Don’t blame the Upper Basin states
But the Bureau of Reclamation has regularly and faithfully released to the Lower Basin, from Powell Reservoir, the Colorado River Compact and Mexican Treaty allotments –- 8.23 million acre-feet only dropping a little below those allotments half a dozen times since Powell began to fill in the 1960s.
Bryan Egner US Dept. of energy Glen Canyon Dam 2018
MoreImagine a great river, flowing free
Some environmental groups and water honchos have sponsored a “Rewilding of Glen Canyon” contest, with the winner getting $4,000 “and…
MoreOh, Utah! When will you learn?
A new video released by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox argues the big, semi-annual trade show called Outdoor Retailer should come…
Delicate Arch Utah, image credit Solo Travel Goals, via Unsplash
MoreWelcome to Yosemite, the new Pyrocene Park
The Pleistocene epoch that began 2.6 million years ago sent ice in waves through Yosemite. Glaciers gouged out great valleys…
Photo by Laurel Balyeat, Yosemite Park
MoreOur new age of fire
Fire in the West is expected, and not so long ago, it seemed something the West experienced more than anywhere…
MoreThe Colorado River is sending a message
The region lived without them before, and it can live without them again. Now, nature is forcing our hand, telling us that it’s time to breach the dam and let the Colorado River run free.
Image above of Willow Creek Canyon once a popular side canyon for boaters. Now a sandy wash. Image courtesy of Glen Canyon Institute staff.
MoreWhen wildfire keeps coming back
Since January 2021, more than 6,272 fires have burned 917,000 acres in California
Smoke plume from wildfire in Boulder County, CO
MoreTwo Western states act to control methane
Gated methane vent pad in Sunshine Roadless area above Paonia, CO. Methane originates in active Arch Resources coal mine. This collection of vents makes Arch the third biggest greenhouse gas polluter in Colorado.
MoreWhen immortals die
Giant sequoias come as close to immortality as living organisms can. Many live over a thousand years despite nature’s challenges. So…
MoreHouses Must be Built to Withstand Wildfire
That the scene has become familiar makes it no less wrenching: A distraught couple searches through the ash, char, and…
U.S. Forest Service Photo 2007. Grass Valley Fire in Southern California’s San Bernadino Mountains
MoreA Clear Warning About the Colorado River
For the West this summer, the news about water was grim. In some parts of California, it didn’t rain for…
Photograph by Ken Cheung, Courtesy of Unsplash
More