Like strainers of a river, our memories reshape us from within.
Rivers & Lakes
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See the captivating flux of Western alkaline waters
Salt lakes fade from chartreuse to rust into pale wastelands in photos taken by Aya Okawa.
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Will Congress leave the Colorado River high and dry?
After months of negotiations, seven basin states wait for Congressional approval.
Posted inMarch 4, 2019: El Nuevo Movimiento
In need of water, an Idaho town turns to its neighbors
Does recharging an aquifer solve one of the West’s oldest water problems, or perpetuate it?
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One tribal nation could decide the fate of Arizona’s drought plan
The Gila River Indian Community could pull out of the plan in light of a new bill threatening to undermine their water rights.
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California contemplates water for struggling fish
In an unprecedented move, the state may require upstream users to cut water use to improve water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
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A toxic past and present on the Spokane River
In eastern Washington, a push to clean PCBs from its namesake river faces a dirty legacy and global pollution problem.
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Update: New law makes it easier to kill salmon-eating sea lions
In the Columbia River, up to 920 sea lions can be removed each year to protect fish.
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Alone on the Green River
Writer Craig Childs goes boating in Utah and ponders the costs and payoff of solitude.
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New rules limiting clean water protections ignore stream science
What happens to part of a river network affects all of it.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
There’s no easy fix for our nuclear past
At Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, failing infrastructure and make-do plans as the West prepares for a new round of radioactivity.
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Update: Razorback sucker populations are increasing
The endangered fish seem to be recovering in the San Juan River.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Critics skeptical of mining company’s plans for restoration
Midas Gold hopes to reopen and revitalize an abandoned gold mining site in Idaho.
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Arizona delays the Colorado River drought agreement
Interests of a few hundred farmers are contributing to postponements in basin-wide plan.
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Interior Department issues order to avoid settlements
Critics say the decree will slow down the implementation of enacted laws.
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Reckoning with History: When we overcame political division
50 years ago, a functional Congress enacted four important conservation bills.
Posted inOctober 15, 2018: Nature Retreat
See what the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act preserves
Over 50 years, the landmark law has protected more than 13,000 miles of American waterways.
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An Alaska ballot measure could kill Pebble Mine
In November, voters will decide how to balance resource development and salmon habitat protections.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Tiny bits of plastic permeate our world
From alpine headwaters to city water supplies, the West is awash in microscopic pollutants.
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Paddling the Colorado’s headwaters reveals a wrung-out river
Shrinking snowpacks and low waterways will affect everyone from tourists to farmers.