USGS now says the region has the nation’s second-largest reserves, but a flush market means little will change for now.
Colorado
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Canadians’ bad behavior, a cat-lover’s nightmare and gun-toting steeds
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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Searching for solutions in the changing rural West
A new project looks to answer how small towns can survive a new era.
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After years of drought and overuse, the San Luis Valley aquifer refills
How an over-taxed basin is getting its water use under control.
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Can a ranch sawmill improve forest health in rural Colorado?
Cutting timber on a billionaire’s land could boost the San Luis Valley’s economy.
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How rural New Mexico shares water during drought
Centuries-old traditions offer guidance for water managers seeking resilience in an uncertain future.
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New Mexico sues EPA and others over Gold King disaster
The suit is the first blow in what is likely to be a long legal fracas.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Latest: After 26 years, a settlement over Rocky Flats plutonium contamination
The site near Denver was once home to a nuclear weapons plant.
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Science education program teaches impacts of fossil fuels at their source
In Colorado’s oil- and gas-producing counties, science teachers broach a thorny subject in their own backyard.
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Protests against drilling on public lands are escalating
In Colorado, another showdown at a government auction for oil and gas leases.
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Video: Coal industry downturn rocks a Colorado mountain town
Former miners watch an iconic silo crumble, and discuss what it means for their community.
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As Lake Mead sinks, states agree to more drastic water cuts
California, Arizona and Nevada are back in negotiations about the dwindling Colorado River water supply.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Gnome sharpshooting, satanic texts in schools, and coal bonuses
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Meet one of the great forgotten Western painters
Frank Mechau, who died in 1946 at age 42, saw the West through an unusual lens.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Silverton’s Gold King reckoning
How the Animas River disaster forced Silverton to face its pollution problem — and its destiny.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
A Gold King Mine Timeline
A tangled history of profit, tragedy and unfulfilled dreams.
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Thousands of fish die in Colorado, amid flood recovery projects
Concrete used to rebuild bridges on the Front Range appears to be the culprit for the deaths of 5,600 trout and other fish.
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Can food hubs boost rural farming economies?
The Department of Agriculture is funding new initiatives to streamline local food systems.
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Pain pill addiction has helped precipitate a rise in heroin abuse West-wide
Near Sacramento, California, nearly a dozen people died from opioids in recent weeks.
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On becoming reacquainted with sandhill cranes
I’m on my way south to chase the first harbingers of spring in our High Plains desert home.