EJIDOJOHNSON,Mexico- Environmentalists in the U.S. and Mexico have formed a coalition of eight wildlife groups to draw attention to the situation at the Colorado River delta. The area, which was once green and fertile, has become largely a parched barren. Most native wildlife has either perished or moved on, and several communities have been destroyed by lack of water as well.

Since most of the river's water is used north of the U.S. border for farms and cities, there isn't much left by the time it reaches the delta, about 50 miles south of the border. A current law suit filed by environmental groups against the U.S. Interior Department seeks to augment water rights among U.S. communities in order to set aside a portion for the threatened wildlife in the delta area.

Environmentalist activists are seeking to alter the Endangered Species Act so that it includes threatened habitats just outside of U.S. borders. They say that the U.S., which consumes 90 percent of the Colorado River's water, is legally obligated to make sure some fresh water reaches the sea, nurturing wildlife along the way.

The 3,000-square-mile delta includes a half-dozen wetlands fed by wastewater from agricultural sites, and a few groves of trees. As recently as 50 years ago, the area was home to millions of clams, now only a few left. A recent study found that more than 160,000 shorebirds and 60,000 waterfowl still inhabit the dying area.

For more information contact Defenders of Wildlife at (202) 682-9400 or visit www.defenders.org.