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<br />JENNIFER PrIT, DANIEL F. LUECKE*, MICHAEL J. <br />COHEN**, EDWARD P. GLENN***, & CARLOS <br />V ALDES-CASILLAS**** <br /> <br />Two Nations, One River: Managing <br /> <br />Ecosystem Conservation in the <br /> <br />Colorado River Delta <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />The Colorado River delta historically consisted of riparian, <br />freshwater, brackish, and tidal wetlands that covered 1,930,000 <br />acres and supported a legendary richness of plant, bird, and marine <br />life. Dam construction and water diversions in the United States <br />and Mexico in the twentieth century reduced the Delta to small <br />areas of wetlands and brackish mudflats. The Delta is no longer a <br />system that can be understood solely in terms of biology and <br />hydrology; human actions, embedded within a complex institutional <br />framework, have significantly altered and modified the Delta. In the <br />last two decades, flood releases from reservoirs in the United States <br />and agricultural return flows from both the United States and <br />Mexico have begun to restore Delta ecosystems on about 150,000 <br />acres. Deliberate management of existing water resources can <br />significantly improve conditions in this region. This article reoiews <br />the numerous institutions that can playa role in conservation of the <br />Colorado River delta and discusses options to protect the Delta's <br />ecosystems, including changing international institutions and <br />agreements to support Delta ecosystems; using U.S. federal law to <br />find legal remedies; asserting Delta ecosystem requirements in <br />ongoing, related management issues; establishing market <br />mechanisms and funding sources for Delta preservation; and <br />increasing public participation in Colorado River decisions that <br />affect the Delta. <br /> <br />c' <br />C'.:,.) <br />W <br />t" <br />c..c.' <br />en <br /> <br />· Jennifer Pitt is a Senior Resource Analyst and Daniel F. Luecke is a Senior Scientist; <br />both are with Environmental Defense, 2334 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302. <br />.. Michael J. Cohen is a Research Associate with the Padflc Institute for Studies in <br />Development, Environment, and Security, 654 13th Street, Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, <br />94612. <br />- Edward P. Glenn is Director of the Environmental Research Laboratory, University <br />of Arizona, 2601 E. AJrport Drive, Tucson, A2, 85706. <br />- Carlos Vald&-Cuillas is Director of the Center for Conservation and Use of Natural <br />Resources and Head of Researc.h at the Instituto Tecno16gico y de Estuc:U08 Superiores de <br />Monterrey, Campus Guaymas, Bahia Bacochibampo SIN, Apdo. P. 484, Guaymas, Sonora, <br />85450, Mexico. <br />