The federal funding, which comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support the design and construction of aquatic ecosystem restoration projects.
In Nevada, $20 million will be used to reduce erosion and sediment in the lower Las Vegas Wash, an urban river that feeds more than 200 million gallons of excess water to Lake Mead every day.
In Idaho, $1 million will go toward improving the water quality of the North Fork Snake River, where warming waters and algae blooms are harming fish and wildlife. The Henry’s Fork Foundation is partnering with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on the project.
Alicia Marrs, director of the National Wildlife Federation’s western water program, said restoring waterways on land managed by the BLM is not only good for wildlife, it’s also good for people “that are relying on water through these rivers and streams to provide their day to day subsistence.”
She added: “One in 10 Americans in the West gets their drinking water from BLM lands.”
The Interior funding is also benefiting tribal communities in the Mountain West.
In New Mexico, $1 million is flowing to the Nambe Pueblo. It will use the money to fund the removal of dead trees, woody debris and sediment from the Rio Nambe river and reservoir, which were both damaged by wildfire in 2022.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, the San Felipe Pueblo is getting about $400,000 to boost the water quality of the Rio Grande river located within its boundaries.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
