The Biden administration $728 million in investments to address drought and climate change in the West. The funding will kickstart conservation programs, environmental restoration projects and water infrastructure construction, among other efforts.
The money comes from recently passed federal legislation, including the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act. Western officials, including Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., the announcement.
鈥淭he American West is in crisis. This funding will help communities, water users, and family farmers and ranchers mitigate the effects of the 1,200-year megadrought,鈥� Bennet said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more to do to protect our Western way of life, but this is a strong start.鈥�
A huge chunk of funding 鈥� $125 million 鈥� is going to the in the Upper Colorado River Basin states. This program pays river users like farmers, ranchers and others to not use their water rights and instead keep resources in the watershed. $25 million will fund a U.S. Department of Agriculture to help farmers and ranchers conserve more water and build climate resilience.
In with a Colorado rancher before Biden鈥檚 State of the Union address, Bennet said voluntary programs like these are great ways for people to contribute to drought relief efforts before any potential mandatory cuts.
鈥淭he only way anybody really ever embraces change is if they see each other doing something new and then it actually makes a difference to their bottom line,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd to that end, their ability to pass their farm or their ranch on to the next generation.鈥�
This round of funding also invests in water treatment plants in New Mexico and Montana. Additionally, it will help provide clean drinking water to rural and tribal communities, as well as fund the construction of additional fish passages, reservoirs and pipelines.
Federal officials hope this funding will keep diminishing reservoirs like Lake Powell from falling to critically low levels.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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