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

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.

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.
The confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers in the Grand Canyon, shown here in a September 2020 aerial photo from Ecoflight, represents an area where the humpback chub has rebounded in the last decade. That progress is now threatened by declining water levels in Lake Powell, which could lead to non-native smallmouth bass becoming established in the canyon. CREDIT: JANE PARGITER/ECOFLIGHT

Declining levels at Lake Powell increase risk to humpback chub downstream

Low levels and warming waters threaten to increase invasive species in the Colorado River.
Beach at Barr Lake, where agencies are working to remove toxic algae. May 31, 2022. Credit: Jerd Smith, Fresh Water News

Heading to the lake? Colorado trying new tools, including P-Free lawns, to combat toxic...

Colorado water officials hope to combat algae blooms caused by rising temperatures and an increased use of phosphorus-laced lawn fertilizers.

The Los Angeles River’s overlooked anglers

Unhoused Angelenos use the urban river as a source of sustenance, but a proposal to revitalize the waterway could push them out.

Alternative plan to Wild and Scenic River designation for upper Colorado River OK’d

The alternative management planning process came about after the BLM in 2007 found that 54 miles of the upper Colorado River were eligible for a federal Wild and Scenic River designation.

Garfield County to lease its Ruedi Reservoir water to help endangered fish in Colorado...

The move is meant to help humpback chub, bonytail, razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow in an often-depleted section of the Colorado River.
Arizona Public Media

Video: The vanishing vaquita

Should Colorado River water be used to grow alfalfa or subdivisions in the Phoenix metropolitan area?