Will the delta thrive again?

Posted: 01-Jan-2002; Updated: 16-Jan-2002

The Colorado River delta, at the northern tip of the Gulf of California, is home to the world's smallest and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita porpoise. The desert pupfish, all but extinct, thrives in a delta wetland. But thirsty cities and farms use up most Colorado River water before it reaches the delta, reducing what was once one of the world's great desert estuaries to a series of brackish ponds. Many observers have declared the delta dead, but Environmental Defense is working to bring it back to life.

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PHOTO:  Some people say the delta is dead. We think otherwise.

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Last fall, we helped organize the first delta symposium sponsored by the U.S. and Mexican governments. An amendment to the 1944 U.S.-Mexico water treaty now requires the two countries to study the delta. At the meeting in Mexicali, senior Mexican officials called for a speedy restoration.

"The wealth of scientific information unveiled at this event should help silence critics who claim too little is known about the delta to restore it," says our resource analyst Jennifer Pitt, one of three environmentalists selected to study the delta. She is optimistic the countries will find a way to bring the delta back. Recent high-water years have sent water to the delta for the first time in decades. Our job is to ensure that water continues to flow.

Our report, A Delta Once More, is at www.environmentaldefense.org/more/10550.