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

Colorado River crisis — How did the nation’s two largest reservoirs nearly go dry?

Experts cite complicated operating systems, competing government agencies, rigid guidelines and climate change

The Supreme Court just shriveled federal protection for wetlands, leaving many of these valuable...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that protection of wetlands encompasses only wetlands that adjoin rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.

Utah’s Suicide Pact With the Fossil Fuel Industry

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

The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

Five articles from The Conversation’s archive explain what’s happening and what’s at stake in the Colorado River basin’s drought crisis.

Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look

Even a deep snowpack in the West likely won't be enough to end the drought.

As climate change and overuse shrink Lake Powell, the emergent landscape is coming back...

Lake Powell’s decline offers an opportunity to recover the landscape at Glen Canyon, but it also presents serious challenges.

A Colorado River flows drop and tensions rise, water interests struggle to find solutions...

Experts warn that climate change has rendered old assumptions outdated about what the Colorado River can provide, leaving painful water cuts as the only way forward.

Can the Ancient Humpback Chub Hang On in Today’s Grand Canyon?

It has survived invasive predators, too-cold water, poisoning, electro-shocks, and a ginormous dam. Still, the chub persists.

A Colorado River veteran moves upstream and plunges into the drought-stressed river’s mounting woes

Chuck Cullom discusses the Upper Basin's five-point plan, water cut-offs and who IS responsible for water losses.

The Colorado River Is Dying. Can Its Aquatic Dinosaurs Be Saved?

The razorback sucker has survived in the river for more than 3 million years. Climate change could end that.