DYNAMIC DELTA: POLICIES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND WATER FOR THE COLORADO RIVER DELTA

摘要

The Colorado River is perhaps the most emblematic desert river in the western hemisphere; dammed, divided, stored, fished, rafted, and loved, this water is central to the American West's way of life (Figure 1). It seems odd then that until recently, little was known or heard about the Colorado River's Delta, which has thrived on the river's flows for millennia. The Colorado River once deposited its extremely high, nutrient- rich sediment load into the Delta, creating an ecologically rich region teeming with life. Over two million acres of cottonwood-willow forest, vast mesquite bosques, mazes of marshy backwaters, and an extremely productive estuary supported hundreds of resident and migratory bird species, jaguars, bobcats, a thriving fishing economy, and several endemic marine species (Figures 2a, 2b).