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In a Time of Crisis, the U.S. and Mexico Renew Their Commitment to the Colorado River
Minute 334 extends a partnership that shares water shortages while protecting bird habitat and communities across the basin.
Today, the United States and Mexico signed an important Colorado River Treaty agreement known as Minute 334, extending the modern, collaborative binational relationship through 2028. This is good news, as it upholds cooperation between the two countries as Colorado River water supplies have reached record lows: Minute 334 ensures that Mexico and the United States will share equitably in Colorado River water shortages. The more water users that share in Colorado River water shortages, the less the burden of those shortages on any one user, sector, or geography. The two-year term of the agreement aligns with the cadence of U.S. domestic decisions about Colorado River management under new operational guidelines.
Like recent agreements including Minute 319 (2012) and Minute 323 (2017), the terms of Minute 334 are broad. Notably, it includes commitments to provide more than $5 million for an environmental program over two years, shared equally by the federal governments of the United States, Mexico, and a binational coalition of NGOs, known as Raise the River, which includes Audubon.
Minute 334 ensures stewardship of more than 1300 acres of high quality, restored habitat in the Colorado River Delta, where the Colorado River has not flowed regularly for more than half a century. Located on the Colorado River’s banks, these acres have been painstakingly restored by Raise the River partners in Mexico, transforming the landscape into a forest of native trees like cottonwoods and willows, creating a haven for birds. Audubon’s own science shows that the Colorado River Delta has outsized importance for migrating birds—tens of millions of birds pass through these migration bottlenecks. In the spring, more than 27 percent of North America’s Tree Swallows migrate through the Delta.
Minute 334 also includes a robust monitoring and science program to support adaptive management of those habitats. Raise the River will continue to use water rights held by the Colorado River Delta Water Trust to ensure these habitats remain healthy. Through Minute 334, the United States and Mexico will support Raise the River’s efforts to help sustain vital habitat for hundreds of bird species that rely on these areas, including Soras, Audubon’s Warblers, and Vermilion Flycatchers.
The Colorado River is in crisis, the result of more than two decades of drought and climate change-driven high temperatures impacting an over-allocated water supply, resulting in record low reservoir storage. With the aim of stabilizing reservoir storage, Colorado River water shortages in both Mexico and the United States will be significant in 2027 and beyond. Audubon continues to call attention to water conservation, flexible water management options, and the need for new funding investments in decisions on the Colorado River. Partners in Raise the River are working with more than 70 Mexicali Valley farms to demonstrate agricultural production that reduces water use and improves soil health while ensuring farm economics continue to benefit producers.
Audubon, in partnership with Raise the River, is proud to be part of Minute 334, and of solutions for people and nature in the Colorado River Basin.