Agency contractors were excavating debris at the old mining site when the river flooded with wastewater.
Rivers & Lakes
Posted inArticles
How to share a dammed river
Boaters are joining wildlife advocates, farmers and power companies to parcel out each cubic foot of Western rivers.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Will a Colorado compromise end a water tug-of-war?
A controversial deal for diverting water across the Rockies faces scrutiny.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Latest: California moves ahead on Bay Delta tunnels plan
Governor Jerry Brown wants to secure water for the drought, but will it leave enough for wildlife?
Posted inJuly 25, 2016: Salmon Power
New measures could reduce Glen Canyon Dam’s impact on the Grand Canyon — a bit
As long as the dam remains in place, impacts are inevitable.
Posted inJuly 25, 2016: Salmon Power
Salmon power
A historic legal victory could give Alaska tribes more control over their fish, wildlife and homelands.
Posted inJuly 25, 2016: Salmon Power
Latest: EPA won’t regulate logging road runoff
EPA says the Clean Water Act is enough to ensure stream health.
Posted inJune 27, 2016: The New Advocates
The grand plan to save the Yellowstone River
Can one man’s pie-in-the-sky idea save one of the West’s most iconic and underloved rivers?
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
When water turns to dust
In Oregon, a cluster of lakes is drying up — with dire impacts for the millions of migrating birds that survive off them.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Latest: Columbia River salmon recovery plan invalidated
It was the fifth to be struck down by the courts.
Posted inArticles
After years of drought and overuse, the San Luis Valley aquifer refills
How an over-taxed basin is getting its water use under control.
Posted inArticles
Will the feds change course on Columbia River management?
In May, a judge struck down a fifth plan — and demanded a new approach.
Posted inArticles
Note to politicians: Don’t mess with fishing access in Montana
A candidate for governor is drawing heat over revelations that he sued to close river access on the Gallatin River.
Posted inMay 16, 2016: Grizzly Face-Off
West Coast cities sue Monsanto to pay for chemical cleanup
Cities take a new tack to fight pollutants: targeting companies who make them.
Posted inArticles
Glacier National Park reshuffles native trout
The move will protect species at risk from climate change and invasive fish in new habitats.
Posted inArticles
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
Silverton’s Gold King reckoning
How the Animas River disaster forced Silverton to face its pollution problem — and its destiny.
Posted inArticles
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.
Posted inArticles
National Park Service chief expands sexual harassment probe
Upcoming survey to determine if misconduct at the Grand Canyon represents a widespread problem.
Posted inArticles
A new Klamath water deal emerges, but unease persists
Agreement picks up the pieces of the failed landmark accords.