An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder

Site Features

5 essential reads about snow and ice

With winter underway, learn more about the science behind ice and snow.

Counterfeits hit home: consumers are being foiled by fake water filters

Refrigerator filters are an attractive target for counterfeiters, who may also be putting consumers at risk by selling filters that are not merely ineffective, but unsafe.
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Video story: When in drought, call the beavers

Beaver reintroduction and restoration can help with some of the West's most profound water problems, both in terms of quantity and quality. A trial program is underway at Caribou Ranch in Boulder County.

The value of water

With population growth around Denver prompting fierce competition for water, investors want to import a new supply from the San Luis Valley, but many farmers and ranchers who depend...

Cooling the river

As climate change brings warmer weather, Westerners are looking for ways to protect the region's rivers and streams. In a special report for The Water Desk, Jerd Smith of...

As the Salton Sea shrinks, it leaves behind a toxic reminder of the cost...

Scientists fear that eventually the toxic residue of more than a century of agricultural runoff will be blown into the air — and into the lungs of residents.

Video story: Cooling the Yampa river (full length)

As climate change brings warmer weather, Westerners are looking for ways to protect the region’s rivers and streams. In a special report for the Water Desk, Jerd Smith of Fresh Water News explains a strategy for safeguarding Colorado’s Yampa River.

Small farmers wait for California’s groundwater hammer to fall

Farmers, large and small, are beginning to grapple with what the state’s first major groundwater regulation means for them.
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Can a grand vision or incremental change solve the Colorado River's challenges?

With talks looming on a new operating agreement for the river, a debate has emerged over the best approach to address its challenges.

Northwest Colorado ranchers grapple with state requirements to measure, record water use

Irrigators in Northwest Colorado are facing a sea change in how they use their water, and many ranchers are greeting such a shift with reluctance and suspicion.