Mexico, the invasion of
salt cedar, and the entrapment of sediment behind upstream dams, causing
the delta to shrink rather than grow. The Colorado River delta is of
international importance, and has been designated a Ramsar site.
Today the delta is in crisis; the birds and other wildlife, the
fisheries, and the ecosystem are all in dramatic decline. Scientists
have warned for years of the consequences of ignoring the lack of
freshwater inflows. Some flood flows over the past twenty years have
helped to keep the delta from drying up entirely, and even allowed for
some modest improvement, but no mechanism is in place for the delta's
long-term protection. Unless action is taken soon, we could lose what
little still remains.
A significant obstacle to progress is the lack of agreement among the
community of Colorado River water users to pursue a solution. We, the
undersigned individuals and organizations, come to you with a request for
acknowledgment of the seriousness of the problem, and a commitment to
take action by voluntarily offering to leave in the river a fair share of
the water that your organization currently withdraws.
Scientists estimate that the restoration process can begin with a modest
amount of water--less than one percent of the river's average annual
flow. A guaranteed base flow of 32,000 acre-feet per year, augmented by
a simulated flood flow of 250,000 acre-feet every three to four years
would provide a minimal source of life-sustaining water for this
once-vast span of wetlands, riparian habitat, freshwater marshes and
estuary.
We have an important responsibility to future generations to assure the
preservation of this internationally acclaimed bioregion. Although such
accommodations were not priorities when the Law of the River began to
evolve, it has become a priority for society now. An average, annual
contribution of 103,000 acre-feet will help maintain what little remains
along the river's main channel. This represents less than one percent of
the 15 million acre feet that the basin's water users divert on average
each year. A modest amount indeed, but a major contribution toward
preserving this endangered habitat and the many lives that it supports.
We ask you to pledge "One Percent for the Delta"--a realistic goal that
can readily be achieved by implementing additional water conservation
measures. In addition, we ask that you pledge flows necessary to maintain
the Cienega de Santa Clara at its current size and water quality.
Finally, we ask that you support the delivery of additional water to the
delta region when such water becomes available through purchase or
voluntary agreement.
The United States and Mexico have agreed to meet, discuss and make
recommendations for possible actions to implement a Colorado River delta
restoration program. Your voluntary commitment will send an important
signal to the governments of the two nations, amplifying the growing
public support and consensus that the Colorado River, its delta wetlands,
and the northern Gulf of California must once again become a place of
life for humans and other living things.
We also request that you publicize to all your clients and customers the
need for implementing the conservation measures in the context of delta
conservation. All users should be made aware of the problems occurring
in the delta and the simple steps we can take to help remedy them. We
are available to assist you and your organization in any way possible to
put such a program in place.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to your
reply and pledge of support.
Sincerely,
__________________________
[signatories to be listed]
_________________________________
David Orr <david@drainit.org>
Director of Field Programs
Glen Canyon Action Network
PO Box 466, Moab UT 84532
Tel 435.259.1063/Fax 435.259.7612
www.drainit.org
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