More Than 80 Join Cortez ICE Out Protest; January Moisture Below Normal

More than 80 people stood along Cortez’s Main Street on Saturday as part of a nationwide ICE Out protest against aggressive immigration enforcement, Gail Binkly reported. The downtown rally was one of a string of regional demonstrations: similar demonstrations took place Friday and Saturday in a number of places around the region, including Durango, Grand Junction, Moab, Utah; and Farmington, New Mexico.

The Cortez event saw peaceful interaction between demonstrators and a small number of opponents. There were a couple of counter-protesters at the rally in Cortez who carried signs saying "Keep America Safe" and "Deter, Detain, Deport." The turnout on Main Street highlights active civic engagement in Dolores County on national policy matters and signals sustained local attention to how federal immigration enforcement plays out in smaller communities.

Local climate and water data paint a different, but equally consequential, picture for the town. KSJD reported that little moisture fell from the sky in January. In Cortez, the month’s precipitation of two-thirds of an inch amounted to just 63 percent of the normal amount. That follows a year in which Cortez received 90 percent of its 30-year average moisture.

Snowpacks across the region are also low. Snowpacks around the state are low. Snotel, or snow water equivalent, readings show the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan basin was at 50 percent of its 1991-2020 median as of Jan. 30. Warmer-than-normal temperatures are not helping the snowpacks. In an email, local weather observer James Andrus said, “If the Long Dry continues, even agnostics and atheists may pray for rain and snow. We need all the help we can get.”

Lower January precipitation and a Snotel basin at half of its median level as of Jan. 30 together suggest a tighter spring runoff outlook than residents and municipal managers would prefer. Reduced snow water equivalent can translate into lower reservoir inflows, constraints for irrigated acres and ranch operations, and a prolonged season of dry fuels that elevate wildfire risk. Those outcomes would affect household water planning, local agriculture and county-level emergency management budgets.

The coincidence of visible public protest and waning moisture underscores two strains of local concern: active civic debate over federal policy and practical anxieties about natural resources that underpin local livelihoods. Town leaders, water managers and county officials will be watching Snotel trends and monthly precipitation reports as they prepare for irrigation season and wildfire season planning. For residents, the coming weeks will bring clearer indications of whether the Long Dry eases or intensifies, and continued community discussion over enforcement policy and local responses is likely to follow.