After decades of litigation, the historic initiative among states, tribes and the federal government signals a dramatic change for the region.
Water
Posted inArticles
Washington lags behind in water-pollution oversight
State officials have been missing Clean Water Act deadlines for a decade.
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What’s on your Christmas tree? Hint: Not just ornaments
A lack of data obscures the possible polluted legacy of a holiday tradition.
Posted inDecember 1, 2023: December 2023
Take a toxic tour of the Great Salt Lake
Utah grapples with its future of industry around its dying inland sea.
Posted inArticles
Another gunky, toxic season for Utah waters
Harmful algae blooms, fueled by warming temperatures and nutrient runoff, plague the state.
Posted inNovember 1, 2023: November 1, 2023
When burn scars become roaring earthen rivers
Geologists in Washington are monitoring scorched forest to help create a better warning system for deadly debris flows.
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What the fed’s new proposal for management of Colorado River reservoirs means
Lake Powell and Lake Mead remain historically low, but modeling shows risk of crisis levels has lessened over the next three years.
Posted inNovember 1, 2023: November 1, 2023
How Green River celebrates its melon farmers
Thousands turn out for Melon Days, but the future looks uncertain.
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States opposed tribes’ access to the Colorado River 70 years ago. History is repeating itself.
Records shed new light on states’ vocal opposition in the 1950s to tribes claiming their share of the river.
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The National Park Service’s efforts to protect Quitobaquito Springs almost destroyed it
‘Indigenous presence is vital to the stewardship of the land.’
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
Short-lived or shallow, it’s still water
Notes on what is fluid and flowing, even if ephemeral.
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
Staving off a bass invasion
As Lake Powell shrinks, smallmouth bass threaten the Grand Canyon’s native fishes.
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Environmental groups sue Utah over crisis at the Great Salt Lake
Plaintiffs invoke the public trust doctrine to restore the lake to a healthy level.
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Federal court derails proposed Utah oil railroad
Failures to assess risks to Colorado River and ‘numerous NEPA violations’ in project’s impact analysis highlighted.
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EPA to investigate claims of civil rights violations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Tribes and environmental justice groups say management of the Delta harms traditional food systems and causes pollution.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
In the Utah desert, can golf justify itself?
The struggle for water is straining St. George, Utah, where golf – and grass – are sacred cows.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
Finding a fix for ‘forever chemicals’
Tests found PFAS in nearly all the public drinking water in Vancouver, Washington. The city is testing a solution that could take years — and more than $170 million — to build.
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Water quality research helps bring healing and sovereignty to the Apsáalooke
‘I know it is my responsibility to care for this land that has always taken care of me.’
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
The case of the Colorado River’s missing water
Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river.
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A quarter of rural water systems likely contain ‘forever chemicals’
USGS research confirms widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water — including in rural communities and private wells that are almost never tested.