Press Room

Colorado River States Miss Deadline as Crisis Deepens

探花精选 emphasizes the need for swift, cooperative action to safeguard water for 40 million people and 400 bird species.
Great Blue Heron. Photo: Laura Weaver/探花精选 Photography Awards

After the states failed to meet their deadline for a plan to share reduced water supplies, 探花精选鈥檚 Colorado River Program Director, Jennifer Pitt, released the following statement: 

鈥淚 find it concerning that after two years of negotiations鈥攁nd three decades of increasingly dwindling water supplies鈥攖he Colorado River Basin states have not come up with a plan. While I鈥檓 encouraged that the states say they have made progress, today鈥檚 river requires that we urgently put agreements and funding in place to protect the lives and communities that rely on a functioning Colorado River鈥攖oday and into the future. 

鈥淏old, adaptive, and collaborative solutions鈥攚ith input from Tribes, Mexico, states, conservation advocates, and other stakeholders鈥攁re required now for a reliable, resilient Colorado River. Each month without a clear operational framework increases risk and makes it harder to safeguard the river, communities, and habitats upon which birds depend.鈥 

Some 40 million people and 400 bird species depend on the Colorado River Basin. 探花精选 has long advocated for science-based solutions and collaborative policy-making in this river basin and will continue to push for positive outcomes for birds and their habitats.