How New Mexico learned to love its ephemeral waters
In 2004, Michael and Chantell Sackett purchased a plot of land near Priest Lake, Idaho, in the picturesque northern reaches of the state’s panhandle. On one side of their...
Western U.S. snowpack is worth trillions of dollars
Putting a price tag on the water stored in the region’s high-elevation frozen reservoir
As deal deadline approaches, Colorado River stewards debate a broad range of options
It’s crunch time for negotiators from seven western states trying to strike a deal before Feb. 14 on how to share the dwindling Colorado River.
But four days of talks...
Low reservoir levels main cause of toxic algae in Blue Mesa
More releases to prop up Lake Powell could be coming
Colorado River experts say some management options don’t go far enough to address scarcity,...
Feds release draft report on how to share shrinking river
Massive energy storage project eyed for Four Corners region
BECLABITO, N.M. – Standing in a breezy parking lot on Navajo land in the state’s far northwest corner, Tom Taylor looked toward the western horizon and then upwards at...
Climate change makes snowmaking a necessity, not a backup, for the West’s ski resorts
As guests ski and ride down Schoomarm, a stretch of beginner-friendly terrain at Keystone Resort in Colorado, they are treated to views of Dillon Reservoir nearly the whole way...
Scientists clash over how to track the West’s vital snowpack
Supporters of airborne snow surveys dispute “hotspots” study on water forecasts
Utah has county-by-county water goals. Which ones are hitting them?
One size fits all. That’s great for hats in the Zion National Park gift shop but not for water conservation goals.
So at the start of this decade — and...
In burned forests, the West’s snowpack is melting earlier
As blazes expand to higher elevations, the impacts cascade downstream