The federal government ordered Flaming Gorge water released and cuts to Lake Powell releases, to prevent collapse.
Water
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The West’s snow drought meant record dryness — but also record flooding
From the Cascades to the San Juans, the nearly snowless winter wasn’t the same everywhere.
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A new era of industrial logging looms
Mapping the possible impacts of the Roadless Rule overhaul
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Public lands need less extraction and more rewilding
In the age of extinction, we need a new model for these landscapes and the communities that rely on them.
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The BLM wants to ramp up logging. Oregonians aren’t so sure.
People are grappling with the agency’s notice that signals a significant increase in timber harvesting across 2.5 million acres.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
What can we learn from salt lakes?
A Q&A with Caroline Tracey about her new book, which documents the plight of one of our most unusual ecosystems.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
A shrinking Colorado River is forcing farms to change
From low-flow nozzles to baling hay at night, see how farmers are adapting to less water.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
How Montana tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways
‘We live at the backbone of the world, where the water begins.’
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The Colorado River rift abides
States’ stalemate persists as Lake Powell races toward de facto deadpool.
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Snowmaking could be the future of skiing. But at what cost?
As the climate changes, ski resorts have begun relying more on energy and water-intensive machine-made snow.
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The coming failure of Glen Canyon Dam
As Colorado River negotiations build toward a Feb. 14 deadline, few are talking about design flaws in the dam that holds back Lake Powell.
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Trump’s call for deep-sea mining off Alaska raises Indigenous concerns
“Whatever happens in the ocean, it really does affect our way of life.”
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An EPA proposal would make it harder for tribes to protect their water
The agency’s plan would narrow water quality reviews and eliminate one of the few ways that tribes can their enforce treaty rights.
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‘We’re basically slitting our own throat’: Montana rolls back water-quality standards
The EPA approved Montana’s weaker standards for nutrient pollution during the government shutdown.
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Skimpy snow makes life worse for skiers — and everyone else
The sport may seem selfish, but it reminds us why good snowpack matters.
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Top Interior Department official has ties to Thacker Pass lithium mine
Karen Budd-Falen’s family ranching operation agreed to sell water rights to the company developing the controversial Nevada lithium project.
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Water across the West at risk as Trump targets national monuments
A new study found that about 83% of water passing through public lands uses monument designation for its only protection.
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The big data center buildup
An AI server farm tsunami threatens to overwhelm the West’s power grid and water supplies.
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Will this threatened frog stop drilling near Denver?
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
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Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?