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

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...

The driest year revisited: Five takeaways from 2002 for today’s Colorado River

The Colorado River basin has been here before.  This year’s historic winter of low snow might feel novel. But recent years give some insight into just how dry the West’s...

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...
A welcome sign in Price reminds residents to save water, Sept. 30, 2025. Consistent messaging is likely one of the reasons Carbon County has become a leading county for conservation in Utah.

Utah has county-by-county water goals. Which ones are hitting them?

One size fits all. That’s great for hats in the Zion National Park gift shop but not for water conservation goals. So at the start of this decade — and...

Rainfall brings Colorado River drought relief, but concerns for next year’s water supply remain

Heavy autumn rains brought relief to drought-plagued portions of the Southwest, but across the Colorado River basin ongoing water supply concerns still linger amid tense policy negotiations and near...

Using less of the Colorado River takes a willing farmer and $45 million in...

Wyoming native Leslie Hagenstein lives on the ranch where she grew up and remembers her grandmother and father delivering milk in glass bottles from the family’s Mount Airy Dairy. The...

Photos and videos: San Juan River, Utah, September 2023

This page in our free multimedia library features photos and videos of the San Juan River, near Mexican Hat, Utah. The San Juan is an important tributary of the Colorado...

Utah’s Suicide Pact With the Fossil Fuel Industry

The state’s fixation on oil and gas development threatens the Colorado River watershed.

Photos: Hite Marina and Lake Powell, October 2022

This page features aerial photos of Hite Marina, the Hite Crossing Bridge, and Lake Powell in southeast Utah. Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the nation by capacity and...