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

A view of the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell photo

As Lake Powell dries up, the US turns to creative accounting for a short-term...

A new agreement calls for Western states to leave their drinking water in the reservoir — and act as if they didn't.

Two pumped water storage projects move forward in Colorado

Two proposed pumped water storage projects that could expand Colorado’s ability to store renewable energy are moving forward.
Drought at Little Bear Ranch photo

Back-to-back droughts choke Western Colorado as winter forecast darkens

A repeat of dry conditions in 2021 is making Colorado’s continuing drought across swaths of the state’s Western Slope even more devastating.

Video: Five years after the Gold King Mine spill

Environmental correspondent Laura Paskus revisits the Gold King Mine spill and the destructive impact of the toxic orange plume that went flowing down the Animas and San Juan rivers five years ago.

Hundreds of comments submitted over Holy Cross Wilderness water export proposal

Forty years after the Holy Cross Wilderness Area was created, an effort to explore tapping its water has generated more than 500 public comments.

Q&A: Defining the “snow deluge” and projecting its future

Scientist Adrienne Marshall explains why these extreme snow years are expected to decline in our warming world.

San Luis Valley ranchers see dividends in water for fish. Are they on to...

A farmer and environmentalist formed an unlikely partnership to improve fish habitat in the San Luis Valley.

Map: Winter photo galleries

Use this interactive map to browse photos and videos taken in wintertime from our expanding collection of free-to-use media captured by drones, planes and ground-based photographers.
The Colorado River delta in Baja California is a mosaic of old river channels, tidal salt flats, and runoff from agricultural fields to the north. PHOTO BY TED WOOD

Crisis on the Colorado Part V: Bringing New Life to a Stressed River

The Colorado River has been dammed, diverted, and slowed by reservoirs, strangling the life out of a once-thriving ecosystem. But in the U.S. and Mexico, efforts are underway to revive sections of the river and restore vital riparian habitat for native plants, fish, and wildlife.

Local groups voice renewed interest in Crystal River Wild & Scenic designation

Residents of Colorado's Crystal River valley are reviving efforts to protect the upper portion of the river through a federal designation.