Something odd happened in Austin, Texas last week. It rained. But the relief, an answer to desperate prayers, is likely to be short-lived. The drought that has gripped much of Texas since the fall of 2010 shows few signs of abating soon.

The state of Texas recently filed suit against New Mexico over Rio Grande Compact disputes, with Colorado brought into the fray as a result. The suit, filed in U.S. Supreme Court in January, alleges New Mexico is not delivering to Texas the water owed that state under a multi-state 1938 Rio Grande Compact, which also includes Colorado. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein said, “It is unfortunate that we have had to resort to legal action, but negotiations with New Mexico have been unsuccessful, and Texas is not getting the water that it is allocated and legally entitled to.” Rubinstein alleged New Mexico was trying to circumvent and ignore the compact, and by filing suit against New Mexico, Texas was attempting to rectify alleged harm New Mexico had caused Texas water users.

Pending litigation aside, representatives from the three Rio Grande Compact states united yesterday in their joint concern over continued drought along the Rio Grande corridor. Alamosa hosted the annual Rio Grande Compact Commission meeting, which rotates among the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

Monarch butterflies -- one of the sure signs of spring and summer -- may not be as plentiful this year across the USA, in part because of the ongoing drought and recent wildfires in Texas that ravaged their food sources. The butterflies usually fly north across Texas this time of year, as they migrate from Mexico into the USA.

A federal judge ordered Texas officials to allocate water supplies to meet the needs of what is believed to be the world's last wild flock of endangered whooping cranes.

The muddy Rio Grande isn't much to look at as it meanders through southern New Mexico to the Texas border, but its waters are a high-stakes prize in a new legal row unfolding between the neighboring states. This month, Texas asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its complaint that New Mexico has been diverting water it is obligated to send downstream under the 75-year-old Rio Grande Compact.