‘It’s devastating’: Drawdown at Flaming Gorge hits local recreation economy
As campers with boats flocked to Buckboard Marina at the start of Memorial Day weekend, Tony Valdez was busy issuing refunds and repairing broken boat ramps. One older Green...
As Lake Powell drops, a thriving ecosystem is emerging
“We’re entering beaver land!” Zanna Stutz yelled joyfully.
Stepping lightly over slick, wobbly mud and splashing through ankle-deep water, she approached a small dam created by nature’s engineers.
A Woodhouse toad...
Hoover Dam approaches a hydropower cliff
Some day in the next 12 months – maybe in late-August, maybe not until next spring – Lake Mead will drop below the critical threshold of 1,035 feet above...
‘It’s a different lake now’: As Lake Powell drops, an iconic marina chases deeper...
Titus Crawford spent four days calling Lake Powell boaters this spring. After a record low snowpack and off-the-charts March heat, the reservoir was on track to dip so low...
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...