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

Colorado River Econ 101

By Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler From the high country in Rocky Mountain National Park a muddy flush of water rushes downstream, through western Colorado. It turns left, going south...

Climate change reducing Colorado River runoff

By Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler By mid-century, annual runoff into the Colorado River could be reduced by nearly a third as declining snowpack leads to greater evaporation of snowmelt,...

Not enough water and too many invasives at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Years of drought, upstream diversions and impoundments, and an overly optimistic forecast of Colorado River flows, have sapped the river once literally called Grand.

How climate change is redesigning Canyonlands National Park

A warming climate has been linked to human activity around the world, and has affected the Colorado River System as well. The impacts are substantial, from reduced water flows, threats to indigenous species and the influx of new invasive species along the river system.

Praying for rain

The Zuni tribe's homeland is one of the most parched sections of the country. The tribe has already declared three drought emergencies in the last 15 years. Will it survive the next one?

Questions simmer about Lake Powell’s future as drought, climate change point to a drier...

Lake Powell faces demands from stakeholders with different water needs as runoff is forecast to decline due to warmer, drier conditions.

Thirsty future for American West, as “megadrought” grips some of the fastest-growing U.S. cities

By Alexandra Tempus, Fair Warning In 2002, Utah was reeling from four years of dry conditions that turned the state “into a parched tinderbox,’’ as the Associated Press reported at...
Sunrise at Lake Powell. Photo: Adobe Stock

Colorado River drought study advances as participants call for fairness between cities, ranches

Can Colorado find a fair way to set aside as much as 500,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell to protect the state from future drought?
Video story: The value of water

Video story: The value of water (full length)

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 on that water are opposed to the plan.