2021 fall

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” into law (commonly referred to in the media as the “Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill”). The provisions in this act dedicate 1.2 trillion dollars of federal funds “for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes.” This massive bill will fund upgrades and expansions to roads and bridges, railways, public transportation, and water systems, and will also expand broadband services across the country. Although this legislation will improve infrastructure nationwide, there are several key provisions which could have profound impacts across the West.

The Gila River Indian Community’s generational battle to restore rights to their water resources would not usually foreshadow a path of collaboration. The Community historically relied on the Gila River for their social, economic, cultural, and spiritual lives. But after the American Civil War in the 1860s, diversions of the Gila River by miners and white settlers devastated the Community’s economy and dried up this critical cultural connection.  This history sits in stark contrast to the realities of today. The Gila River Indian Community now holds the single largest entitlement of Arizona’s largest renewable water supply, and the Community has emerged as a key collaborator in securing Arizona’s water future.

Following decades of strict fire suppression, fire managers and policy makers have recently begun to recognize the importance of returning fire to the landscape for multiple resource benefits. Prescribed burning, controlling naturally ignited wildfires, and mechanical thinning are common approaches to reduce fuel loads and protect against high-severity fire. Although there has been increasing recognition of the importance of fire for different ecosystems and a suite of environmental laws and regulations that influence fire management practices for federal land managers, fire restoration in practice has not changed much in recent years.