by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Old timers who manage ditches, head gates and canals often mention the “head of water.” It refers, somewhat imprecisely, to an amount of water needed to force its movement over various distances. A bigger hayfield requires a bigger “head of water” [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel A disturbing photo topped the June 15 New York Times article, supposedly graphic evidence that the Earth is dying, starting with its cutest animals. It is a compelling picture, although the message is as misleading as it is powerful. It shows [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel President Jimmy Carter’s Office of Management and Budget Director Bert Lance is best remembered for a corruption scandal involving Calhoun National Bank. But he is also the one who popularized the corny phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “That’s [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Several recent newspaper articles have focused on the Colorado River, because of the historically low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. A recent follow-up in Greenwire asked the rhetorical question, “Could the Colorado River Compact adapt to go with [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Last week, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton told a Senate committee the government must reassess its management of the Colorado River Basin because of unprecedented drought. She cited the historically low levels of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead, though [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Last week we considered the Biden Administration’s 10-year, $50 billion strategy for addressing the national forest fire crisis. That would more than double the budget of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), to reduce wildfires and restore health to 20 million acres [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Imagine how much good we could do in this life if we had unlimited resources. If money were no object, we could cure nearly all the world’s ills and create better lives for everybody, right? Fifty-seven years ago, President Lyndon Johnson [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel President Biden travelled to Pittsburgh last week to push his proposed $1.2 trillion “Build Back Better Act.” In one of the great coincidences in the annals of political strategy, a major bridge collapsed just before his arrival, sending a bus and [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel The forest health crisis in America has reached such staggering proportions, it is no exaggeration to say, that one generation of national leaders has squandered the greatest legacy of the conservation movement — our national forests. During the last 20 years, [...]
by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow As appearing in the Daily Sentinel Harry Truman was famous for the simple instruction, “Say what you mean, mean what you say.” He was talking about personal communication, not differing interpretations of law. In his day, the law was generally clear about what was legal and what [...]
