U.S. asked to seize Bundy cattle to protect tortoises

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters –– Environmental groups have asked the U.S. government to seize hundreds of jailed militant rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle, saying unregulated grazing of his herd on public lands in Nevada threatens habitat for federally protected desert tortoises. The request from nine organizations in a letter sent on Monday to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management […] Read more

Lake Mead’s Boulder Basin in July 2008. (Andrew Cattoir photo courtesy NPS via Flickr)

Deal would let southern California buy surplus water from Nevada

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A US$45 million deal that would let southern California’s biggest water agency access a major supply of water that would normally go to southern Nevada won approval on Thursday from the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The board of the Metropolitan Water District, a wholesaler that supplies public utilities in heavily populated southern California, […] Read more


Lake Mead’s Boulder Basin in July 2008. (Andrew Cattoir photo courtesy NPS via Flickr)

Reservoir formed by Hoover Dam dips to record low

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The largest capacity reservoir in the United States has hit its lowest water level in history following years of severe drought that have dramatically reduced flows from the Colorado River, water managers said on Wednesday. Officials said Nevada’s Lake Mead, the 79-year-old reservoir created by the massive Hoover Dam, registered 1,074.98 feet (327.7 […] Read more

CoCoRaHS’ daily precipitation data for the U.S. for March 19, 2015.

No relief in sight for U.S. West’s drought in spring outlook

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Drought pressures will increase in California and western areas of the U.S. this spring even as the dry season begins, the government’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. “Periods of record warmth in the West and not enough precipitation during the rainy season cut short drought relief in California this winter and […] Read more