Rivers Archives - San Juan Citizens Alliance

Jul 20 2024

Take Action: Help Secure Water in the Dolores River

By Rane Dickerson Rivers, Take Action

The Dolores River needs your support. Flows in the Dolores River below McPhee Dam depend in part on the way that the dam and irrigation infrastructure are operated. Two agreements that direct the operations and water management for McPhee Dam…

May 23 2024

Take Action: Comment on Winter Travel Planning Efforts on the Rio Grande National Forest

By sjca Lands Protection, Rivers, Take Action

Help shape the future of winter recreation on the Rio Grande National Forest. Learn how to participate in the over-snow-vehicle planning process today!

Mar 07 2024

Petition: Protect Colorado Wetlands & Streams

By Rane Dickerson Rivers, Take Action

Sign this petition to show your support for healthy wetlands and streams in Colorado.

Feb 02 2024

Take Action: Protect Colorado’s Waterways

By Rane Dickerson Rivers, Take Action

We oppose exploratory drilling and uranium mining in Slick Rock Canyon for these reasons. We ask that you deny the local county permit.

Jan 26 2024

Take Action: Say NO to Uranium Exploration and Mining in Slick Rock Canyon

By Rane Dickerson Lands Protection, Rivers, Take Action

We oppose exploratory drilling and uranium mining in Slick Rock Canyon for these reasons. We ask that you deny the local county permit.

May 31 2023

The Beaver Effect

By sjca Rivers

Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting next to a stream. What do you see? What do you hear? You may be imagining noises associated with a babbling brook with water quickly moving down-gradient. Perhaps you see a bright…

May 12 2022

Take Action: Protect Clean Water in Colorado

By sjca Rivers, Take Action

The comment window for this action alert has closed. Thanks for your interest! To stay involved and receive updates, please sign up for our emails. As we move into a future of climate uncertainty, and as streams with exceptional water…

Jan 20 2022

Restoring Bighorns & Wolves

By Gary Skiba Climate Change, Newsletter, Rivers

Imagine Colorado 150 years ago, when hearing a faraway wolf howl or seeing a bighorn was not rare. While many things have changed in those 150 years, our Wildlife Program aims to restore this wildlife and ensure that it happens…

Nov 03 2021

Opportunities for Dolores River Conservation

By Mark Pearson Durango Herald Column, Lands Protection, Rivers

One of the most remarkable features of Southwest Colorado is the spectacular canyon carved by the Dolores River. On those occasions when an abundance of snowpack blesses our region, adventurers can enjoy floating through 100 miles of a wild canyon…

Feb 11 2021

Take Action: Support Strong Protections for Colorado Rivers

By sjca Rivers, Take Action

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Jan 07 2021

SJCA Annual Update Video

By sjca Energy Transition, Lands Protection, Of Interest, Rivers

Since we couldn't see everyone in person this year, we made a video to show you what our staff has been up to & update you on some of our top campaigns! Check it out!

Aug 29 2020

Protecting the Headwaters of the Animas River: Over 200 Comments Submitted

By sjca Rivers

The EPA proposed a new mine waste repository near Silverton, as part of their work at the Bonita Peak Superfund Site. We submitted our own SJCA comments on the proposal, and with your help sent in an extra 205 comments…

Oct 31 2019

CORE Act Passes the House!

By Erika Brown Lands Protection, Rivers, Species

We know that meaningful and permanent public lands protections take time. Lots of time. Lots of stakeholders are at the table and compromises are hashed out over years, not weeks. Often times such efforts are framed by politicians as being…

Jun 13 2019

Video About Us!

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Energy Transition, Forest Health, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Rivers

We made a video about who we are and what we do! A big thanks to Sean Owen of No Special Abilities Productions for making this happen. Of course, it's impossible to get everything we do into a short...

Mar 18 2019

Colorado Passes Landmark Mining Reform Bill!

By sjca Gold King Mine, Of Interest, Rivers

This is a big step forward for protecting the rivers and taxpayer dollars in Colorado! While the federal 1872 Mining Law is still in desperate need of reform, this improvement for Colorado provides long overdue protections for our water resources…

Feb 17 2019

Land conservation overcomes congressional gridlock

By Mark Pearson Durango Herald Column, Lands Protection, Rivers, Species

Photo: Jason Hatfield Fans of Utah’s spectacular redrock country can savor congressional action this week that advanced protections for a million acres of the incomparable San Rafael Swell, and one of the Colorado Plateau’s longest wild river segments through Desolation…

Nov 28 2018

Join the discussion – Bonita Peak Community Advisory Group

By sjca Of Interest, Rivers

It’s been over two years since the designation of the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site above Silverton, CO, and questions remain as to the severity and extent of more than a century of hard-rock mining pollution in the upper…

Sep 27 2018

TAKE ACTION: Call Senator Gardner!

By Erika Brown Forest Health, Lands Protection, Rivers, Species

Recently, Senator Gardner told a group gathering in Norwood, Colorado that he wouldn't stand in the way of the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act moving forward. We're looking to him now to make to good on his commitment to move…

Sep 15 2018

Fires and droughts should set off alarm bells

By Mark Pearson Climate Change, Coal, Durango Herald Column, Forest Health, Lands Protection, Renewable Energy, Rivers

Our beloved Animas River has taken a shellacking the past few years, the most recent insults a combination of record low flows and wildfire induced mudslides. The Animas might be the blaring alarm bell for our society’s failure to act…

Jul 21 2018

New leadership at EPA, same rollbacks

By Mark Pearson Climate Change, Coal, Durango Herald Column, Forest Health, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Species

Photo: Wikipedia Commons By the time Scott Pruitt resigned as the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, he was the poster child for bungling personal entitlement. As Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa put it, Pruitt was the swampiest of the Washington,…

Jun 16 2018

For 50 years, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act preserves waterways

By Mark Pearson Durango Herald Column, Rivers

Fifty years ago, Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. It was a counterpoint to the West’s flurry of dam-building in the 1950s and 1960s that saw dams erected across many of the region’s rivers. The mighty rivers of…

Apr 09 2018

BIG WIN: State Water Court Upholds Instream Flow for the Dolores

By Erika Brown Rivers

We're celebrating! The Colorado state water court has upheld the instream water right instituted by the Colorado Water Conservation Board for the Dolores River in 2015. The standard was primarily intended to protect three struggling native fish populations, but will…

Mar 20 2018

Support HB 18-1301: Safeguarding Water Quality During Hardrock Mining Reclamation

By sjca Gold King Mine, Of Interest, Rivers

Animas River after the Gold King Mine Spill, August 2015. Photo by Kathy Myrick. "The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land." - Luna Leopold More than two years after…

Dec 18 2017

Wins of 2017!

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Gold King Mine, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Species, Wolf Creek

Was 2017 a challenging year? Hell yes. And that's why our work is so critical. We’re here because public and environmental health doesn’t always get prioritized over corporate interests. We’re here because wildlife, water and a stable climate don’t have…

Aug 29 2017

San Juan Citizens Alliance Launches Animas Riverkeeper

By Erika Brown Rivers

It's official! Marcel Gaztambide is your Animas Riverkeeper! We're thrilled to have him on as a full time advocate for the Animas Riverkeeper. He'll be harnessing the expertise of over 300 other waterkeepers around the globe through the Waterkeeper Alliance to…

Aug 03 2017

TAKE ACTION: EPA / Superfund Funding Threatened

By sjca Gold King Mine, Lands Protection, Of Interest, Rivers

“The budget request before us today is downright offensive. I can’t square this with your rhetoric about returning EPA to its core responsibilities. Nothing was spared. EPA’s core is hollowed out...These cuts aren’t an intent to rein in spending, they…

Jul 28 2017

Superfund Update: July 2017

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers

What's going on? Earlier in July, the Superfund team completed surface water sampling from the Upper Animas River, Cement Creek, and Mineral Creek as part of their ongoing study of our river’s headwaters. The samples will be analyzed for metal…

Jul 14 2017

EPA Cuts Corners to Ignore the Law

By Mark Pearson Durango Herald Column, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers

Waiving rules to prevent methane pollution. Stripping wetlands of protection under the Clean Water Act. Throwing out restrictions against strip-mining mountaintops and dumping the spoils into streams. The Trump administration has an ambitious agenda to eliminate protections for air, water…

Jun 28 2017

Superfund Update: June 2017

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers

What’s going on? This summer is the first full work season since the declaration of the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site last September. So what’s going on amidst those mountainous peaks to the north? Summer 2017 Projects Compiling and…

May 03 2017

Bonita Peak Superfund Update: April 2017

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers

What’s the latest on the Bonita Peak Superfund District? Last week the Superfund Team, made up of folks from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Colorado Department of Public…

Dec 21 2016

Image for Cookies for Calls: No Pruitt for EPA

Call your Senators: No Pruitt for EPA!

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Of Interest, Oil & Gas, Rivers

Last night we hosted an event called Cookies for Calls: No Pruitt for EPA. We handed out homemade cookies to those of you who stopped by and made a call to your Senators. Many of you had never called an…

Jun 16 2016

Testing the Animas River’s water quality is a complex task

By sjca Durango Herald Column, Rivers

Has Animas River spring runoff been normal? Is normal safe? Definitely. Not. Got it? Late spring in the West means surging creeks and rivers. As water flows rapidly increase, so does the water’s turbidity and discoloration. Still reeling from the…

May 04 2016

Taking Action to Regulate Dangerous Drilling and Fracking Waste

By Erika Brown Oil & Gas, Rivers

We’re all pretty aware these days that fracking requires ludicrous amounts of water mixed with nasty chemicals. And that the huge boom in drilling over the last decade was largely fueled by new fracking technologies. There has been a lot…

Feb 03 2016

Durangoans demand more Superfund involvement

By Erika Brown Rivers

Durangoans demand more Superfund involvement, Durango Herald, February 3, 2016

Jan 19 2016

Highlights of 2015

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Forest Health, Gold King Mine, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

It’s 3 weeks into January and here at the Alliance we're finally taking a moment to clear the papers off our desks, breathe, and reflect on the past year. We started 2015 knowing there were thousands of people in the region…

Dec 17 2015

Keep your holiday giving close to home

By sjca Climate Change, Coal, Durango Herald Column, Forest Health, Gold King Mine, Green Business, Lands Protection, Of Interest, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Rivers, Species

This holiday season I’d like to propose a corollary to Durango’s well-loved buy local movement: give local. December is a month awash in fundraising requests, and let’s face it: being on the receiving end can get tiresome. But let’s face…

Nov 20 2015

Colorado’s Water Plan is a Historic Step Forward

By Erika Brown Rivers

Responsible management of energy and water may be two of the biggest challenges we face this century, particularly in light of climate change. Colorado's first-ever state water plan was a difficult but important step toward successfully meeting those challenges. The Alliance joins other…

Sep 18 2015

Clean-water groups respond to Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn’s congressional testimony

By Erika Brown Gold King Mine, Rivers

For immediate release: Sept. 17, 2015 Media Contacts: Allyson Siwik, Gila Resources Information Project, 575-590-7619, allysonsiwik@gmail.com Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance, 505-360-8994, mike@sanjuancitizens.org Rachel Conn, Amigos Bravos, 575.770.8327, rconn@amigosbravos.org Eleanor Bravo, Food and Water Watch, 505-633-7366, ebravo@fwwatch.org Liliana Castillo,…

Sep 17 2015

Don’t let spill pass; it’s time to take action

By Erika Brown Durango Herald Column, Rivers

The toxic plume from the Gold King Mine release has passed. Our river is no longer orange. Where do we go from here? It is possible that this disaster, like so many horrors we hear about daily, will pass us…

Sep 16 2015

Water Board Decision Protects Dolores River and Instream Flows

By Erika Brown Rivers, Species

The Alliance and our partners have been working for years to secure these instream protections for the Dolores vital to the native fish and overall health of the river. This is a big win! We were disappointed that our local Southwest…

Aug 19 2015

We deserve better science about Animas

By sjca Durango Herald Column, Gold King Mine, Rivers

If emotions were assigned a color, along the banks of the Animas and San Juan rivers, the color of fear is muddled orange. In the turbulent wake of the Gold King Mine accident, it is hard to miss the signs…

Aug 11 2015

Settling In For The Long Haul

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers, Species

Photo Credit: Kathy Myrick If you are like me, you were probably hoping that by now – 6 days into the Gold King Mine release – the EPA would be giving our beloved river the “all clear.” Unfortunately, that is…

Aug 11 2015

Media Roundup – August 10th

By Erika Brown Gold King Mine, Rivers, Species

Photo Credit: Kathy Myrick The recent disaster on the Animas has earned national media attention. If you are following this or interested in the various perspectives or evolution the coverage has taken, below is a listing of the coverage we have tracked…

Aug 10 2015

Gold King Update: EPA’s 2nd Community Meeting

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers, Species

Well... that was lively. Here are a few SJCA takeaways from tonight's EPA/Community meeting: 1. Our communities want good data on what is in the water, and the EPA has been slow in producing that data. Sure, it takes time…

Aug 09 2015

Photo Gallery: Flight Over Gold King Mine Blowout 8/9/2015

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers, Species

Sediment deposition visible along banks of Animas north of Durango. Sediment deposition visible along banks of Animas north of Durango. Sediment deposition visible along banks of Animas north of Durango. Sediment deposition visible along banks of Animas north of Durango....

Aug 07 2015

The Gold King Disaster: What Can We Do NOW?

By sjca Gold King Mine, Rivers, Species

This is a sample of Animas River water taken by Mountain Studies Institute late last night in Durango. Not good folks. A lot of people have been contacting SJCA to ask what they can do. Here's a pass at our…

Aug 05 2015

Nice Newsletter!

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

We've been getting a lot of compliments on our new and improved newsletter. The format is a little (OK, a lot) different than the last time we put one together (some two years ago...) and you'll be proud to leave it on…

May 21 2015

Special Places: Dolores River Canyon Wilderness Study Area

By sjca Lands Protection, Rivers

Photo Credit: Mark Pearson The entire Dolores River Canyon below McPhee Reservoir is a special place to be sure. Anyone that has had the opportunity to explore the corridor via boat, foot, horseback, bike or vehicle, knows this to be…

Apr 06 2015

Conservation Alliance grant will fund SJCA’s river protection work

By Erika Brown Lands Protection, Rivers

Where would the outdoor industry be without the public lands on which we explore, dream and play? The Conservation Alliance, comprised of such iconic companies as Patagonia, Osprey Packs and REI, actively protect the wild and protected landscapes on which…

Mar 30 2015

Let the Dolores process unfold

By sjca Lands Protection, Rivers

Photo: Mark Pearson San Juan Citizens Alliance has long prioritized protection for the Lower Dolores River. We worked with the Dolores Water Conservancy District to start the Dolores River Dialogue in 2004. In 2008, we became a stakeholder in the…

Mar 05 2015

SJCA wins second case against Navajo Mine expansion

By Erika Brown Coal, Rivers

Photo Credit: EcoFlight Busted. Again. A federal judge just denied a plan by the Office of Surface and Mining (OSM) to expand the Navajo Mine, which feeds the Four Corners Power Plant, based on the fact that the environmental analysis…

Mar 03 2015

BLM Tres Rios Field Office: Failed

By sjca Forest Health, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

The day before the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tres Rios Field Office (TRFO) released its Resource Management Plan (RMP), the Alliance drafted a list of 10 things to watch for in the final document. I’d like to think that…

Feb 27 2015

BLM Tres Rios Field Office Fails Our Community… Again.

By sjca Forest Health, Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

If you've been following the multi-year saga of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Tres Rios Field Office (TRFO) Resource Management Plan (RMP), then you know a lot is at stake. As we highlighted in a previous post, this planning…

Feb 27 2015

What To Look For In Friday’s BLM Tres Rios Field Office Announcement

By sjca Lands Protection, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tres Rios Field Office (TRFO) manages over 503,000 acres of public lands in southwest Colorado. Their management includes oversight of federal minerals exploration and development on more than 804,000 acres of private, state, and…

Dec 16 2014

Highlights of 2014

By Erika Brown Climate Change, Coal, Forest Health, Lands Protection, Of Interest, Oil & Gas, Rivers, Species

Ever wonder what the Alliance has been up to? Or how we put your donations to work? If so, this blog is for you. As we head into 2015, we thought we’d take a moment to recap some of our…

Nov 13 2014

Hermosa bill takes a big leap toward becoming law

By sjca Lands Protection, Rivers

Yes!!! A long step was made today down the trail towards enhanced protections for the Hermosa Creek watershed with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unanimously voting to move forward the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act. The…

Oct 01 2014

True Democracy Created Plan For Hermosa Creek

By sjca Durango Herald Column, Lands Protection, Rivers

What does democracy look like? Last week, I marched through the streets of Manhattan with a crowd 400,000 strong. I could hardly keep count of the number of times march participants trotted out the tried and true protest slogan: This…

Sep 27 2014

EPA Announces Plans To Help Clean Animas River

By sjca Rivers

The Animas River has long been polluted by run-off from old mines throughout the San Juan Mountains. At a meeting with county commissioners, the EPA announced plans to “plug” two of those mines in 2015 to slow the flow of…

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