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

Indigenous youths finish historic journey down Klamath River after dams removed

KLAMATH, Calif. — In a thick forest along the remote northern California coast earlier this month, a group of mostly young Indigenous kayakers pushed off into the clear-emerald waters...

As Gross Reservoir rises, Boulder County residents grapple with project’s legal turmoil

Pieter Strauss used to love hosting stargazing parties at his house in the Lakeshore Park neighborhood up Flagstaff Road southwest of Boulder. The hobbyist astronomer would fire up the...

Wyoming’s crowded Lonesome Lake tops EPA’s national survey for fecal contamination

LONESOME LAKE, WYOMING—Whit Coleman belly flopped with style into some of Wyoming’s most famous alpine waters on a summer day. Out on a father-son backpacking trip with friends, the Salt...

Once a showcase of American optimism and engineering, Hoover Dam faces new power generation...

The long-term drying of the American Southwest poses a gathering and measurable threat to hydropower generation in the Colorado River basin. Should Lake Mead, the reservoir formed by Hoover Dam,...

Q&A: Snow droughts imperil the American West’s water supply

A lack of snow impacts the West’s water resources, wildfire risk, recreational activities and ecosystem health.

When flows are low, river recreators seek out new allies and avoid making enemies

What used to be a calm stretch of the Yampa River near Craig, Colorado, now boasts a new set of rollicking whitewater rapids.  They’re not the result of some new...

Colorado communities have spent millions of dollars on whitewater parks. Are they worthwhile?

There’s an old catchphrase that Colorado kayak park proponents used in the early 2000s to sell the idea that keeping water in streams mattered just as much as water...

Colorado has unique protections for river recreation, but do they have enough legal muscle?

David Hajoglou sat on the rocks next to a rushing stretch of river in Golden, Colorado. As he scouted a kayak route through the riffles and waves, he thought...

Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack

Extraterrestrial particles offer insights into Earth’s mountain water towers

Taking stock of the spring snowpack

Maps and charts visualize conditions at the April 1 milestone