“Our Raise the River coalition joins communities and organizations throughout the Basin in celebrating the beautiful, life-giving Colorado River. The binational commitment to reviving the health of the Colorado River Delta shows that we can restore places throughout the Basin that have been ignored for too long, even as we meet the growing water supply needs of cities, agriculture and industries in both the U.S. and Mexico.
Today, we continue our efforts to restore critical fish and wildlife habitat in the Delta, working closely with both the U.S. and Mexican governments and local communities. Our joint capital campaign is supporting critical on-the-ground restoration work in key areas of the Delta, including planting hundreds of thousands of new native trees; removing invasive, non-native vegetation; and acquiring water from willing sellers through Colorado River Delta Water Trust to support restoration sites. We are also working closely with a binational team of scientists to monitor the results of the unprecedented pulse flow of water to the Delta that took place from March to May earlier this year.”
To celebrate Colorado River Day, the Raise the River coalition is releasing a new video on Delta restoration, narrated by Robert Redford. The video is available on the coalition’s website at www.raisetheriver.org/stories and on YouTube, http://youtu.be/TODV7FW746s.
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Raise the River is a unique partnership of six U.S. and Mexican non-governmental organizations committed to restoring the Colorado River Delta. Members include Environmental Defense Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Pronatura Noroeste, Redford Center, Sonoran Institute, and The Nature Conservancy. To learn more about Raise the River, visit www.raisetheriver.org.
CONTACTS:
Chandler Clay, Environmental Defense Fund: 202-572-3312, cclay@edf.org
Tracey Stone, The Nature Conservancy: 602-738-1586, tstone@tnc.org
Seth Cothrun, Sonoran Institute: (520) 290-0828 x1110, scothrun@sonoraninstitute.org
Osvel Hinojosa, Pronatura Noroeste: (52) 646 175-3461 x 118, ohinojosa@pronatura-noroeste.org
Jill Tidman, Redford Center: 415-890-6863, jtidman@redfordcenter.org
Rob Blumenthal, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: (202) 595-2457, rob.blumenthal@nfwf.org