The decision strips federal protections from the ephemeral streams that are crucial for life in the arid West.
Rivers & Lakes
Posted inArticles
This year’s record-breaking snowpack is pouring into the dried-out Salt Lake
Snowmelt is replenishing depleted ecosystems and flooding communities.
Posted inArticles
Can the Dolores River be saved?
A beleaguered Colorado waterway garners new attention.
Posted inArticles
The Salinas River and the foretold flood
Agriculture beat the river into submission. It’s back.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
LDS environmentalists want their institution to address the Great Salt Lake’s collapse
Advocates call for healing the rift between scripture and politics.
Posted inMarch 1, 2023: Moving Parts
Here’s what it takes to build Alaska’s highways of ice
Frozen rivers are vital transportation routes for communities outside the state’s traditional road system.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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When dams come down, fish come home
As dam removal nationwide accelerates, experts are learning just how quickly rivers and fish respond.
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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.
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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.