NEVADA

Lake Mead hits new low

BOULDER CITY — Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, another sign of the crisis plaguing the Colorado River system.

Water levels at the reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las Vegas, hit 1,040.4 feet above sea level on Aug. 7, according to federal data. That’s just below the record set on July 28, 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“It’s extremely significant and extremely concerning. You have three-quarters of the population of the Colorado River Basin, some 30 million people, who are directly impacted by risks to Lake Mead,” said J.B. Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and a board member of the Imperial Irrigation District, the largest user of the river’s water.

Hamby said it is vital for states that use Colorado River water to reduce water use.

Drought and dry conditions have stretched along the length of the Colorado and are particularly intense at its source in the Rocky Mountains.

Melting snow provides important water for the river. This past winter, however, saw the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River Basin, adding more stress on farmers, industry, wildlife and hydropower producers, as well as the 40 million people across seven U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico who rely on the waterway.

Years of overuse combined with drought and rising temperatures have been depleting Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir. Both are the lowest they have been in nearly seven decades.

NEW MEXICO

Gaming watchdog lacks chair

ALBUQUERQUE — The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma opened its new Harrah’s-branded casino in April, but plans for Harrah’s to take over casino management are stalled because of a vacancy at a federal watchdog.

The National Indian Gaming Commission hasn’t had a chairperson since January, and President Donald Trump has yet to nominate a replacement. That’s left the commission unable to carry out enforcement duties or management deals like the one in Oklahoma

 Industry leaders say the vacancy risks delaying business deals and weakening oversight. It also deprives tribes of a key advocate as online prediction markets threaten to encroach on the $46 billion tribal gambling industry.

There’s a lot at stake for tribes that rely heavily on casino revenue to fund healthcare, housing, education and other vital services. Tribal gambling brought in a record $46 billion in 2025, nearly triple the annual casino revenue of gambling powerhouse Nevada.

The three-member gaming commission was formed in 1988 to regulate casino-style gambling and promote economic development on tribal lands. Some 250 tribal governments across 29 states now operate 545 gambling facilities, the commission said.

Under federal law, its enforcement powers are vested solely in the chairperson. Industry leaders say its inability to cite casinos for violating federal law or force the emergency closure of unsafe facilities is particularly troubling.

In a typical year, the commission issues several citations to tribes for operating casinos on unauthorized lands, failing to submit required financial statements, misusing revenues and other violations.

A White House spokesperson called the commission a “valued board” but did not say when a new nomination will be made.

MONTANA

EPA OKs cleanup plan

The owner of a sprawling, long-shuttered aluminum plant in Columbia Falls has agreed to pay $57.6 million to mitigate pollution associated with decades of aluminum smelting.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a statement on July 7 applauding an agreement with Columbia Falls Aluminum Company that outlines the cleanup objectives for one of northwestern Montana’s largest industrial sites.

The agreement comes nearly a decade after the EPA added the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company site to the National Priorities List, also known as the Superfund list. Under the agreement, CFAC will be responsible for mitigating toxic byproducts such as arsenic, fluoride and cyanide at the site, which was Flathead County’s largest employer in its 1970s heyday. Much of the waste will be consolidated at the site and capped with material designed to prevent pollutants from contaminating the surrounding soil and water.

Cyrus Western, the former Wyoming legislator who now oversees EPA’s Region 8 office headquartered in Denver, described the development as a “significant milestone” that will facilitate site redevelopment.

About half of the smelting facility’s total footprint — the most polluted portion — is incorporated in the Superfund site. Developers have big plans for other areas of the site outside the official Superfund boundary. A 78-acre parcel area south of Aluminum Drive called Teakettle Heights is slated for a 421-unit residential development that would include a mix of apartments, townhomes and single family homes.

WYOMING

Voters back keeping public lands

CHEYENNE — More than nine in 10 Wyoming voters oppose selling federally managed public lands and say they would be less likely to support elected officials who back such proposals, according to a new statewide poll released by the Keep It Public, Wyoming coalition.

The survey, which was conducted July 27-29 by polling firm Cygnal, found that approximately 91% of likely Wyoming primary and general election voters support keeping federally managed public lands in public hands and managed for multiple uses, while 6% support selling them.

The poll surveyed 450 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.61%, said Chris Lane, senior partner at Cygnal.

He said the firm used phone calls, text messages and online surveys to reach a sample that reflected Wyoming’s electorate.

“Opposition to public lands sell-offs cuts heavily across political lines, bringing together outdoor enthusiasts, hunters, ranchers, local business leaders and conservationists across Wyoming,” Lane said in the release.

Nearly half of Wyoming is federally managed public land administered by agencies that include the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and National Park Service. The land supports hunting, fishing, grazing, mining, energy production and outdoor recreation.

Lane said in an online news conference that public lands ranked as Wyoming voters’ second-highest priority — behind inflation and the cost of living — when considering candidates in the Aug. 18 primary election.

The survey found that approximately 79% of respondents would be less likely to support an elected official who is in support of selling or transferring public lands, compared with 8% who said they would be more likely to support this candidate.