On March 13 and 14, the California Biodiversity Council met with the Southwest Strategy in Yuma, Arizona to get acquainted and discuss resource issues of mutual interest. The Southwest Strategy (SWS) is a coalition of state and federal agencies from Arizona and New Mexico.

After a tour of refuges, wetlands, and restoration projects along the Colorado River, the two groups met for a half–day session on March 14, 2002.

Origins, Missions & Histories: Bill Maxon (Executive Director, Southwest Strategy) gave a history of the SWS. The SWS started in 1997 at the direction of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, and Defense who were seeking a new partnership to reduce lawsuits against the federal government. The SWS also has ten issue–based work groups of field–level staff. The work groups bring advice and work products to the Executive Committee comprised of the heads of federal and state agencies and Native American tribes.

Colorado River Management: Jerry Zimmerman (Executive Director, Colorado River Board) opened the discussion about the Colorado River by pointing out that the River provides 65 percent of the water to 17 million people in southern California and irrigates 900,000 acres there. The Colorado also provides hydropower and other related benefits. The Colorado Desert gets 97 percent of its water from the River. Mr. Zimmerman also noted that California has been using 5.2 million acre feet from the Colorado River annually when it only has entitlement to 4.4 million acre feet. Recently, California signed the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which binds it to:

• reduce water use to 4.4 million acre feet; and
• develop a 15–year plan to meet that amount by the end of 2002.

Water transfers from agricultural users is a cornerstone of the agreement. Conservation and ground water storage are other important elements.

Sam Spiller (Lower Colorado Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) explained that the Lower Colorado Multi–Species Conservation Plan (MSCP) will provide the on–river mitigation for California’s 4.4 Plan. The Lower Colorado River MSCP is a partnership among state, federal, tribal, and other interests in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The purpose is to develop a 50–year recovery/enhancement, maintenance, mitigation, and habitat management strategy for 40 to 50 at–risk species and will also provide certainty for water users.

Daniel Eddy Jr. (Chair, Colorado River Indian Tribes) discussed tribal issues with river uses. Tribes have 90 miles of river property and rights for nearly one million acre feet of water. They are concerned about effects of water decisions, the MSCP, and other programs on the uses of their land and water. Mr. Eddy stressed that tribes never had the opportunity to participate in key discussions until recently but they are willing and eager to help.

Jayne Harkins (Bolder Canyon Office, Bureau of Reclamation) provided an overview of Colorado River operations. Overall objectives include flood control, hydropower, water for consumptive uses, recreation, and ecosystem protection. The challenge is to find a good balance between the uses. This is done through the long and short–term operating plans for reservoirs on the system. The plans focus on balancing projected water quantity with demands for multiple uses.

Mike Pearce (Arizona Department of Water Resources, retired) explained that population increases in Arizona created serious groundwater overdrafts. Arizona’s allocation from the Colorado is 2.8 million acre feet. Over half of that has been targeted as the replenishment source for overdraft areas. Thus, Arizona is quite interested in seeing California comply with the December 2002 deadline to finish the 4.4 Plan.

Furthermore, operational constraints on releases from Hoover Dam can result in deliveries of an extra 100–200 thousand acre feet of water to Mexico.

Species conservation for river species and riparian values are also important, need additional water, and will cost Arizona more of their allocation.

Jeff Kightlinger (Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District) closed this session by suggesting that the challenge in developing the 4.4 Plan is to reduce use by 800,000 acre feet while maintaining existing and projected uses. Keys of the plan are to line the All American Canal, transfer water from farms to cities, and increase groundwater storage. The legal documents that will authorize all the work are roughly 90 percent complete. Environmental documentation is now under way.

Mr. Kightlinger noted that serious impediments to success remain. Two examples are the special protected species for which there are no incidental take permits and measures for protecting the Salton Sea.

Management of the Salton Sea: Mike Walker (Lower Colorado River Region, Bureau of Reclamation) explained that the Salton Sea was originally a part of the Sea of Cortez, which was cut off as the Colorado River found its present course. Breaching of a water diversion in the early 1900s created the Sea as we know it today. The source of water is now return water from agricultural irrigation. Since the Sea is essentially an evaporation pool at the end point of the Colorado River, it is a basin with high salinity. To date, inflow roughly equals evaporation, leaving the salts to accumulate over time. Drying of the basin will likely produce airborne sources of selenium and other toxic materials.

The Salton Sea has become an important drain for agriculture tailwater, which also provides important habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The big challenge at the Salton Sea is removing the increasing salts while also maintaining high water levels.

Increased transfer of water from the Imperial Irrigation District would lower the amount of water flowing into the Salton Sea and speed up the process of rising salinity. This, in turn, means a more rapid decline of the fish population, greatly impacting the waterfowl that depend on it.

There are five possible technical solutions for the Salton Sea management dilemma under consideration in the January 2002 draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement. There is no readily availabe, cost effective way of removing the salts without also significantly reducing the water level in the Salton Sea.

The CBC and SWS both left this joint session with an increased understanding of the issues on each side of these shared state and international borders.

Complete minutes for all CBC meetings are
available on the CBC website.
http://ceres.ca.gov/biodiv/minutes.html.

California Biodiversity News: Volume 9, Number 2
Fall/Winter 2002
For more information on the California Biodiversity Council, please contact:
Erin Klaesius, Communications Coordinator
CA Biodiversity Council
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814

Email: erin.klaesius@fire.ca.gov