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

State looking to oppose White River storage project in water court

For more than 4½ years, state engineers in Colorado have expressed concerns that a conservancy district has not proven there is a need for the water, which would be stored in the proposed White River reservoir and dam project.

Degrees of warming: Rising temperatures, shorter winters and a declining snowpack are impacting Aspen’s...

Pitkin County is warming, the number of frost-free days is increasing and snowpack is declining—all of which have myriad impacts on life in the Aspen area.

Aspen’s rich history of befouling the Roaring Fork River

As Aspen evolved from a bucolic high-mountain meadow to an industrial city, pollution began to flow directly into the Roaring Fork River and its tributaries.

States, Congress, Trump okay $156M to extend innovative Platte River recovery program

After a year of anxious waiting, scientists and researchers who’ve helped build one of the most successful species recovery programs in the nation have gotten a 13-year extension to finish their work.
video still

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...

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.

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.

Anger and disappointment as Yampa River ranchers ordered to measure water

Hundreds of ranchers in the Yampa Valley have ignored a state request to begin measuring the water they use, putting them on a collision course with regulators if they don’t relent.