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...
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...
Human emissions are helping fuel the Southwest’s epic drought
Three studies of the Pacific Ocean conclude that lower precipitation isn’t just due to natural causes
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...
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...
As Gross Reservoir rises, Boulder County residents grapple with project’s legal turmoil
Pieter Strauss used to love hosting stargazing parties at his house in the Lakeshore Park neighborhood up Flagstaff Road southwest of Boulder. The hobbyist astronomer would fire up the...
When flows are low, river recreators seek out new allies and avoid making enemies
What used to be a calm stretch of the Yampa River near Craig, Colorado, now boasts a new set of rollicking whitewater rapids.
They’re not the result of some new...
Colorado communities have spent millions of dollars on whitewater parks. Are they worthwhile?
There’s an old catchphrase that Colorado kayak park proponents used in the early 2000s to sell the idea that keeping water in streams mattered just as much as water...
Dwindling water supply, legal questions push Colorado River into ‘wildly uncharted territory’
Time is ticking for states that share the shrinking Colorado River to negotiate a new set of governing rules. One major sticking point, which has the potential to thrust...
Farmers use the majority of Colorado’s water. Shouldn’t they bear the burden of future...
You’ve heard the news: Farmers and ranchers use roughly 80% of the water in Colorado and much of the American West.
So doesn’t it make sense that if growers and...