Frozen rivers are vital transportation routes for communities outside the state’s traditional road system.
Rivers & Lakes
Posted inArticles
The West’s salt lakes are turning to dust. Can Congress help?
A new research and monitoring program aims to conserve threatened but overlooked saline ecosystems.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2023: Ripple Effects
Can dam removal save the Snake River?
See the river as the climate changes, development continues and consequences grow with inaction.
Posted inArticles
How the West’s public lands fared in 2022
It was a bad year for dams and a good one for ‘green’ metals.
Posted inArticles
Did salmon actually use the Skagit River before the Seattle dams were built?
The public utility’s license renewal to operate the dams centers on the answer to this question.
Posted inArticles
The Klamath dams are coming down
Today, FERC ordered PacifiCorp to surrender the dam license, the final hurdle after 20 years of studies and advocacy.
Posted inDecember 1, 2022: Beyond Illusion
Tribal nations fight for influence on the Colorado River
Indigenous nations in the basin are making a stand for their water — and upsetting the river’s power structure.
Posted inArticles
On its 100th birthday, the Colorado River Compact shows its age
The foundational document was flawed from the start.
Posted inArticles
The history behind the New Mexico-Texas Rio Grande settlement
It’s taken 10 years for the states to reach an agreement, but it may not be the end of the water conflict.
Posted inArticles
When dams come down, fish come home
As dam removal nationwide accelerates, experts are learning just how quickly rivers and fish respond.
Posted inArticles
After June’s floods, will the Yellowstone River be allowed to roam?
Rock walls called riprap constrain the river to protect property from erosion —but there are other options.
Posted inArticles
When a housing crisis meets a megaflood
June’s massive Yellowstone-area floods illuminated and worsened housing inequities across southwestern Montana.
Posted inDecember 1, 2022: Beyond Illusion
Rising rivers don’t necessarily follow the lines on a map
June’s record-breaking flooding in Montana illustrates the importance of risk mapping for people living in the floodplain.
Posted inArticles
Hotter summer nights affect everything from death rates to crop yields to firefighting
What happens when the Earth can’t cool off overnight?
Posted inArticles
The feds declined to seriously cut Colorado River water use. Here’s what that means
After Southwestern states failed to cut a deal, the Interior Department took it easy on them.
Posted inArticles
Protecting a vulnerable great blue heron rookery
Despite recreation pressures, a Colorado community comes together to preserve the wildness of the place they live in.
Posted inArticles
As waters warm, Alaska experiences salmon booms and busts
Chaotic salmon returns leave some Alaskans with an abundance of salmon, and others with none.
Posted inArticles
The most destructive forest pest in North America is now in Oregon
The invasive emerald ash borer threatens the state’s salmon habitat, urban forests and agency budgets.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Flooding could breathe life into Yellowstone ecosystem
Although destructive for people, high-water events are a natural part of river systems.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
The beauty buried in the data
Art created using laser data reveals the history and geological wonder of Washington’s landscape and rivers.