Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Colorado River
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
Who controls food in the West?
Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
Flow like the San Juan
If western rivers have been recognized as legal persons, they must be queer and disabled persons.
Posted inArticles
Supreme Court puts Utah’s oil train back on the rails
The 8-0 decision overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals decision that the project’s environmental impact statement was insufficient.
Posted inArticles
Trump administration plans Endangered Species Act rollback
Revisions to the law center on ‘harm,’ which would allow far more mining, drilling and other development that threatens critical habitat.
Posted inArticles
NOAA issues critical drought warnings during cuts to agency
The embattled agency continues to disseminate crucial updates in a hostile political environment.
Posted inArticles
The Biden administration weighs in on Colorado River management
Amid mounting drought, changing federal leadership and stalled state negotiations, new federal proposals aim to chart a forward path.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
What happens when a concrete jungle becomes a ‘sponge city’
Engineering for flood resilience can address storms heightened by climate change.
Posted inArticles
Utah wants your public land — for more roads
The state wants to build a highway through tortoise habitat.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods
A silicon revival in the West
Is the region ready to produce the world’s most advanced technology?
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
Water inequality on the Colorado River
A new accounting reveals deep disparities in Western water consumption.
Posted inArticles
Lake Mead’s illegal road network is growing
People have created hundreds of miles of unofficial roads trying to reach the water as levels decline. Federal officials want funds to address the issue.
Posted inArticles
Caminos ilegales alrededor del Lago Mead plantean nuevo peligro para el medio ambiente
La gente ha creado caminos no oficiales para llegar al agua a medida que los niveles disminuyen. Funcionarios quieren fondos para atender el problema.
Posted inArticles
Cattle are drinking the Colorado River dry
Balancing Western water demand and supply will alter the region’s landscape.
Posted inArticles
A cartography of loss in the Borderlands
Mexicali’s Colorado River Family Album documents what is no more.
Posted inArticles
Stories that made us green with envy in 2023
A roundup of the articles we wish we’d written ourselves this past year.
Posted inArticles
Remove dams to fight the climate crisis
Ten reasons bringing down these barriers are key for mitigation and adaptation.
Posted inArticles
What the fed’s new proposal for management of Colorado River reservoirs means
Lake Powell and Lake Mead remain historically low, but modeling shows risk of crisis levels has lessened over the next three years.
Posted inNovember 1, 2023: November 1, 2023
How Green River celebrates its melon farmers
Thousands turn out for Melon Days, but the future looks uncertain.