Ditch “inefficiencies” give us wetlands
Imagine Westerners waking up one morning only to discover that many of their most cherished wetlands have dried up, gone….
Since 1917, five generations have lived along the Animas Consolidated Ditch outside of Durango, CO, Patty Zink pictured, courtesy Dave Marston
MoreGlen Canyon Dam has created a world of mud
When the San Juan River flows out of the San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, it contributes 15% of Lake…
Calving sediment below Clay Hills, UT San Juan River, courtesy Chad Niehaus
MoreWhat did Westerners care about in 2023?
This past year, Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out 52 weekly opinion…
Arches National Park, image courtesy Writers on the Range
MoreJohn Fielder, the man who loved natural beauty
If you’ve ever bought a calendar or coffee table book featuring the grandeur of Colorado’s 14’ers, the stunning color photographs…
John Fielder, credit Gary Wockner/Save the Colorado
MoreA dogged reporter covers our roiling world
Usually seen with a camera slung around his neck, Allen Best edits a one-man online journalism shop he calls Big…
Allen Best at work
MoreBoondoggle on the Colorado River
You’d think the Earth shook recently when the three states of California, Arizona and Nevada announced they’d reached a deal…
Glen Canyon Dam, Courtesy Bureau of Reclamation
MoreA Colorado reservoir gets ready for an epic snowmelt
Reservoir manager Ken Beck says wryly that he has lots of water coming his way, “and I need a hole…
Ken Beck at the Pine River Irrigation headquarters
MoreAtmospheric rivers endanger the West
Moab, Utah, gets just eight inches of rain per year, yet rainwater flooded John Weisheit’s basement last summer. Extremes are…
Glen Canyon Dam under construction 1960-63, courtesy USBR
MoreComing soon, the Apocalypse, maybe
Just about every video game, young adult novel and buzz-worthy streaming series agree that we need to prepare for a…
Photo by Intricate Explorer, Via Unsplash
MoreBusiness as usual for the Colorado River
It seemed inevitable that the dwindling Colorado River would be divvied up by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. On June…
Winterhaven, CA, Imperial Dam, where 90% of the Colorado River is desilted and sent to numerous irrigation districts in CA and AZ. Courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation
MoreThe Colorado River comes alive even as it ebbs
The Colorado River is revealing its secrets. For decades a World War II landing craft lay submerged 200 feet beneath…
MoreDitches are a vanishing paradise
Annette Choszczyk lives in rural western Colorado these days, but when she was a kid, the Highline Canal in Denver…
Photo of North Fork Valley, Co, courtesy of Kenita Burns Moore
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