San Juan River Basin
February 1, 2010--Southwest snowpack is looking good; rest of state, so-so (Denver Post)
Recent storms have boosted snowpack in southwest Colorado above average, but the statewide snowpack is still lagging. The Natural Resources Conservation Service says statewide snowpack was 87 percent of average as of Saturday. It was 108 percent of average in the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan basin and 111 percent of average for the Upper Rio Grande basin in southwest Colorado.
January 27, 2010--High stakes snow speculation: Gauging our water future (Crested Butte News)
As of January 25, the snow-water equivalent totals for the Gunnison River Basin were at 97 percent of average, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Gunnison Basin stretches over 8,000 square miles of western Colorado, extending from the Continental Divide to the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers near Grand Junction.
January 10, 2010--Water: Gas companies helped create a map of nontributary water (Durango Herald)
Most coalbed methane wells in Southwest Colorado do not deplete area rivers, a state regulator has decreed. But ranchers say the decision gives away water to gas companies at the expense of senior water rights owners. State Engineer Dick Wolfe finished new rules for area coalbed methane wells Dec. 30.
January 16, 2009--Biggest land protection in 25 years (Telluride Daily Planet)
The U.S. Senate approved a bill Thursday that will better protect more than two million acres of public land, and represents one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in 25 years.
January 7, 2009--Colorado River District seeks grant applications for water supply projects (Eagle Valley Enterprise)
The Colorado River District is soliciting grant applications for
projects that increase water supplies in the 15-county area within the
Colorado River Basin. This includes all tributary watershed areas in
Colorado, except the San Juan River basin.
September 25, 2008--Court: No reserved water rights for NM trust land (Denver Post)
There are no federally reserved water rights for the millions of acres of state trust land in New Mexico, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.
May 22, 2008--Snowpack helps reservoirs (Durango Herald)
Overall, the snowpack in the Animas, San Juan, Dolores and San Miguel basins stood at 93 percent of average Wednesday, said Mike Gillespie with the National Resources Conservation Service in Denver. It's been melting out pretty quickly down there. We've lost more than one-half of the maximum pack reached in mid-April, which was the equivalent of 28 inches of water," Gillespie said.
April 8, 2008--Experts study effects of energy boom on water sources in the West (Aspen Times)
More than a year after the deadline, federal officials are starting work on a study exploring some of the effects of the Rockies' energy boom on water.
March 28, 2008--Sediment study hits home (Durango Telegraph)
The study of airborne particulates is becoming one of the hottest areas of climate change, according to Joe McConnell, a scientist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno. Scientists, he says, are still assessing how much climate change can be attributed to anthropogenic, or manmade causes, and how much to natural climate change.
March 5, 2008--Area snowpack at 155% of average (Durango Herald)
Snowfall in the mountains of southern Colorado - including the Animas, Dolores and San Juan river basins - exceeds its average by more than any other area in the state, according to the Natural Resource Conservation Service.<!-- end first_paragraph --> <!-- body -->The NRCS considers the Arkansas and Rio Grande river valleys as well as the three basins in Southwest Colorado as
