Holly Loff, a grant writer in Western Colorado & the fmr dir of the Eagle River Watershed Council, said a continued pause on funding would cause a lot of #financial pain for communities near the #ColoradoRiver, such as those with economies dependent on water-based recreation, & people far away, like those who buy #produce that is grown w/ Colorado River #water.

"Our #economy is going to be impacted. It's…far reaching. I really can't think of how anyone can avoid being impacted."

In addition to those #water #conservation programs, the #InflationReductionAct set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for projects aimed at keeping #ColoradoRiver tributaries #clean & #healthy. Conservation groups, small nonprofits, Native American tribes, & local governments were assigned federal money for a bevy of projects that included #Wildfire prevention & #HabitatRestoration.

That is no small feat, as leaders of the states that use #ColoradoRiver #water are caught in a #legal standoff about how to share it going forward.…

"Having this appropriated funding suddenly taken away undoes years & years of very careful collaboration among the #states in the #ColoradoRiverBasin," Castle said, "& threatens the #sustainability of the entire system."

#Water users whose #grants have been paused said they are asking the federal govt for more info & getting little in the way of answers. The #FederalAgencies in charge of Western water did not respond to NPR's requests for comment [probably because they were fired by #Musk].

#Conservation programs like the one sending money to #California #farmers have been key in boosting water supplies in major #reservoirs.