Glen Canyon Dam faces its existential moment
PAGE, Ariz. – In the span of U.S. history certain years are turning points, milestones in the nation’s story. 1776. 1865. 1929. 1968. Circumstance and consequence conspire to make...
Colorado River emergency actions leave root causes of crisis unaddressed
On April 17, the federal government ordered emergency measures to prevent water levels at Lake Powell from falling so low that Glen Canyon Dam, which created the reservoir, could...
A record warm winter could send Lake Powell to a historic low. Flaming Gorge...
A cream-colored band lines the orange sandstone walls that rise above the blue-green waters of Lake Powell. The so-called “bathtub rings,” these chalky layers remind boaters zooming across the...
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...
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...
Trees keep a record of Colorado’s Crystal River. Researchers say that story could help...
Tree rings can tell a story. Wide bands signal a wet period, while narrow ones show a drought. Whole ecosystems can be encoded in trees. In Western Colorado, scientists...
Zebra mussels threaten infrastructure and native ecosystems. Colorado is ramping up efforts to detect...
On a bluebird day at West and East Lake in Grand Junction, Maddie Baker throws a plankton tow net into the water, and drags it back to her.
“This is...
With wildfire-prevention work, Flagstaff seeks to avoid the next devastating flood
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Five large wildfires have burned tens of thousands of acres in the forests around this northern Arizona city in the last 15 years. Monsoon floods after...
As flames scorch western forests, Flagstaff area offers roadmap for post-wildfire flood prevention
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – In July 2022, for the second time in a month, the landscape above the Wupatki Trails neighborhood took a beating.
The first blow was the Pipeline Fire,...
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...