The federal government awarded $4.25 million to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe this week to defend tribal water resources from climate-related challenges.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Community Resilience branch distributed grants to 124 projects nationwide, with funding pooled from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2024 federal budget.

“Indigenous communities face unique and intensifying climate-related challenges that pose an existential threat to Tribal economies, infrastructure, lives and livelihoods,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement.

Across the state, warming fueled by climate change is ratcheting up average temperatures, which can lead to drought conditions. South-central and Southwest Colorado – where the Southern Ute Indian Reservation is located – have seen the largest temperature increases statewide, according to Colorado State University’s 2024 State of the Climate report.

Spring rain in Southwest Colorado has also decreased by over 20% compared with 1951-2000, according to the report.

The federal funding will support two projects to restore the ecology of waterways on the reservation and fortify irrigation systems.

A $250,000 grant will support the tribe’s environmental programs department to assess, and eventually restore, the Pine River watershed, which is facing effects from drought and sediment pollution. The funding will allow the tribe to undertake a detailed assessment and devise a treatment plan for several waterways.

Another $4 million grant to the tribe’s water resources division will shore up an irrigation system that delivers water to around 4,000 acres. The funding will allow the tribe to replace old infrastructure and construct new weirs – or low barriers built across waterways – on seven sites on the Pine River canal.

The goal is to help the tribe maintain consistent water levels for irrigation, even as a lack of rain and increased evaporation dip into water supplies.

“The Southern Ute Indian Reservation is not exempt from the impacts of climate change,” said Southern Ute Indian Tribe Executive Officer Lindsay J. Box in a statement. “The tribe will ensure the funding is used effectively for critical water delivery infrastructure and restoration and conservation projects that align with our role as natural resource stewards and wildlife protectors.”

The funding caps off more than $560 million delivered for tribal climate resilience programs during the Biden-Harris administration. It’s unclear whether future funding will continue, however – President-elect Donald Trump has said he would rescind any remaining funds from the inflation law once in office.

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