A conservative legal foundation fears its winning streak may be over.
Rivers & Lakes
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On the Klamath, a surprising win for river advocates
Dam removals on the Oregon-California border move forward without water deals for irrigators.
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Montana tribe’s water deal clears major Senate milestone
Blackfeet have waited decades to resolve their water claims but Congress is in no hurry.
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Grand Canyon park’s 15-year failure on sexual harassment
Interior Department investigation shows a history of harassment, hostility and retaliation.
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How to shelter mountain streams in a changing world
Can cold waters protect native fish from the worst of climate change?
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Which stories held your attention this year?
From the Animas to Washington wildfire, here are the stories that our readers spent most time on in 2015.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
Latest: Gila River diversion inches forward
The project will start environment reviews, but it’s far from a done deal.
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It’s time to let Lake Powell go
In today’s ‘new normal,’ there is simply not enough water to maintain both Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
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States lack rules for radioactive drilling waste disposal
New report calls for stronger regulation to protect human health and water quality.
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
The tenuous revival of Mono Lake
Its defenders won a long fight over water with Los Angeles. Now, drought is raising new questions about its future.
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
Water hustle
Did one of Nevada’s top water regulators try to cash in on the drought?
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Among those who fish the polluted Duwamish, a divide between haves and have-nots
We pull off the highway into a gritty-looking industrial park less than 100 yards from the road and snap our rods together. It’s just a few steps down the banks to this Seattle river where we can see the silver bellies of the pink salmon flipping in the current, slinging themselves upstream. We tie lures […]
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Raw manure, public water and a failed crackdown: the case of Snydar Farm
Washington’s Dept. of Ecology appears hesitant and often barred from regulating agriculture.
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To save Washington’s Yakima Basin fish, just add water
A drought plan in one of the West’s most forward-thinking watersheds reconciles salmon and agriculture.
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Why are the feds sticking with a racist name for a Washington lake?
Update from HCN staff, Oct. 23, 2015: Two days after this piece was published, the National Park Service reversed its decision and recommended that the U.S. Board of Geographic Names change the name of Coon Lake to Howard Lake, Glenn Nelson reports. “We recognize that our previous decision on this issue overlooked relevant information, and […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
The Colorado River’s desalination plant is on its last legs
The obscure Paradox Valley Unit keeps the Colorado River’s salinity levels in check for farmers, but causes quakes upstream.
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Groups sue Wyoming over ‘data trespassing’ law
The laws make it a crime to collect data on open land if the collector lacks certain permissions.
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Can herbicides keep Tahoe blue?
A new chemical weed management plan has the lake’s water suppliers nervous.
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Why Silverton still doesn’t want a Superfund site
A polluted Colorado town wants to clean up on its own terms. But it’s been saying that for years.
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Invasive crayfish in Oregon devastate native newts
At Crater Lake, the National Park Service is seeking solutions — but it could be too late.