Where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet north of St the powerful waterways form a line in the middle of their flows at first refusing to mix together in their new union As it cuts across the state on its way to meet the Mississippi cools the systems at nuclear and coal power plants and quenches millions of Missourians’ thirst as the largest source of drinking water in the state While some may take it for granted, Missouri state Rep. Jamie Burger is watching the fights over water in the Western U.S. closely. He worries that eventually, people will come seeking Missouri’s abundant water resources. Last legislative session, he introduced a bill to ban most exports of water from the state “We have to get something into play because the western states at some point in time will be coming after Missouri's water,” Burger said The bill passed the state House but failed in the Senate Burger will be in that chamber after winning his primary election and expects the bill will pass when he proposes it a second time “We feed the world with our water,” Burger said And I worry about those diversions along the Missouri River Water law experts say this type of legislative move is a classic warning shot that could signal a more contentious future over water in the Midwest and Great Plains Periodic courtroom dramas over water may become more common as climate change sets up conditions that could lead to more water scarcity in the north-central U.S “If I were in charge of the water resources of states like Missouri or Iowa I would start paying a lot of attention to the ways in which these water disputes have been resolved farther west and we're already seeing some chest thumping among some of these states,” said Burke Griggs a professor of law at Washburn University in Topeka Climate change is going to have a big effect on the availability of water in this part of the country the central region’s climate services director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration He said swings between weather extremes will exacerbate man-made issues that are already in play like increasing demand from growing communities “You're talking about longer periods of drought with more heavy rainfall events kind of stuck in between that don't help as much when it comes to needs,” Kluck said Pouring rain isn’t as helpful for recharging soil and groundwater in a drought as slow orderly precipitation is already shown to be happening less over time Kluck said climate change is messing with the timing and amount of snowmelt that feeds rivers like the Missouri in the middle of the country The 2,300-mile Missouri River starts in the mountains of southwestern Montana and is fed at first by snow before taking on water from tributaries that look like a vascular system throughout its basin on the way to St And some research has shown the line that marks the start of the arid west might already be moving east as the climate changes As humans increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and there's good reason people have said it for years and years and years.” there are already projects putting metaphorical straws into the waters of the Missouri River One is the Red River Valley Water Supply Project in North Dakota which is building a pipeline to bring Missouri River water to the central and eastern parts of the state “Reliable water supplies for drinking water and industrial uses in central North Dakota and the Red River Valley can be scarce, especially under drought conditions,” a promotional video for the project stated “Yet the Missouri River presents an abundant resource.” Construction is underway and is expected to be completed in 2032 But this project is contentious. In early 2020, the state of Missouri sued multiple federal agencies related parties and the state of North Dakota to try to block the Central North Dakota Water Supply Project which connects to the Red River Valley Water Supply Project pipeline the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the project to go forward affirming a district court’s ruling that the project did not violate relevant federal environmental and water laws Some in North Dakota think lawsuits like that one are only going to become more common in the coming years potentially making the Midwest look more like the famously disputed Colorado River Basin “The Missouri River is still kind of the wild wild west general manager of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District “And so it's amazing the number of states now that are contacting North Dakota and saying ‘How'd you do it?’ Because they know they're going to get sued by Missouri if they start a project to take water out of the Missouri River.” If you’re looking for fights over water in the middle of the country taking swipes at each other and drawing lines in the sand “The interstate water dispute does have a long and pretty distinguished history,” said Griggs There are lawsuits over rivers and groundwater between neighboring states; Griggs represented the state of Kansas before the U.S Supreme Court in a 2015 water case against Nebraska There are also international water agreements And there are tribal nations throughout the Midwest who were promised water in treaties with the U.S. more than a century ago and we're seeing it right now — a water war within states and the tribes are pitted in the middle of all of it,” said Doug CrowGhost the water resources director for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe the tribes have a bigger water right than the states do.” CrowGhost is chairman of the board of the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance, which includes tribes along the Missouri River. He said recent changes under Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland have given tribes more authority over their water by allowing them to go through a congressional process to create their own water permitting codes CrowGhost thinks the Missouri River will become a prime target for diversion the tribes are preparing to protect their treaty rights to water “Our forefathers saw in ceremonies that if we don't protect our land we're not going to have a people,” CrowGhost said there are three ways to decide who gets what a professor of water law at Arizona State University Congress can also get involved by passing a law on how to divvy up water the states and tribal nations can agree to a compact which lays out a formal agreement to share water The water compact that has been generating the most headlines in recent years is the one governing the Colorado River Basin. The current rules for sharing river water will expire in 2026 so the parties are at the negotiating table to rework the agreement the Missouri and Mississippi rivers don’t have compacts in place besides on some of their smaller tributaries think it would be beneficial to have a compact to prepare for a more contentious future “The states are going to have to sit down together and decide who gets what out of the river,” DeKrey said “And I think even though that would probably be a very painful process I think it would probably be a better process than having the federal government come in and decide who gets the water." worries that if the federal government alone makes the decisions the water will flow wherever there is the most political clout But Larson said because these central river basins are so big and diverse it doesn't compare in terms of overall size to the Mississippi,” Larson said just having to negotiate amongst that many states makes it really difficult to reach a compact.” there are lessons to learn from places like the Colorado River Basin He believes negotiators have to lead with science especially when it comes to quantifying the amount of water that’s available he said it’s important to bring everyone to the table especially groups that were historically left out of water negotiations like sovereign Native American tribes and the ecosystems that rely on these rivers “We have to make sure we're allocating the interstate system not only equitably but sustainably,” Griggs said While Larson is skeptical that compacts in the Missouri and Mississippi River basins would come together "Usually water scarcity is actually a catalyst for cooperation more than conflict," he said This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest Across the southwest, water is an essential, often scarce resource that communities rely on for their ways of life. In south-central Colorado, the Rio Grande, its tributaries and the water flowing underground supports communities across the San Luis Valley,  an 8,000 square-mile high elevation desert that sees less than seven inches of precipitation per year Water ties generations of people and communities together across the Valley Married by shared ethics of caring for land and water everyone across the San Luis Valley depends deeply on the Rio Grande – for their livelihoods the rich diversity of wildlife and outdoor activities and a deep connection to the rich history of people who have come before them.  To help tell the story of the San Luis Valley the river and water flowing below their feet and the threats facing the Valley’s way of life American Rivers developed Groundswell on the Rio Grande an interactive ESRI Story Map that illustrates the connection between people Learn more about the San Luis Valley, visit Groundswell on the Rio Grande we had the pleasure of engaging with a wide cross-section of people that rely on and appreciate the Valley’s waters for different reasons Water undeniably touches everyone in the Valley but it is the threats to the rivers and aquifers that bring communities together to fight for their water.  The San Luis Valley is facing a real threat from Renewable Water Resources (RWR), a proposal to export groundwater out of the San Luis Valley to Colorado’s southern Front Range RWR approached the Douglas County Commission asking for $20 million of federal rescue plan funds to pipe water out of the San Luis Valley to the Denver suburbs.  As you view the Story Map we hope you gain a better understanding of why protecting and preserving the health of the Rio Grande and the deep history of the San Luis Valley is as critical for communities that rely directly on the river as it is for the state of Colorado and the Southwest Make your voice heard and speak up for the San Luis Valley and the rivers and waters that flow through and underneath such an incredible part of  Colorado This is not about Douglas County but about a small group of water speculators led by former Governor Bill Owens and former chair of a Moscow bank Their plan makes no sense from the Douglas County perspective Their scheme would have had the Douglas County Commissioners write a check to the speculators for $430 million dollars when the County General fund has $70 million This alone would bankrupt one of the richest counties in the country The county would then be stuck with fixing 16 deal killers costing another 1.2 Billion Douglas County will grow as people evacuate the now rat hole Denver in droves The water providers who serve 80% of the Douglas population are using conservation re-use and renewable water to move forward one of the strongest water providers in Colorado in 2004 acquired more water rights than the speculators want to take from SLV They are now working with agriculture to use storage to time the peak flows of the Platte with peak needs of irrigation while trading its water rights to Douglas County Parker Water built a 75,000 acre foot reservoir in 2012 and will be building a 70,000 acre foot reservoir as part of the Platte Valley Water Project The speculators need to cover their losses and have been stoking fear in Douglas county and the SLV to try and dump their bad investment Given the dire state of the Rio Grande water supply downstream of the SLV I don’t understand why anyone would be allowed to take water out of the watershed and diminish the river’s flow Groundwater and surface water are part of the same hydrologic system Pretending one doesn’t affect the other is ridiculous This proposal is a disaster and shouldn’t even be considered Douglas County needs to live within their means a water tank and haul their own water from their nearest water station in Douglas County They can live the true Colorado experience of water shortages The San Luis Valley has no resources to spare The water here is so critical to the livestock and farming throughout Colorado This would greatly impact hay sold all over the state as it relates to cost and availability Douglas County wants to build 70000 new taps with this water Please keep the water in the San Luis Valley where it has Sandhill Cranes for thousands and thousands of years Growth on the Front Range needs a plan other than taking water from this precious valley ecosystem I live 200 miles from Denver and even father from the Valley so this has no effect on me either way There is one thing I think people need to consider about this that is not being brought up Our ever increasing population is causing people on both over crowded coasts to look elsewhere to live and many are choosing Colorado and specifically If they can’t move to either of these areas because of water problems and The Valley has plenty Might The Valley become the next growth area Taking water from one of the poorest and driest counties in the state to feed high population growth I am a land owner in SLV but live on the front range in Douglas County I tried to drill a well on my property and was unsuccessful due to the depth of the water table The SLV already struggles for water and many people transport the water they live off of by tanks just to have water Water is quite possibly the most precious resource in the valley and we have none to spare and selfish growth shouldn’t impact the San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley has the right to continue to make a living without water siphoned out for unsustainable growth along the front range As well as the other gifts in the San Luis Valley The Denver local council members need to STOP this environmental injustice and devastation that RWR could cause if allowed to go forward San Luis Valley residents including myself should be able to have a say on this issue There is not enough to solve any front range problems FYI: The land in the picture with the sand hill cranes has already been decimated by the Closed Basin Project They turned what was once a thriving recreational are into a foot deep mud hole The RWR needs to be stopped but something must be done about the Closed Basin or it won’t matter And…don’t forget…there’s a state called New Mexico that kinda depends on there being water in the Rio Grande too unless you want them to line their pockets with robbing the valley of their most precious resource I was born and raised in the SLV and everything in our valley is a precious commodity Especially our water which is vital to our agriculture and keeping our communities flourishing economically Why these big cities think that we don’t need our water or we have enough water to supply them because of their growing communities is wrong In order for them to flourish at the cost of drying up our valley and our aquifer is foolish and selfish They need to rethink about slowing down their growth if the don’t have the water to sustain it We have fought for our water and we will continue to fight off those vultures If they don’t have water it’s their problem not ours Who will be making money off of the RWR proposed pipeline How dare Ex Gov Owens think that it is morally OK to take the lifeline from the generally poorer people to make more affluent populations places to live where there is no water It is a shame that the Colorado government doesn’t see that encouraging a balanced growth across Colorado would be a much healthier alternative to the out of control front range I’ve watched the destruction of the Arkansas valley as the farmers water was purchased for the needs of the growing metro I don’t want to see that happen to the San Luis valley I’d like to see our leaders encourage population growth outside the front range Most of the small towns around Colorado could double in size without trying to steal resources from their neighbors There are so many benefits to balancing growth Leave the San Luis Valley water in the Valley!! and website in this browser for the next time I comment Every $1 donated to American Rivers helps us make rivers clean and healthy for people and wildlife Don’t let the latest river news and actions pass you by From Farming in a 20-year drought is "hard for us," says John Mestas at his cattle ranch in Colorado's San Luis Valley Rising levels of arsenic in the water supply are linked to the drought When John Mestas' ancestors moved to Colorado over 100 years ago to raise sheep in the San Luis Valley they thought it would never end," Mestas says of the agricultural region at the headwaters of the Rio Grande Now decades of climate change-driven drought is making the valley desperately dry — and appears to be intensifying the levels of heavy metals in drinking water Like a third of people who live in this high alpine desert Mestas relies on a private well that draws from an aquifer for drinking water he taps an aquifer to water the alfalfa that feeds his 550 cows is now one of the hundreds of well owners participating in a study that tackles the question: How does drought affect not just the quantity The study, led by Kathy James, an associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health, focuses on arsenic in private drinking wells. Arsenic, a carcinogen that occurs naturally in soil, has been appearing in rising levels in drinking water in the valley, she says. In California, Mexico research has linked rising arsenic levels in groundwater to drought and the overpumping of aquifers As the West grapples with a megadrought that has lasted more than two decades, and states risk cutbacks in water from the shrinking Colorado River the San Luis Valley offers clues to what the future may hold the number of people in the contiguous U.S exposed to elevated arsenic from domestic wells may rise from about 2.7 million to 4.1 million Arsenic has been shown to affect health across the human life span added up over the course of a person's life In a previous study in the valley, James found that lifetime exposure to low levels of arsenic in drinking water, between 10 and 100 micrograms per liter, or µg/L, was linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease. Other research has tied chronic exposure to low-level arsenic to hypertension Pregnant women and children are at greater risk for harm The World Health Organization sets the recommended limit on arsenic in drinking water at 10 µg/L, which is also the U.S. standard for public water supplies. But research has shown that, even at 5 µg/L, arsenic is linked to higher rates of skin lesions "I think it's a problem that a lot of people are not aware of," Lombard says "Climate change is probably going to impact water quality," she said but more research is needed to understand how and why which has hosted a wealth of research and innovation is the ideal place to explore those questions — and potential solutions A rainstorm hits the Sangre de Cristo mountains The range's snowmelt and rainfall replenish aquifers in Colorado's San Luis Valley But the area gets just 7 inches of rain in an average year Since it rains very little, about 7 inches a year on average farmers rely on two large aquifers and the headwaters of the Rio Grande River Snowmelt from the looming Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges recharges the supply each spring and water evaporates more quickly from the ground and crops "We're a decade ahead of what's happening in the rest of Colorado" because of the intensity of water scarcity who manages the Rio Grande Water Conservation District "This is not drought anymore — this is truly the aridification of the West," Simpson says That's how scientists are describing a long-term trend toward persistent dryness that can be stopped only by addressing human-caused climate change James, who is an epidemiologist and engineer, has been studying links between climate and health in the valley for the past 15 years. She found that during dust storms in the San Luis Valley more people visit the hospital for asthma attacks And she has surveyed farmworkers on how drought is affecting their mental health which she says has been gradually increasing in valley drinking wells over the past 50 years Arsenic levels in San Luis Valley groundwater are "markedly higher than [in] many other areas of the U.S.," according to James Arsenic concentrations have ranged from less than 2 to 150 µg/L between 1986 and 2014 She is working on updating the data and also investigating ethnic disparities One study there showed Hispanic adults had higher levels of arsenic in their urine than non-Hispanic white adults did (Hispanic people can be of any race or combination of races.) James now aims to test 1,000 private wells in the valley to explore the connections between drought a small proportion of wells show elevated levels of heavy metals James is offering participants free water testing and consultation on the results used her savings to drill a drinking well on her land But she won't drink from it until she tests it In Conejos County, John Mestas' daughter, Angie Mestas, jumped at the chance for a free test, which would cost $195 at a local lab. Angie, a 35-year-old schoolteacher, said she used a lifetime of savings to drill a drinking well on her plot of land, a wide-open field of chamisa with sweeping views of the San Luis Hills But she won't drink from it until she tests for arsenic and E she has been hauling 5-gallon jugs of water from her father's house each time she spends the weekend at her newly constructed yurt whose family settled in the valley from Spain nearly 400 years ago has been watching water-quality trends firsthand grew up driving a tractor on her grandfather's ranch near San Luis Colorado's oldest town — and hanging out in the lab with her mother As a chemist and laboratory director of SDC Laboratory in Alamosa Zahringer tests private and public drinking water in the valley She estimates that 25% of the private wells tested by her lab show elevated arsenic "Most families don't know if they're drinking arsenic." the link to climate seems clear: During dry periods a well that usually hovers around 10 µg/L of arsenic may easily double or triple in concentration One reason is that there's less water to dilute the natural contaminants in the soil The arsenic levels used to be fairly stable I'm seeing the same well that I just tested three years ago — it doesn't even look like the same well" because levels of contaminants have risen so much who also serves as a member of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission the arsenic level jumped from 13 to 20 µg/L this year Zahringer's observations are important firsthand anecdotes in a rigorous scientific study with a representative sample of wells and extensive geochemical data the prevalence of arsenic and its connection to drought In California and Vietnam, research has linked rising arsenic levels in drinking water to land subsidence — when the ground sinks due to aquifer overpumping community leaders in the valley are adapting in impressive and innovative ways Zahringer said if arsenic shows up in a private well she encourages clients to install reverse osmosis water filtration at the kitchen sink The equipment costs about $300 from an outside supplier though filters costing less than $50 may need to be changed every six to 18 months People who treat their water for arsenic should continue to test every six months to make sure the filters are effective SDC Laboratory offers an arsenic test for $25 "People don't want to test their water because it tastes good and their grandpa drank it," she said A water-quality campaign in 2009, led by the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, also found elevated arsenic in wells across the valley the nonprofit worked with real estate agents to make sure that domestic wells are tested before someone buys a home That's what Sally Wier did when she bought a house five years ago on an 8-acre plot in Rio Grande County surrounded by fields of barley and alfalfa Wier installed a reverse osmosis water filtration system but she said the arsenic level rises before she changes the filters every few months Wier is one of many people working on innovative solutions to the water shortage. As a conservation project manager for Colorado Open Lands, she worked on a deal by which a local farmer, Ron Bowman, was paid to stop irrigating his 1,800-acre farm The deal marks the first time in the country that a conservation easement has been used to save groundwater for aquifer replenishment Her group worked with three farmers last summer and plans to work with seven this season At the High Valley Park mobile home park in Alamosa County tenants have been drinking bottled water for years due to concerns about their well water four children bounce on a trampoline and chased one another up a tree I'm thirsty and there's no bottled water left," said one child But tenants from five homes say they haven't been drinking the water for years not because of arsenic — which some said they were not aware of — but because the water often comes out brown says he buys two cases of bottled water every week for his wife and five children who has lived in the mobile home park for two years "You don't drink it." Because the well serves at least 25 people bought the property in February 2022 for nearly half a million dollars Getting arsenic within federal standards has been difficult because arsenic levels fluctuate when nearby farmers tap the aquifer to irrigate their crops Treat was using chlorine to convert one kind of arsenic into a more treatable form which have also flagged regulators' attention Treat began upgrading the water treatment system in May he aims to raise the monthly rent from $250 to $300 per lot "If the state would stay out of it," he grumbled John Mestas is still awaiting results on his drinking well When he returns from traveling out-of-state to move his cattle herd "the first thing I do whenever I walk in the house is drink me two glasses of this water," Mestas says They're jumping all over me while I'm drinking my water me drinking the water or them jumping on me." This article was supported by The Water Desk an independent journalism initiative based at the University of Colorado-Boulder's Center for Environmental Journalism KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research Become an NPR sponsor trying to figure out the length of a specific river let alone determining the longest river in the U.S you have to decide whether or not the river’s tributaries will count toward the full length That can be a struggle since it’s not always clear where a tributary begins or ends Even the United States Geological Survey (USGS) admits that “somewhat arbitrary decisions” are necessary — alongside maps aerial photographs and other considerations — when it comes to measuring the lengths of rivers That said, when the USGS attempted to compile data on the country's most significant rivers, it did so by considering each candidate’s “total length from source to mouth.” Using that criteria the agency cataloged the following 10 as the longest rivers in the United States People disagree as to whether the Missouri or the Mississippi is the longest river in the U.S. the Missouri River comes out ahead by 200 miles (322 km) totaling an impressive 2,540 miles (4,088 km) from source to mouth the "Big Muddy" river flows through seven states (Montana Kansas and Missouri) before converging with the mighty Mississippi River around St The Missouri River watershed totals more than 525,000 square miles (845,000 square km) providing life-giving water for local plants and animals Crow and other Native American peoples called the upper Missouri River home for centuries And it was up this river the adventurers Lewis and Clark famously traveled before taking the Columbia River on to the Pacific Ocean the legendary Mississippi is either the country’s longest or second-longest river Experts can agree, however, that it’s one of the largest rivers in the world and the country's largest river in terms of its drainage area, which spans 31 states and 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million square km) Some lists even categorize the Mississippi river system as one of the longest rivers in the world Once the boundary between the American West and the rest of the country the river flows from Minnesota through 10 states before finally emptying into the Gulf of Mexico Emerging from the Pelly Mountains in Canada's Yukon Territory in British Columbia the mighty Yukon River flows 1,980 miles (3,187 km) through the rugged landscapes of Alaska which is larger than the country of Turkey covers 328,000 square miles (52,865 square km) throughout the Canadian province and the Alaskan wilderness this waterway serves as a primary means of transportation connecting isolated villages and providing access to essential resources like salmon and fresh water Meandering 1,900 miles (3,058 km), the Rio Grande (or “Big River” in Spanish) forms a natural border between the U.S. and Mexico. Originating in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, the river flows through New Mexico and Texas before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, for a total watershed of 336,000 square miles (540,740 square km) The Rio Grande river has carved several impressive canyons along its course which is known for its towering limestone cliffs and stunning views its unpredictable flow has put it at the center of numerous disputes between the U.S and Mexico over water rights and allocation of water for all the agricultural land and municipalities The headwaters of the Arkansas originate in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and journey 1,469 miles (2,364 km) through Kansas and Oklahoma before joining the Mississippi River in Arkansas Renowned as one of the top whitewater rafting destinations in the country the Arkansas River attracts adventure seekers from near and far who want to experience its thrilling rapids Its watershed is 161,000 square miles (259,104 square km) which covers a distance of 1,450 miles (2,334 km) it carved the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon over millions of years With a watershed of 246,000 square miles (637,000 square km), the Colorado serves as a crucial source of water and hydropower power for urban areas like Los Angeles Its hydroelectric power supports more than 40 million people in seven U.S the Colorado River flows west and south until it reaches the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean it has the distinction of being the only river in this list that flows toward the Pacific Ocean This, in addition to flood control solutions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, helps to mitigate the risk of catastrophic flooding in the downstream areas. With a watershed of 95,100 square miles (246,300 square km), the river’s basin is the largest floodplain swamp in North America Formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh the Ohio River flows for 1,310 miles (2,108 km) serving as the largest tributary of the Mississippi River Its watershed is 203,000 square miles (326,697 square km) other major American cities developed along its banks the Red River flows through the Great Plains before merging with the Mississippi River after a total of 1,290 miles (2,076 km) the river actually serves as the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma Researchers estimate the Red River’s drainage system to be 93,200 square miles (149,991 square km) although the many dams and reservoirs along its tributaries mean the river’s flow across the Great Plains can vary widely at different times and according to different sources the Brazos is the tenth longest river in the U.S but the longest entirely within the state of Texas The river flows from the panhandle through the heart of the Lone Star state to the Gulf of Mexico It just barely beats the length of another major North American river which flows for 1,240 miles (1,996 km) from the Canadian province of British Columbia through the Pacific Northwest toward the Pacific Ocean Dammed at multiple points to create reservoirs including Lake Possum Kingdom and Lake Whitney the Brazos River has a watershed of 45,600 square miles (7,339 square km) The river’s original name was Brazos de Dios This article was created in conjunction with AI technology then was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: `;return t.byline_authors_html&&(e+=`By: ${t.byline_authors_html}`),t.byline_authors_html&&t.byline_date_html&&(e+=" | "),t.byline_date_html&&(e+=t.byline_date_html),e+=`\n\t\t\t\t Grand Canyon boaters putting into the Colorado River commonly do so about 15 miles downriver from Glen Canyon Dam delegates from the seven Colorado River Basin states chose this site to demarcate divisions of the upper and lower basins The compact they created calls it ‘Lee Ferry’ Recently I mentioned Lee Ferry in a story I wrote about the Colorado River wrangling A reader sought to correct my perceived solecism and innumerable others also call it Lees Ferry or A friend who has rafted the Grand Canyon many times tells me that the original ferry site is about a mile upstream from the put-in site for boaters who was dispatched to the river in 1870 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to create a ferry the better to expedite colonization of Navajo lands Lee had 19 wives and has descendants that include Mike Lee as well as former senators (Gordon Smith of Oregon Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico) and two U.S Boaters putting into the Colorado River to float down the Grand Canyon commonly do so at Lees Ferry in Arizona which is to be easiily confused with the old Lee Ferry about a mile upstream maybe even maddening to grammatical purists Board of Geographic Names accommodates apostrophes very rarely Henry Brean called it a “systematic campaign of institutional deprivation” that dated to creation of the federal agency in 1890 the board has allowed apostrophes in geographic features only five times one of them being Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts but neither at the former ferry site in Arizona Colorado has several mountains named after 19th century figures: Ulysses S Kit Carson Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range travelers on Interstate 70 may traverse Vail Pass the boss of the state highway department in the late 1930s it had been Pottery Pass because of shards left by indigenous campers that were noticed by a visiting zoologist in 1887 Also in Colorado we have Hagerman and Berthoud passes It is the highest place on your journey but the lowest place to cross that barrier Local usage has inverted the two in some places Those who travel on the road around the side of Battle Mountain between Minturn and Red Cliff over time have tended to call it Battle Mountain Pass The Molas Divide between Durango and Silverton that I grew up hearing about has become The saddle in the Gore Range that we today call Vail Pass was because of the creek that flowed westward from the summit I wonder what President Donald Trump might do with Colorado’s geography if he decides to scrap history His first marriage came apart in Aspen during 1989 when his first wife Trump has also discarded 400 years of history at the Gulf of Mexico Trump discarded local wishes favoring Denali to honor McKinley a president elected with aid of late 19th century robber barons How might Trump bull through the closet of geographic names in Colorado Might San Luis Peak become the anglicized St Board of Geographic Names has long refused to name geographic features after living people Given his predilection for self-aggrandizement he would surely settle on the peaks west of Leadville Elbert and Massive to become the new Mount Trump I am reminded that Trump is at heart a real estate guy I can see the sign now… Trump Tower National Monument Allen Best analyzes the energy and water transitions in Colorado but sometimes strays into the realms of agriculture Allen Best publishes the e-journal Big Pivots, which chronicles the energy transition in Colorado and beyond The Pagosa Daily Post is published by Bill Hudson Productions LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome. Send to pagosadailypost@gmail.com Indicate that you would like to share your letter with our readers ALL OTHER COMMUNICATIONS can be sent to pagosadailypost@gmail.com Content on the Daily Post is shared via a CREATIVE COMMONS license.  Learn more here. ST. LOUIS (AP) — Community leaders along the Mississippi River worried that dry southwestern states will someday try to take the river’s water may soon take their first step toward blocking such a diversion Mayors from cities along the river are expected to vote on whether to support a new compact among the river’s 10 states at this week’s annual meeting of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative according to its executive director Colin Wellenkamp Supporters of a compact hope it will strengthen the region’s collective power around shared goals like stopping water from leaving the corridor “It is the most important working river on earth,” said Wellenkamp “It’s a matter of national security that the Mississippi River corridor remain intact remain sustainable and remain ecologically and hydrologically healthy.” The Southwest has long struggled to find enough water for its growing population in a region prone to drought that climate change is making worse Transporting water from the Mississippi River basin which drains roughly 40 percent of the continental United States has always been a long shot that many say isn’t practical or remotely cost-effective But Wellenkamp worries that conversation around the idea hasn’t stopped WATCH: Despite owning rights to Colorado River, tribes largely cut off from accessing water The mayors’ support would be just the first step in a lengthy politically fraught process that would require buy-in from all 10 states along the river and federal approval Those states range from left-leaning states like Minnesota to thoroughly conservative states like Louisiana Proponents say a compact would protect the river’s water levels and ecology make it easier to coordinate when floods or other disaster strikes and provide a way to resolve conflict among the river states A favorable vote would ask the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative to pursue a new river compact “This is not going to be easy and it’s not going to happen overnight,” said Wellenkamp every journey begins with a first step and a cash advance Fear of water export has ignited political action before Plans by a Canadian company in the 1990s to fill up tankers with Great Lakes water and ship it to Asia “was probably the tipping point” for establishing the Great Lakes Compact that went into effect in 2008 It strengthened cooperation among Great Lakes states that work with two Canadian providences to manage water from the lakes effectively monitor its use and prevent it from leaving the basin “The Great Lakes are better protected today than they ever have been before,” said David Strifling director of Marquette Law School’s Water Law and Policy Initiative READ MORE: How rising water costs could drive this Michigan city to bankruptcy But Strifling said it was difficult to get an agreement together decades ago and it would be even harder to do so now “just due to the increased level of political polarization that exists.” Wellenkamp said a Mississippi River compact would ensure that nearby water users also act in a sustainable way The river’s water levels can be precarious they fell so low that they disrupted ship and barge traffic that moved soybeans Much of the river is once again facing drought People realize that the river “is not some stable resource,” said Melissa Scanlan director for the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “People are aware of how those low levels on the Mississippi River affect commerce and the communities,” she said There are protections against some water diversions now If one of the five states on the upper portion of the river wants to move large amounts of water out of the basin it must notify and consult with the other four states first The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association has existed for decades to foster cooperative management of the river there’s an effort to quantify water use among the upper basin states and understand how that use affects the river a water expert at the Utton Center at the University of New Mexico School of Law said he is rooting for a Mississippi River compact so that what he calls the unworkable idea of a water pipeline to the west will die “This is a waste of our time because (diversion) is magical thinking and it will never happen,” he said senior water policy scholar at Colorado State University It would need approval from Congress and from legislatures in each state it passes through payments for landowners and condemnation procedures for those who didn’t want the pipeline through their properties Then there is the engineering nightmare and huge costs of moving huge amounts of water west “It becomes pretty complicated real fast,” Gimbel said The talk of diverting water to the Southwest will hopefully “light a fire under some states” to approve a Mississippi River compact director of river restoration with the conservation group American Rivers Diverting water can harm the river’s ecology depriving species of the water they rely on It could also slow the movement of sediment that’s vital to the health of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico Dorothy said a compact would be a good way to say “this is our water.” © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins Five-acre homesteads with views of the Sangre de Cristos for $5,000 might sound like a bargain But off-grid life in the middle of the San Luis Valley has a distinctly rough aspect as the author learned when he volunteered to support locals whose lives become precarious when the weather gets cold It begins with a moment of contact—of driving up to a homestead and trying to introduce yourself The prospect is daunting: A lot of people live out here because they do not want to run into other people And it is daunting because many of them indicate this preference by closing their driveways with a gate or by chaining a dog next to their front door or by posting a sign with a rifle-scope motif that says “IF YOU CAN READ THIS YOU’RE WITHIN RANGE!” The local expert on cold-calling is Matt Little charged by the social service group La Puente with “rural outreach.” Matt has let me ride around in his pickup with him so that I can see him in action Distances between households on the open Colorado prairie are great which gives him time to explain his approach as he does this every day and in three months has not gotten shot you need to consider the visual impression you’ll make Matt drives a 2009 Ford Ranger with a magnetic “La Puente” sign on the door Nor is Matt fancy: He is a 49-year-old veteran of two tours in Iraq a slightly built man from rural West Virginia with an easy smile He smokes cigarettes and often he is whiskery because that’s the color worn by Costilla County code enforcement and you don’t want to be mistaken for them La Puente ordered him a hoodie and a polo shirt in maroon with its insignia Is there a small greenhouse or area hidden behind a fence that suggests that marijuana is being grown “A full-grown plant could be worth a thousand dollars Many prairie settlements have been abandoned or are lived in only during the summer Matt had noticed one property with berms constructed inside its perimeter of barbed-wire fence He saw bullet casings and suspected the owner was a vet with some psychological issues: “I thought he was probably playing war games re-enacting things he’d been through.” He drove by to show me—the place was at the end of a dead-end road which made it kind of hard to pretend you were just passing by waved at whoever inside might be watching him He continued in that vein over the next month until one day he saw a man outside the house dressed in camo gear “I’ve got a little wood.” He gestured at the firewood stacked in the bed of his truck something useful conceived of by his employer as a calling card “You’re a persistent son of a bitch,” he said My first experience of the San Luis Valley came on a family car trip when I was 11 now Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve looked like fake scenery from a movie until we were in it I was amazed by its origin story: grains of sand blown from one side of the valley’s huge expanse The San Juan Mountains to the west hold the remains of an enormous ancient supervolcano whose eruption was one of the largest explosions in Earth’s geologic history When you grow up in a beautiful place that seems to lose some beauty to settlement (i.e. The San Luis Valley still looks much as it did 100 at 14,345 feet the fourth-highest summit in the Rockies named for the snow that covers its summit most of the year is visible from almost everywhere in the valley and is considered sacred by the Navajo Nestled up against the range just north of Blanca are the amazing sand dunes The valley tapers to a close down in New Mexico It is not hard to picture the Indigenous people who carved images into rocks near the rivers or the Hispanic people who established Colorado’s oldest town and a still-working system of communal irrigation in the southeastern corner as do feral horses and the occasional mountain lion It’s also not hard to see a through line between the homesteaders of the 19th century and the people who move out there today but it is some of the cheapest in the United States empty space like the pioneers did on the Great Plains except you’d have a truck instead of a wagon and mule By selling or bartering weed and picking up seasonal labor you might even get by without having a job It would be extremely difficult to live completely off the land My feeling of ignorance grew stronger in November 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president of the United States I had told a French radio station that Trump could never win the election I had plenty of company in this delusion.) The American firmament was shifting in ways I needed to understand forgotten places seemed an important part of that I took an assignment from this magazine in 2017 to write about South Park which is similar to the San Luis Valley in its challenging climate and abundance of open space One particularly remote area was overlaid with dirt roads from a moribund 1970s subdivision that had never taken off Some isolated trailers and shacks suggested that a handful of people were living off-grid and heard about an off-grid settlement on a much larger scale Staffers from a social service group called La Puente had shown her slides of how people were living out on “the flats” and told her about their rural outreach initiative; later which had begun as a homeless shelter—one of the first rural homeless shelters in the country—co-founded by a nun It’s a big old house on the humbler side of Alamosa converted to allow for separate facilities for men women (who get buzzed into their part of the upstairs) Most of the downstairs is a dining room and kitchen with lunch and dinner open to walk-ins from the community—but only after enough diners had signed up to clean the kitchen afterward The AmeriCorps volunteer assigned to this task wasn’t having luck Lance took the clipboard from her and began walking down the queue cajoling and appealing to diners’ better natures engaging with them one by one until he had his volunteers along with shelter clients and a staff person had grown up in the valley and had run the shelter for more than nine years She was from one of the extended families that have been in the area for generations and identify as Hispanic (The terms Latino and Latinx are less often used in the valley.) Her demeanor was on the gruff side—you can’t run a shelter if you’re a pushover—but it was clear from our conversation that she had a big heart and was deeply committed to helping the poor She explained the direct link between the shelter and the off-gridders I was interested in: “You’re living in a slum and you see an ad about owning five acres for $5,000 and you have a view of Blanca Peak—to them it’s an opportunity their piece of the rock.” People would come to the valley just to own their own place And free also from being judged: “Sometimes the attitude is I’d rather live a rough life out there than live in town and be looked down on,” Tona explained so the procedure was to stop at the end of their drive and tap the horn he’d often step from his truck so they could see him and an offer to come back should they find themselves in need of food I paid close attention because I was starting to volunteer with La Puente It seemed like a good way to meet isolated prairie dwellers I set myself a goal of three new contacts per day La Puente loaned me a “Rural Outreach” sign for the door of my own pickup truck as slowly as I could without looking suspicious; I guessed that many of the places I was sizing up were abandoned I finally settled on a place with a short driveway figuring that would make me harder to ignore and easier to evaluate It was a modest house with various pieces of junk around it but I could see by tracks in the dusty dirt that someone had been driving in and out That’s when I realized that the Jeep Wagoneer in front had somebody in it in a show of my confidence and good intentions His green Corona beer baseball cap matched the color of his eyes “I don’t usually accept charity and stuff,” he said but I kept hoping that any minute he’d invite me into his truck which was warm enough inside for him to be in a T-shirt; its front read and it wasn’t long before he told me how he had once let a guy live in his place for a spell while he was gone he and the guy got into an argument and the guy shot him “Right here.” He held out his arm to show a big Instead of needing to pry information out of a hermit self-revealing guy who really wanted someone to talk to…even if he didn’t want to invite them into his car I tried honking outside three places where either nobody was home or nobody lived But then I saw a humble place close to the road with a horse in a small corral and a couple of chickens in a pen I was immediately swarmed by several heeler dogs but I made soothing noises and crossed my fingers It took a couple of minutes for a Hispanic guy about 60 years old to appear and start walking toward the gate I read an official notice from the county that had been stapled to a fence post I pointed to it after the man reached me and I had introduced myself “Are they after you about no septic system?” I asked I’m working with them.” I offered him wood as well as some new bedsheets I happened to have which he declined (“I sleep in my clothes”) He said he owed 10 hours of community service to a court and asked if he could work it off with La Puente I gave him the office phone number and encouraged him to call The man came out again and immediately offered to give me a jump—it was in his interest “Circling the wagons” was the expression that came to mind at the next place I decided to hit and more—were arranged in roughly three-quarters of a circle like a wagon train hunkered down on the prairie in anticipation of attack but paused: The settlement was about a football field away from the road I tapped the horn as I approached and tapped it again for good measure once I had entered the little circle inside the perimeter and placed my truck in park The apparent dwelling was on the far side of my truck so I rolled down the passenger window to make it easier to see me A middle-aged white man wearing wraparound dark glasses with reflective lenses and a baseball cap came out a door He kept his distance and also kept his right hand inside the pocket of his hoodie; I suspected there might be a pistol there “How ya doin’?” he asked in a tone that said got a little wood—He interrupted me: “That’s dangerous You must be either brave or a little dumb.” He smiled in a way that was hard to interpret “Tony will probably be back a little later.” I put that name and all the vehicles together “Wait—does this place belong to Tie Rod Tony?” He was a person I had already met feeling like a cat who had wasted one of her nine lives Excerpted from Cheap Land Colorado: Off-Gridders at America’s Edge by Ted Conover An official website of the United States government A man walks through floodwaters downstream from a levee break along the Pajaro River in Monterey County Heavy rain from an atmospheric river caused the levee to fail 2023.  (Image credit: California Department of Water Resources) Significant flooding is ongoing in the western U.S. following another series of strong Pacific storms that battered the region and piled on to an already historic snowpack the abnormally wet winter will further improve drought across much of the western U.S as the snowpack melts in the coming months wiped out exceptional and extreme drought in California for the first time since 2020 and is expected to further improve drought conditions this spring.  drought and flood predictions for April through June to help the nation prepare for potential weather and climate threats to lives and livelihoods ​“Climate change is driving both wet and dry extremes as illustrated by NOAA’s observations and data that inform this seasonal outlook,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad Ph.D.​​ “​Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law​ and Inflation Reduction Act and in support of the Biden Administration's priority to tackle the climate crisis​ NOAA ​will invest significant resources ​to build a Climate-Ready Nation that gives communities tailored information about changing conditions so that residents and economies are protected." On March 9, NOAA forecasters declared La Nina over The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate pattern based on changes in rainfall and sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific Ocean that influences temperature and precipitation around the world La Nina occurs when ocean temperatures are cooler than normal and rainfall is reduced in the eastern to central Pacific Ocean “La Nina has finally ended after being in place nearly continuously for more than two years,” said Jon Gottschalck chief of the operational prediction branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center a division of the National Weather Service “ENSO-neutral —  the transition period between El Nino and La Nina — is likely to continue into the early summer with elevated chances of El Nino developing thereafter ENSO-neutral is factored into NOAA’s Spring Outlook.” Current drought conditions in Florida are expected to improve or go away during the next three months Areas of extreme to exceptional drought across parts of the southern High Plains are likely to persist through the spring season with drought also expected to develop into parts of New Mexico drought conditions are also expected to continue Drought may develop into parts of Washington state Above-average temperatures are favored for much of the southern and eastern half of the U.S the greatest chance for above-average temperatures exists from the southern High Plains eastward to Florida Above-average temperatures are also likely for Hawaii and northern parts of Alaska Below-average temperatures are predicted for the central Great Basin and the northern Plains.   NOAA forecasters predict above-average precipitation this spring across the Great Lakes and into parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast Below-average precipitation is most likely for the Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest.  There is a risk for flooding in most of the eastern half of the continental United States including most of the Mississippi River Basin Forecasters with the National Water Center in concert with NWS River Forecast Centers predict moderate to major flooding along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis An above normal to record snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains increases the threat of spring flooding due to snowmelt is at risk for flooding this spring,” said Ed Clark is heightening the potential for spring floods.” Spring snowmelt will bring welcomed water supply benefits to much of California and the Great Basin are currently at record low water levels following years of drought nws.pa@noaa.gov, (301) 427-9000 The late Sam Kinison, the second-funniest comedian to come out of Illinois launched his career with a riff about solving world hunger “Stop sending them food,” Kinison whispered, then screamed, as was his shtick. “Don’t send them another bite. Send them U-Hauls. Send them a guy that says, ‘You know, we’ve been coming here giving you food for about 35 years now and we were driving through the desert, and we realized there wouldn’t BE world hunger if you people would live where the FOOD IS! YOU LIVE IN A DESERT!!!’” the West could slake its thirst by draining the Great Lakes which contain 6 quadrillion gallons of water — 20 percent of the surface freshwater on Earth “Fifty years from now there might actually be a pipeline that brings water from the Great Lakes to Phoenix,” Famiglietti said “I think that’s part of our future.”  has plenty of drinking water,” USA Today concluded — “it’s simply in the wrong place.” Hey, USA Today, let me fix that sentence for you. It should read, “The U.S. has plenty of people. They’re simply in the wrong place to drink water.” To paraphrase Sam, let’s not send water to the Southwest, let’s send U-Hauls – preferably the same U-Hauls Southwesterners drove away from Illinois, which has been the second most moved-out-of state for the last three years in a row and was one of three states that lost population in the 2020 Census The states with the biggest population increases All the places that are running out of water Businesses wanted to move their factories to right-to-work states Depressives wanted a cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder These refugees from cold weather must have figured that modern science would allow them to engineer their way out of water shortages so now they’re conniving to bring along the water they left behind There is a federal law that prohibits water diversions from the Great Lakes Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and requires the approval of all eight Great Lakes governors to provide water to a community straddling the basin (Only Illinois is exempt from that requirement: under a 1967 Supreme Court ruling we are allowed to divert 2.1 billion gallons of water a day much of it to communities outside the watershed Chicago’s urban sprawl would not be possible otherwise.) Of course laws are made by politicians and can be unmade by politicians Great Lakes states lose congressional seats to Sun Belt states Sun Belt politicians have talked about taking our water We need a dialogue between states to deal with issues like water conservation States like Wisconsin are awash in water.” Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas once told unamused Michiganders that the Southwest “could use some of that water of yours.” communications manager for the Michigan Department of Environment has an answer for those covetous Sun Belters: “They can have all the water they want; all they have to do is move here,” he once said “In terms of subsidizing golf courses in Arizona and further sprawl in Atlanta looking to Great Lakes water is not the solution.” It costs $4,720 to rent a 20-foot U-Haul truck for a move from Phoenix to Detroit. But think of all the savings in housing costs. A young man named Drew Philp bought a house for $500 in Detroit, and wrote a book about restoring it We have plenty of empty space in the Midwest these days you might want to give up trying to wring the last drop out of the Colorado River and give this place a try Moving here is the only way you’ll ever drink out of the Great Lakes “We have deserts in America,” Kinison ended his rant Tags: Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered When Colorado’s famous snow melts in the spring This large Western state is home to more than 107,000 miles of rivers most of which arise in the state but some of which only pass through From big desert rivers flowing across high plateaus and through red rock canyons to clear, sparkling streams rushing through the mountains, there is something for every river lover here.  They fill the major lakes and reservoirs Colorado has hundreds of named waterways—many are just small creeks but some are substantial; seventeen drain areas larger than 3,900 square miles (roughly the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined) water has always played an important role in Colorado’s history But Colorado also provides water to more than a dozen states and portions of Mexico and recreation from California to the Mississippi River rely on water that originates in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains This refers to the length of the entire river Hydrologists divide the state’s rivers into those that arise in the Rocky Mountains and flow west ultimately to the Gulf of California (the Western Slope rivers), and those that start on the eastern side of the Continental Divide mountain range and flow through the Front Range ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico (the Eastern Slope rivers) Although roughly 80 percent of Colorado’s water comes from the Western Slope the majority of the population lives along the Front Range This means that a lot of Western Slope water is diverted to the Front Range to support its population it makes sense to start with the river that provides so much of that water the one that gave the state its name: the Colorado River Although most of the water comes off the Western Slope six of the ten longest rivers in the state flow off the eastern side of the mountains and many of these have played a major role in Colorado’s (and the country’s) history and economy The western slope of Colorado has its share of major rivers Let’s start with the most iconic one in the state From a tiny trickle beginning in a sodden bogland near Poudre Pass in the Never Summer Wilderness, the Colorado River flows south and then west and Arizona and growing in size until it becomes the powerful desert river capable of carving the Grand Canyon the river is mostly a clear mountain stream although just before it enters Utah the river begins to look more like the sediment-filled canyon carver it will become downstream It’s the red silt for which the river is famous that gave the river its name The Colorado River was named in the early 1700s by Eusebio Francisco Kino a Jesuit priest who explored southern Arizona and northern Mexico The section of the river from its headwaters to its confluence with the Green River in Utah was originally called the Grand River Through a clever bit of political wrangling in 1921 Colorado Congressman Edward Taylor convinced the United States Congress to change the name of the portion of the river between its headwaters and the confluence from the Grand River to the Colorado River reasoning that the section of the river within the state should have the same name as the state The Colorado River began to supply the cities of the Front Range with water in 1890 when the Grand Ditch was built to divert water into Long Draw Reservoir Since then several enormous dams and reservoirs and aqueducts have been built along the Colorado’s length In Colorado, the largest dams and reservoirs on the river are the Grand Dam and Lake Granby These were built in the 1930s to provide water to the Front Range via the Alva B which carries water through the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern Slope Within the state, the Colorado River runs from high alpine to plateau desert lands, and along the way, there are exceptional rafting and kayaking opportunities. Gore and Glenwood canyons offer technical whitewater and Ruby and Horsethief canyons give the boater a chance to experience the high desert canyonlands The upper stretches of the river near Kremmling are also known for excellent fly fishing By the time the Yampa reaches Dinosaur National Monument to join the Green River at Echo Park The Yampa and the Green were at the center of a huge environmental battle in the mid-1950s fighting a proposed dam that would have submerged Echo Park and the confluence of the two rivers The publicity around this fight made rafting the Yampa through the national monument extremely popular and it’s still one of the premier river trips in the Southwest; because the river has such a short season it is considered a prime catch to obtain a permit From the glacially carved valleys of the Flat Tops Wilderness the White River flows west across the Piceance Basin Named by Spanish explorers for the white sandstones through which it flows in its lower reaches it drains an area of more than 5,000 square miles from some of the most famous wilderness in the state to the high desert plains near its end Much of the upper White River is an excellent freestone fishing destination for several different species of trout, and it is said that some of Colorado’s largest fish can be found in the White River. Try fishing the river around Meeker near the Flat Tops The Blue River begins near Quandary Peak by Breckenridge and flows to the north to join the Colorado River at Kremmling. Along its course is the Dillon Reservoir from which water is pumped to the Front Range (the reservoir is controlled by Denver Water) The Blue River was important in the early European history of the area as it became a settlement focus for gold miners flocking to its gold-rich headwaters in the mid-1800s The Blue River is known for excellent fly fishing and also for whitewater rafting in the section between Dillon Reservoir and the Green Mountain Reservoir to the north near Kremmling The Blue River flows into and out of both aforementioned reservoirs The Roaring Fork Conservancy was established in 1996 to help preserve and protect the Roaring Fork Watershed it is one of the largest watershed conservancies in Colorado and has taught over 100,000 students as part of its educational mission And the Fryingpan has one of the greatest names ever Legend has it that a couple of trappers were attacked by members of the local Ute tribe The survivor hung a frying pan on a tree to mark the place where his friend was killed Since the Gunnison has such a large drainage basin, it has been dammed in several places to control its flow and distribute that water, largely for agriculture in the Uncompahgre Valley. The Blue Mesa Dam and Crystal Dams were all built in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Colorado River Storage Project which also created Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green The Gunnison River’s name has been a source of confusion for explorers for a couple of centuries Originally called the Tomichi by the local Utes in the mid-1700s Spanish explorer Juan Maria de Rivera thought it was the Colorado Maps from the mid-1800s called it the Grand River who was killed while mapping a route through the region in 1853 The Gunnison is perhaps best known for the extraordinary Black Canyon where sheer walls of 1.7 billion-year-old metamorphic and igneous rocks rise more than two thousand feet above the river The canyon is so narrow that it is often hard to see the river and sunlight reaches the bottom only briefly during a summer day Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is one of the best places to look down this precipitous drop and see the veins of pink granite snaking across dark schist and gneiss like a spiderweb the river thrashing through boulders far below The Gunnison River is an excellent destination for whitewater rafting and offers anything from class I to V+ in several sections from Gunnison almost to Grand Junction The section in the Black Canyon is peppered with huge rapids and portages It’s not navigable by raft; it is a challenging kayak stretch but requires an expert hand the Gunnison is a Gold Medal trout fishery The Uncompahgre River starts in the northwestern San Juan Mountains and makes its way through Ridgway, Ouray, and Montrose on its way to the Gunnison The river was named by the Utes for the numerous hot springs near Ouray and Ridgway These hot springs are part of the geologic story that created major mineral deposits in the region and the upper watershed was a mining boom area in the late 19th century Ridgway Reservoir was completed in 1988 and in 1994 the U.S and Trout Unlimited worked together to help create and restore fish habitat below the reservoir these efforts have created excellent fishing in the reservoir’s tailwaters Rising near Hermosa Peak, the Dolores River flows west toward its confluence with the Colorado in Utah. It passes through the town of Dolores The river was originally named in 1776 by Spanish explorer and priest Silvestre Velez de Escalante during his journey from Santa Fe to seek a route to the west coast but long before the Spaniards “found” and named the river the Utes were forcibly removed from most of the region and settled on their reservations in southwestern Colorado The Dolores River became the territory of prospectors and cattlemen the discovery of the uranium compound carnotite downstream of the settlement of Bedrock ushered in several uranium booms that lasted off and on until the 1970s the mines along the river supplied 90 percent of the world’s radium The Dolores River performs an odd geological shenanigan when it reaches western Colorado’s Paradox Valley But the Dolores instead cuts directly across the valley a phenomenon caused by unique geological circumstances—the uplift of the land and collapse of the valley occurred slowly enough that the river could maintain an ancient course instead of being constrained by the shape of an already existing valley The McPhee Dam stops the majority of the river’s flow except in high-water years. When there is enough water, the rafting on the Dolores is incomparable the lively river descends through pinyon and juniper and into slick rock canyonlands and extraordinary redrock scenery make a Dolores River trip unique among Colorado’s rivers There is also some impressive whitewater along the river including Snaggletooth and Stateline rapids The Nature Conservancy’s South Fork Preserve protects a section of rare and endangered riparian habitat along the river near Telluride One of the largest tributaries to the Colorado River is the San Juan River which drains more than 24,000 square miles of southwestern Colorado The San Juan River travels from alpine forests to canyonlands desert and Mexican Hat before joining the Colorado River in Utah’s Glen Canyon (now under Lake Powell) The San Juan has been a center of civilization for thousands of years; evidence of human habitation along the river goes back at least 10,000 years from Archaic hunters and gatherers and Ancestral Puebloans to the Ute and Navajo people followed by Mormon pioneers and Anglo miners who made their way through the area and left a major imprint on the landscape A gold rush in the San Juan Mountains in the 1860s brought thousands of people to the region, with tourists following them not long after. Pagosa Springs (from the Ute word “pah-gosah” meaning “water with a bad smell”) was founded in 1885 around the sulfur hot springs located along the banks of the San Juan River. The main spring is the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring and the area has been attracting tourists seeking the medicinal qualities of the hot springs since the late 1800s The largest tributaries to the San Juan are the Animas and Mancos rivers The Animas and its main tributary the La Plata River figure prominently in the mining history of that part of the San Juan Mountains and silver along the rivers in 1871; the area boomed La Plata is the Spanish word for silver and of course the town of Silverton was named for the precious metal The Animas River was named in 1765 by Spanish explorer Juan Maria de Rivera South of Silverton the river flows into the Animas Gorge which is an extraordinarily beautiful and narrow mountain canyon The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trip through the gorge affords incredible views of the river as it rushes through the canyon far below The river is the literal heart of the town of Durango. People can kayak, canoe, or boat right through town and Animas River Days occur every year in June Originally started in 1983 as a whitewater kayak “rodeo” competition the event has now grown to include education and conservation and a very popular costumed river “parade.” the Animas-La Plata Water Project (completed in 2015) pumps water from the river to fill Lake Nighthorse which then provides water to the Southern Ute tribe The Mancos River is Colorado’s westernmost tributary to the San Juan River. It runs from the mountains just east of the town of Mancos to its confluence with the San Juan and forms the eastern boundary of Mesa Verde (both the national park and the actual mesa) The current name for the river comes from the Spanish word for “one-armed.” Although no one seems to agree it appears that someone hurt or lost a hand during an early crossing of the river The river flows across lands that were densely populated during Ancestral Puebloan times, around 800 years ago, and was an important lifeline for those peoples. More recently, the Mancos River has formed a focal point for the town of Mancos which is experiencing a renaissance of sorts with outdoor gear makers headquartered there In 2017 the town even started an annual Mancos Valley River Film Festival and it is a designated Colorado Creative District The state’s longest river is also one of the Southwest’s great rivers and something of a Colorado River oddball It begins just east of the Continental Divide but it flows south from there to the Gulf of Mexico forming the international border between the United States and Mexico for more than half of its length The Rio Grande is a river of history It is the route used for thousands of years by Native Americans Even all the Native American names for this river before the arrival of Europeans translate to “Big (or Great) River.” It is an excellent place to see an extraordinary number of bird species including the annual sandhill crane migration when more than 20,000 cranes move through the valley in the spring and fall Most of the river is blocked by dams and diversions throughout its length. The first of these is the Rio Grande Dam southwest of Creede The dam and accompanying reservoir were built between 1910 and 1914 to provide irrigation water for the San Luis Valley By the time the river reaches southern Texas there is usually no water left; so much has been taken out for irrigation and municipal use along the way Although most people are more familiar with the rafting that occurs in New Mexico or Texas (in places like the Taos Box or Big Bend National Park), the Colorado section of the Rio Grande near Creede has excellent fly fishing and whitewater rafting The North Platte River begins just across the Continental Divide from the headwaters of the Yampa River near Walden It flows first north into Wyoming and then west to its confluence with the South Platte in Nebraska to form the Platte River It may have one of the most spectacular beginnings of any river in the state; nearly a dozen peaks of over 11,000 feet drain into its headwaters The North Platte in Wyoming and Nebraska was an important path used by trappers and pioneers on the route west but the Colorado section of the river is too small there are no dams on the Colorado portion of the river although it is blocked by several further downstream The river flows into Wyoming through Northgate Canyon which is a popular 10-mile rafting and kayaking section The North Platte’s sister river, the South Platte, spends much more of its time in Colorado before exiting into Nebraska. In the mountains, it passes through the fishing destinations of Fairplay, Hartsel, and Deckers The river drains an enormous portion of the Front Range; it is the main water source for eastern Colorado and has supported agriculture on the otherwise arid to semi-arid High Plains. Denver owes its existence to the South Platte River (the city was founded along its banks at its confluence with Cherry Creek) and the river’s valley has served as the route for interstates and railroads The South Platte was originally the territory of the Arapaho tribe and was later exploited by trappers and settlers who wanted to escape the aridity of the plains Dam-building began early in Colorado’s settlement; there are currently seven dams and reservoirs on the river The South Platte Scenic and Historic Byway in Julesburg is only 19 miles long but is rich with the history of eastern Colorado. The state’s only Pony Express Station was located in Julesburg on the banks of the South Platte Several sections of the river in the mountains are known for excellent whitewater rafting and a quick search on the Internet produces more than a dozen sites for fly fishing on this Gold Medal trout stream One of the South Platte’s many tributaries is the Cache la Poudre River, known locally as simply the Poudre (poo-der). The river begins in Rocky Mountain National Park, then flows north and east through Fort Collins to join the South Platte River near Greeley The Poudre’s name comes from a story that a group of French trappers were caught in a snowstorm and buried their gunpowder near the mouth of the river for protection miners and the railroad came to the area and began to settle Mining didn’t pan out (pun intended) and the railroad up the Poudre Canyon was never built but the river was still a draw to settlers looking to farm the floodplains at the base of the mountains the river is critical to more than half a million people along the northern Front Range 76 miles of the river were designated as Wild and Scenic in 1986 and is the only waterway in Colorado with that designation. It is an extremely popular whitewater rafting and kayaking river with popular hiking trails and fly fishing as well a scenic drive from Fort Collins west to Walden Clear Creek and its canyon provided the perfect route through the Rocky Mountains; they became the path for the railroad, and later for Interstate 70 and Highway 6. Along the way, Clear Creek passes the Coors Brewing Company’s facility in Golden and some of its water is used in the plant’s operations (although not to make the beer) The Arkansas River is the sixth-longest in the entire country It begins in the Mosquito and Sawatch ranges and flows south and then east across Kansas and Oklahoma before joining the Mississippi River in Arkansas the river picks up several large tributaries such as the Purgatoire These and many other tributaries (as well as several dams and reservoirs connected by locks) make the Arkansas a huge river capable of carrying barge traffic when it reaches the Mississippi the river has been an important route for exploration and settlement and trading throughout the country’s history The hundreds of rivers in Colorado each have their own history and learn your way down Colorado’s rivers for the rest of your life and never see them all Copyright © 2025 · Free Colorado Travel Guide | Vacations, Travel and Tourism · All Rights Reserved each river has its own beauty and character Take a look at some America’s best rivers and some of the rivers we’re working to protect And learn some facts about your favorite rivers It’s one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and an irreplaceable national treasure. It’s the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and it is the #1 Most Endangered River of 2015 The river faces a battery of threats that could forever harm its health and the unique experience that belongs to every American Not since dams were proposed in the 1960’s has the Grand Canyon faced such a serious attack [su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/P_KD0SBQ4YU” width=”1020″ height=”580″] The massive Escalade construction project would irreversibly scar the fragile heart of the canyon with bulldozers A tram from the rim to the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers gift shop and riverside walkways would transform what has always been a wild place Radioactive pollution from uranium mining threatens tributary streams of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon expansion of the town of Tusayan could deplete vital groundwater supplies impacting the health of fragile desert ecosystems American Rivers and our partners at Grand Canyon Trust are calling on Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and the Obama Administration to use every authority to prevent damage to the river and preserve the Grand Canyon for all Americans to enjoy Please take action to preserve the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon for all of us The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers® report is a list of rivers at a crossroads where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates “This year’s report underscores the importance of healthy rivers to each and every American,” said Bob Irvin “Whether it’s for clean drinking water we all have a stake in protecting our nation’s rivers.” Millions of Americans recognize the Grand Canyon as one of the most iconic landscapes on the planet But this natural masterpiece of the Colorado River faces a battery of threats A proposed industrial-scale construction project in the wild heart of the canyon and a proposed expansion of groundwater pumping at Tusayan all threaten the Grand Canyon’s wild nature and unique experience that belongs to every American Unless the Department of the Interior acts to stop these threats one of our nation’s greatest natural treasures will be scarred forever The Columbia River is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest’s economy and environment The river’s dams provide more than half the region’s electricity as well as flood control and irrigation but they have also decimated the basin’s salmon and steelhead runs As the Columbia River Treaty is renegotiated Department of State must put the importance of a healthy ecosystem on an equal footing with the benefits of hydropower and flood control We can achieve this balance by releasing more water for salmon when they need it and providing fish passage beyond currently impassable dams Since the last Treaty was negotiated a little over 50 years ago this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do right by one of the nation’s most important rivers  The Holston River is rich in history and heritage and today provides drinking water for tens of thousands of Tennessee residents the river and its communities are threatened by an army ammunition plant that has been contaminating water supplies with toxic chemical pollution for years Army and its Holston Army Ammunition Plant must immediately stop polluting the Holston River with harmful explosive chemicals The Smith River is one of the most cherished floating and fishing destinations in Montana The river is home to a nationally-renowned wild trout fishery and provides prime habitat for dozens of fish and wildlife species The river is threatened by a huge proposed copper mine in its headwaters that could seriously degrade water quality with acid mine drainage and toxic heavy metals The State of Montana should not permit the copper mine unless it can be designed in a way that eliminates any risk to the river’s water quality and habitat The Edisto River is one of South Carolina’s most popular rivers for paddling It’s also the state’s most heavily used river for irrigation and excessive agricultural water withdrawals are threatening water quality and the water supplies of other users While the state’s permitting process requires industrial and municipal water users to meet requirements to safeguard river health and clean water The South Carolina House of Representatives must pass H.3564 this year to end this unfair exemption so that the Edisto can continue to provide sustainable water supplies for all while supporting river health and recreation The Chuitna River supports Alaskan Native communities PacRim Coal’s proposal to develop what would be Alaska’s largest open-pit coal strip mine at the Chuitna River’s headwaters poses an unacceptable threat to the economy and communities that rely on clean water and healthy salmon runs Army Corps of Engineers denies the mine’s permit this pristine wild river and its communities will be irreparably damaged The Wild and Scenic Illinois Rogue (OR) and Smith (OR and CA) rivers are known for their healthy salmon runs proposed nickel mining in these rivers’ headwaters threatens their unique values Immediate closure of the area to mining is the most effective way to help prevent the development of nickel strip mines from turning the pristine headwaters of the highest concentration of wild rivers in the country into an industrial mining zone and Department of Interior must withdraw this area from mining immediately to protect this wild treasure  Minnesota’s Arrowhead region is known for its pure and abundant waters a proposed copper-nickel sulfide mine at the headwaters of the St It is critical that state and federal regulators deny permits for the mine plan because it does not sufficiently protect the St The Harpeth River is one of the few free-flowing rivers in Tennessee It flows through one of the fastest growing regions in the country and recreation values are threatened by sewage and water treatment plant expansions Unless state officials require state-of-the-art technology to improve sewage treatment the river will be overwhelmed by treated sewage pollution and public health could be compromised The Pearl River runs through Central Mississippi and supports vital oyster reefs and marsh habitat in the Mississippi Sound Coastal wetlands and commercial fisheries depend on the Pearl River’s flows the river’s health has been compromised by the Barnett Dam north of Jackson a new dam has been proposed for the Pearl that would cause additional harm to river health Army Corps of Engineers must reject this unnecessary and ecologically harmful new dam — If you take a stroll along the Fraser River on Monday afternoon you may notice that the normally clear water is now yellow-ish This is all part of a dye-tracing study, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Colorado Water Science Center Researchers will begin a continuous slow drop of an environmentally safe and non-toxic dye called sodium fluorescein into the river near Confluence Park in Winter Park between 3 p.m and will monitor it as it flows downstream Connor Newman is a hydrologist with the USGS who was at the drop site on Monday "We're doing it to be able to locate groundwater inflows into the stream because many of the groundwater inflows occur along the bottom of the stream bed where we can't see them with the naked eye," he explained This project will help the USGS "identify potential groundwater inflow locations and estimate groundwater contributions to the Fraser River," the organization added "These estimates can be used to understand the sustainability of streamflow and groundwater flow under changing climatic conditions." The odd color will last between 12 and 24 hours Researchers said they expect little to no visible color change in the river to the south — downstream — of the confluence between the Fraser River and St "The goal with this data is that we'd be able to provide the information to the local stakeholders when all the snow melt has gone and there's not much rainstorms much of the water within the river is potentially made up of groundwater," Newman explained "And that groundwater helps to keep the river at a constant temperature and that helps maintain fish habitat and then also helps to maintain constant flows for human usage." The data collected will be passed along to the water managers in the Fraser River watershed The Fraser River is the first main tributary river to the Colorado River within the Arapaho National Forest, according to Grand County's website Fraser and Tabernash before it joins the Colorado River two miles west of Granby Grand County and Trout Unlimited have all approved this study A warm spring has already melted much of the limited snowpack that sits high in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in southern Colorado Water is already flowing through the ditches near the rural village of San Pablo Every now and then Dan Quintana -- in weathered work gloves and a ball cap -- raises up his shovel and slams it into the mud and matted willows that line the waterway that runs through his hay fields His slight frame makes it easy for him to jump across the narrow ditch “All these get flood irrigated,” Quintana explains “That's how everybody irrigates their properties.” a time to take stock of and prepare for the year ahead That’s also the case on farms in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico where farmers spend their weekends banding together to clean out the irrigation ditches that bring snowmelt to their fields is part of an irrigation tradition unique to this region for centuries you or one of your family members is expected to be here shoveling out muck “[We make] sure there's no obstructions in the ditch that prevent the water flow for the users downstream,” Quintana says water would pool in places it’s not needed caught up in makeshift dams of trash and vegetation Small farm towns in portions of the San Luis Valley networks of irrigation ditches and canals dug nearly 150 years ago It’s what makes farming possible in this dry stretch of land While most Western law views water as property - a commodity people own and trade - acequias see it as a community asset always knowing his family’s land would be here for him to return to He participates in the annual ditch cleaning now because he always has But Quintana says there’s a growing sense that it will be difficult to bring the next generation back to the valley to keep the acequias functional and vibrant “There's no ready dollars for them to put in their pocket So they go after seeking jobs in the cities and a group of middle-aged farmers pile into the back of an old pickup truck to head to the volunteer fire station for chicken fajitas It’s hard to overstate how radical the idea of sharing water in the West is Everyone outside an acequia in states like Colorado uses the prior appropriation system for water where your right to water is given to you based on when you claimed it but it’s the core tenant of acequia management Distribution of water is based on equity and need not given out because you claimed it first Sharing water sounds easy if snowpack is high and runoff is plentiful But in times of scarcity everyone within an acequia feels the shortage together Acequias vary in their style of governance the people who irrigate with water from a particular ditch a board of directors and at least one employee who runs the ditch Augustin “Roy” Esquibel is the mayordomo for the ditch cleaned today When he arrives at the fire station for lunch he takes the time to shake everyone’s hand and jokes that he’ll have to walk a lot more ditches to work off these fajitas Everyone here is either currently farming or a descendent of farmers The land today is used to mostly grow hay or other grasses for cattle and horses with some wheat and dry beans grown as well Esquibel says his faith guides his decisions “Just be neighborly and treat people the way you'd want to be treated,” he says What's in it for me?’ And I think over here we still care about each other these towns also experience many of the same challenges as other rural areas across the country - like poverty farmland consolidation and limited educational opportunities All of which are causing young people to leave a group of teenagers gather around a fire pit in Junita Martinez’s backyard in the community of San Francisco about a 10-minute drive from the fire station “We're actually sitting right next to a babbling stream and it's our acequia,” Martinez says She’s a leader in the community and also active in an acequia association in the valley “It makes you think about who you are as a person More and more of the farmland here is owned and operated by absentee owners And that means it’s hard to fill board positions within the acequia Those landowners often don’t participate in the limpieza Many acequias assess a fee if you’re not willing to participate the work takes longer and creates a rift within the community She oversees a youth group in the town of San Luis called Move Mountains intent on weaving young people into the community’s traditions I'm extremely concerned about the next generation not being able to carry these traditions,” Otero says Otero says the acequias are more than just a way of managing water They’re a more democratic way of managing and dividing up scarce resources People within the acequia feel more empowered about decisions related to water management That style of community decision-making has all kinds of applications outside the acequia outside the farming communities that rely on the water “The key to this is to teach the kids: This is who you are Eight young people currently live in the village of San Francisco they’re often counting the days until they can go off to college or find a job That’s why Otero makes sure they know why sharing water within an acequia is unique even if they leave “If we can instill that in the hearts and the minds of young people they will always come back and give to their community,” she says Sitting by the ditch in San Francisco in a camouflage jacket and sporting a buzz cut 14-year-old Leon Medina digs through a box of arrowheads he’s found in the nearby mountains “My hobby is looking for horns and finding arrowheads that’s just a spearhead that my cousin had found,” he says as he move a carved obsidian point between his fingers Medina is in the youth group run by Shirley Romero Otero He and his friends got together to help with today’s limpieza turning a day long chore into one wrapped up in the morning Medina says when he grows up he’s interested in becoming a game warden in the nearby mountains to keep track of wildlife and prevent poachers he’s mapped the Sangre de Cristos in his mind “You can see the rings around the trees where the water has been high,” he says that the snow was lower this year than almost any other in the records we’ve kept is why the ditch cleaning takes on a different kind of urgency for Medina Every drop of water will be even more valuable to the farmers “He's had me irrigating his fields since I was like seven years old,” he says “So a lot of people like all these old timers asked me if I could help them.” He says friends at school will often complain about being bored He has an interest in how the acequias work “There's there's way more stuff to do out here and just it's free out here His voice trails off and he gestures up toward the Sangre de Cristo mountains and then back down toward the acequia and the water flowing at our feet And while he does spend time outside the valley This story is part of a project covering the Colorado River, produced by KUNC for public media stations throughout the southwest, and supported through a Walton Family Foundation grant. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial content Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NOCO there are some omens pointing to the Southwest's harsh future: in particular the second largest artificial reservoir in the United States Lake Powell provides water and electricity (through hydroelectric power) to 4 to 5 million acres of southwestern farmland the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Las Vegas and the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolises — the two largest metropolitan areas of southern California That is why experts are so concerned by the news that Lake Powell is shrinking Lake Powell is filled to only 26 percent of its capacity nearby Lake Mead is only at 28 percent of its capacity while the Colorado River system is only at 34 percent The low water levels across these reservoirs are a direct consequence of man-made climate change a distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University Is a long predicted consequence of human caused warming The drop in levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell are very clear indicators of this trend because they integrate the hydrological balance over many years." a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment & Sustainability at the University of California wrote to Salon that climate change can be blamed for roughly 40% to 50% of the severity of the megadrought currently afflicting the Southwest He mainly attributed this to the rising temperatures themselves as the increased heat causes the atmosphere to suck more water up and reduces the amount of mountain precipitation that falls as snow "The shrinking of Lake Powell is due to a number of factors including the climate change-induced drying noted above increasing human demand for water in the Basin and various specific water and dam operation decisions over the years," Swain explained "The net effect is that there's far more demand for Colorado River water than there is actual water in the Colorado River system at this point — and the gap continues to widen as supply dwindles and demand rises" Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist The undersupply of water is going to have a dire effect on the roughly 60 million people who inhabit that part of the country an associate professor and graduate director of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Rhode Island the situation has already affected Lake Powell's appeal as a tourist and recreational site — "for example the Grand Canyon National Park and the famous river exploration activities are all dependent on water releases from Lake Powell." But that is just the tip of the iceberg "A more significant impact will be on the native reservation communities (Navajo and others) in this dry and arid Lake Powell watershed who have very limited water infrastructure to begin with," Akanda told Salon and overall way of life will be deeply impacted if the lake dries up entirely." He also noted that the water in that area is "hotly contested," and many highly populated regions will suffer if there is less water "A drying Lake Powell will also mean the downstream users in Arizona and Mexico will have no more water flowing from the upstream," Akanda told Salon adding that Los Angeles gets approximately 20% of its water from the Lake Powell region This will have a negative effect on "agriculture fisheries and ecosystems across the southern part of the Colorado basin," Akanda noted Mann said that the American west will suffer as water dries up "It will become increasingly difficult for people in the western US to meet their freshwater needs as supply continues to decrease and population and demand increase," Mann told Salon "These trends are on a tragic collision course under scoring the urgency once again of concerted action on climate." "We're careening toward an even more dire water crisis than has already transpired." But will this year's dried-up Colorado basin be a permanent situation something that we might see every year in the future and no one really knows the answer," Swain mused "But it looks like we're probably going to find out the hard way since we're careening toward an even more dire water crisis than has already transpired." Kevin Trenberth, climate scientist and author of the book "The Changing Flow of Energy Through the Climate System" explained to Salon by email that when it comes to the Southwest and climate change one has to remember that every region of the planet has natural variability that will influence how it is affected by Earth's warming scientists can predict El Niño year a few months before it occurs Researchers say it can spark droughts in Australia and increase rain and floods in parts of the U.S "We have been in a La Niña state for two years now This favors a storm track across the US that is pushed northwards in general and much drier conditions in the Southwest it means both the La Niña and global climate change are conspiring against the water levels." the same natural variability that is currently causing the Southwest to dry out may one day have the opposite effect could well bring much more rain to the Southwest and next thing you know there are floods in California and houses toppling into the ocean along the coast!" Trenberth observed "That is also affected by the winds and sea swells and waves pounding the coast and even recently there has been some flooding rains in the Southwest He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022 Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press News | Jun 5 A 22-year old Missouri woman died and three others were seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on Colorado Highway 9 in Blue River on Sunday the driver of a southbound Dodge Ram 1500 lost control crossed into the oncoming lane of travel and collided head-on with a northbound Honda CRV public information officer and trooper Gabriel Moltrer said the day after the crash and three passengers suffered serious injuries The vehicle reportedly came to a rest off the right shoulder of the northbound lane partially blocking the lane and facing northwest It is unknown whether or not anyone in the Honda was wearing a seatbelt The Honda came to a rest off the right shoulder of the northbound lane Alcohol and excessive speeds are suspected He could not provide information about the speeds of either vehicle or whether there is potential for criminal charges Colorado State Patrol closed the highway at the time of the crash and it remained closed until just before midnight.  Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection The full project is expected to cost about $165,000 All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project Sophia Waterfield is a reporter for Newsweek based at its London bureau She has written for publications such as Metro UK and has covered topics such as business technology Sophia graduated from the University for the Creative Arts in 2010 where she studied journalism You can contact her on s.waterfield@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Flooding along the Arkansas River has taken the life of a man from Texas According to the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a flood warning for the Arkansas River at Canon City The water levels are expected to rise above flood stage in the early hours of Friday morning producing minor flooding through to Sunday The NWS has advised residents to stay away from the banks of rivers and streams in the area due to them being easily broken and falling into the deadly Twitter users have also shared images of debris floating down the river and fast-flowing waves as well as people taking to the waters for rafting died when his raft flipped over while in the Arkansas River west of Canon City He was rafting with a group from the Boy Scouts of America First responders were unable to revive him at the scene Pueblo County Sherriff and its Police Department (PPD) have placed restrictions on activities on the Arkansas River due to the dangerous conditions The Arkansas River has been hit with flooding for the last month relentless flooding inundated communities and damaged or spilled over levees on three major rivers in two states at the end of May with historic flooding sending hundreds of people to temporary shelters at Fort Mill The NWS has warned that other rivers will be prone to flooding in Arkansas Those affected are the Mississippi River near Arkansas City Mississippi River forecasts are based on rainfall that has occurred and what is to come over the next 48 hours There are also active warnings for the next 24 hours for Illinois and Missouri Flood warnings are also continuing for Fourche Lafave River Near Houston with major warnings in place for Pendleton and Pine Bluff NWS advises that if anyone comes to flooded roads that they should turn back and not drive through So. Much. CFS. #ArkansasRiver #Pueblo #Colorado pic.twitter.com/V90jntYbi1 Temporary repairs to Faulkner County's 90-year-old Lollie Bottoms levee, which survived historic flooding of the Arkansas River, should begin in roughly three weeks if all goes well, a representative of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday.https://t.co/6jVaW66yBQ pic.twitter.com/rffMpkxghP A plastic culvert riding the #ArkansasRiver in #CanonCity @KOAA pic.twitter.com/JK3Qrgw8VY Some crowd favorite events are already being cancelled due to the high water in the Arkansas River. I grew up here and we have seen it higher in years past, at peak. This isn’t peak yet. Wow. pic.twitter.com/A03ThJ8DXd RIDING THE WAVES: Some people want to watch the Arkansas River’s high flows in Canon City, this kayaker is experiencing it. @KOAA pic.twitter.com/y6dKVxw99N The Arkansas River looks more like a fast moving lake. The water levels are the highest I have ever seen them. pic.twitter.com/JT70DPbDZM Mississippi State fans heading to Omaha, be aware that parts of I-24 are closed due to flooding. Please take the route suggested by google maps. You can also take I-35 in Kansas City to Des Monies, then, I-85 from Des Monies to Omaha. We will update throughout the week. #mswx pic.twitter.com/sMMeHgCL6g #ArkansasRiver today in Buena Vista, #Colorado. pic.twitter.com/3Jrywcl7fM Those living in flood prone areas or along the Arkansas River, keep water levels monitored. Main precip core showing broad area of 1"+ rainfall rates in 1 hour. #kswx #okwx 7:15 PM CDT 6/11/2019 pic.twitter.com/oaJnwBBGdH LOOK AT ALL THAT DAM WATER: Bureau of Reclamation is releasing water at Pueblo Dam. This is 3 weeks late because of weather. The bureau says it is good news for farmers and people who rely on water, bad news for tubers and people who use the Arkansas River recreationally. @KOAA pic.twitter.com/rXcx4BxECs Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Experience the thrill of turkey hunting as a group of hunters pursue the elusive North American Turkey Slam Live turkey activity updates from our experts in each region Coverage from the annual trade show in Las Vegas It wasn’t five minutes after boarding our guide’s skiff when a fat brownie sucked in my fly as it swept along an eddy edge A battle ensued as the fish moved away downstream into the swift run The stubborn trout jumped a couple of times while running in and out of the current as I hung on A couple of whitewater rafts with jovial paddlers whooping it up quickly moved by on the opposite side of the river The fish surfaced again in the shallow riffles Guide Jeff Ehlert oared us toward the edge of the slower-moving flats as the brownie tired The 17-inch trout made one last turn at the surface before I pulled it into Jeff’s waiting net We took a few quick photos before carefully releasing the fish Then we paused to take in the scenic peaks on each side of the pine forest valley The mighty Colorado River has shaped the landscape of the Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest for millions of years Its headwaters lie just below La Poudre Pass in the Rocky Mountain National Park The storied stream on the west side of the Continental Divide meanders through marshy bogs wildflower-covered meadows and pine forests It then flows southwest from Kremmling through the Colorado Plateau country anglers have cherished the opportunity to wet a line in this watershed some of the nation’s finest trout fishing still exists in both public and private waters of the Colorado in Grand County anglers can fish through private waters in a boat but they can’t get out on shore.) Jeff’s clients have caught brown trout up to 28 inches in length and even the rare 17-inch brookie I fished different stretches of private and public waters in Grand County and always caught several trout Jeff had launched his comfortable 15-foot Adipose Runoff skiff at a Colorado River access called the Pumphouse It lies a few miles from the town of Kremmling which is known for its unique butte formations 4-mile section of the river from Pumphouse to Radium offers a rocky canyon stretch with Class II whitewater as well as eddies Brown trout are the primary inhabitants throughout most sections of the river (and throughout the state) but there are also a few fat rainbows to be caught My wife Rosie and I were fly fishing along the twisting river on our four-hour float to the take-out ramp area at Radium Water clarity on the Colorado is often relevant to success and Jeff told us when we launched the clarity was relatively good a measure of suspended particles in the water was around 10 parts per million (ppm) according to our guide “Water turbidity above 50 parts per million usually means poor fishing,” Jeff explained “You may catch a few trout when it is 15 to 25 ppm but turbidity below 15 ppm should provide the best action The month of September usually offers the best clarity We call it ‘September Clear.’ It is easier to spot fish then One of Jeff’s clients had recently taken a 25-inch brown in the section we fished but Rosie and I weren’t quite as lucky We had plenty of fun fighting mostly 14- and 15-inch fish coming from eddies all browns averaging about 14 inches with our largest being the 17-incher “We often get the biggest browns in the river when a hatch will draw those fish into the flat waters,” Jeff noted “The monster trout over 20 inches are feeding then I like rocky banks with big boulders and fast drop-offs for the giants.” there was an abundance of beautiful riverscape for us to gaze at between spells of focusing on our dry flies scooting through productive-looking trout habitat We also enjoyed watching a curious golden eagle glide over us when we had one of our trout hooked up Canada geese and a variety of ducks fed along the shore in quieter areas The Colorado is the state’s best river to float fish and Jeff guides on five different sections of it in Grand County Which one depends on the duration of the trip booked he and his guide staff run Radium to Rancho (7 miles) State Bridge to Two Bridges (5 miles) and Two Bridges to Catamount Bridge (10 miles) That is a total range of about 30 miles downstream from the Pumphouse access owns and operates the Winter Park Flyfisher in Fraser He prefers to guide float trips because they offer a more active fishing experience on the picturesque waterway The latter section of the river from Two Bridges to Catamount is a favorite of his It offers unique and interesting vistas of red rock cliffs with a desert background 30-mile-long Fraser River is the first main tributary of the Colorado River running north from Berthoud Pass through Fraser Valley to its confluence with the Colorado west of Granby This wild alpine fishery has a better mix of 10- to 18-inch rainbow and brown trout the Fraser River Canyon is one of the most frequently visited fishing destinations in Grand County according to guide Adam Long Much of the river borders private land covered with sage brush and conifers a guided trip is the most effective way to access the least-pressured waters Adam has been guiding on lakes and streams in Grand County since 2008 Adam prefers to fish away from the crowds on permitted He has fishing arrangements with numerous landowners on a variety of waterways but he often opts for fishing one of his Fraser River beats has taken both browns and rainbows up to about 21 inches from the river and has even caught cutthroat up to 10 inches and brook trout to about 14 inches in length Rosie and I went with Adam to check out the wild brown trout on private stretches of the scenic river we were welcomed by an osprey gliding over the twisting Fraser as the river carved its character into the valley’s vast panorama before us The bird’s shadow spooked a trout in the water in front of us We quickly donned our waders and hiked through the meadows of scrub scattered with a few small trees rocky bottom with an occasional cannonball-size boulder we headed for a small riffle in a couple feet of water adjacent a small waterfall on one side of an island I set up beside a long flat with a few large boulders separating the current Rosie connected on her fourth cast with a nice brown trout and Adam slid the net under the beautiful 15-incher as I arrived with my camera My wife caught a second brown before I had even returned to my rod downstream we covered about a mile and a half of winding river that varied from 15 feet to 40 feet in width Adam focused us on fishing “broken areas” with three key habitat factors: current Rosie and I concentrated our efforts on places where the oft-placid stream wedged down to a 20-foot-wide waterway with a small rapid “The water movement from an increased current over the larger rocks creates more oxygenated water and stirs up bugs moving them into the drift,” Adam explained “A choke in the current provides additional food for these fish overhanging brush or an isolated piece of driftwood positions them to feed on flies moving by.” Rocky islands along the river separated the waterway into braids and their confluences seemed to attract fish The depth of most waters we cast to maxed out about mid-thigh any fast water on the Fraser over knee deep holds fish during periods of low water and all were brownies—except the last one I had positioned myself on a curving riffle with an inflow from a small rapid in about 30 inches of water I tossed my double dry-fly rig upstream at about 45 degrees and had an immediate strike I set the hook and began a lengthy battle with a muscular fish Adam was wading toward me when my fish finally surfaced It was not a typical 7-inch brook trout that swims in many Colorado waters It was a hardy one between 12 and 13 inches The 44-year-old guide had seen few larger in the Fraser It was my largest brook trout ever and a happy surprise for both of us There are other opportunites for brook trout and cutthroats in Grand County Adam suggests checking out some of the smaller pristine alpine lakes located near the Continental Divide between 10,000 and 12,500 feet of elevation A couple of lakes you can drive up to and then easily hike into are Corona Lake off Corona Pass outside Winter Park and Meadow Creek Reservoir (for brook and tiger trout) outside of Tabernash “The best brook trout fishing is on St upstream from the Fraser Rodeo,” said Adam “It has about 10 miles of public waters with limited fishing pressure The creek is only 10 feet wide and has plenty of big cascades The brookies are in the areas below the 2-foot drops where it flattens out some with less gradient.” Louis Creek and Vasquez Creek near Winter Park yield sizeable cutthroat trout and hybrid cuttbows in addition to brookies and a few browns and rainbows The streams flowing above and below the alpine lakes usually offer fun fishing in a wild fishery The best time to hike into these lakes is from mid-June through September If Grand County is not on your bucket list Whether you take a skiff down the swift Colorado or hike into a small alpine lake at 12,000 feet you will find exciting action for a very memorable adventure 70 miles west of Denver on the western side of the Continental Divide offers sportsmen a gateway to the scenic Rocky Mountain National Park and its Trail Ridge Road This “Highway to the Sky” climbs some 4,000 feet and takes about 20 minutes to reach the summit of the Continental Divide It offers some of the park’s most spectacular sightseeing and wildlife viewing The Winter Park Flyfisher (fraserflyshop.com) in Fraser has been offering customers updates on river conditions and great gear including rods Those at the shop are more than happy to help visitors locate productive trout waters Owner Jeff Ehlert and his guides offer a variety of trips including walk-and-wade outings on the Fraser They also have free maps outlining public water access and have publicly accessible fishing waters behind the shop Fish Winter Park (fishwinterpark.com) is an all-season Adam Long and his guide staff have a passion for fishing all types of Rocky Mountain waters using various techniques and targeting a range of species he guides anglers seeking trophy lake trout on conventional tackle as well as rainbow trout or northern pike on flies in Grand Lake or Williams Fork Reservoir he’ll often take clients ice fishing for lake trout Trips include wade-fishing many of Grand County’s waterways from the prominent Colorado River to mid-size private waters and smaller flows like tiny Ranch Creek Grand County (visitgrandcounty.com) boasts the quaint village of Grand Lake which is located near Rocky Mountain National Park’s Kawuneeche Visitor Center and western entrance It is situated on the serene shores of Grand Lake and is an ideal basecamp for outdoor adventure and family fun Shadow Mountain Lake is separated by gates from Grand Lake the third largest body of water in the state RV sites and tent rentals are in the middle of most angling action there are various amenities to experience at the resort and it’s just a couple of miles to Mavericks Grille home of the excellent Wild Bill’s Game Meatloaf As Kevin undertakes another day of pursuing the elusive Rio Grande Turkey demonstrates effective patterning and preparation techniques for a successful turkey hunt Kevin Steele continues the thrilling North American Turkey Slam right in his backyard exploring his home state of California in search of the elusive Rio Grande species The North American Turkey Slam challenges hunters to harvest all four species of North American turkeys: the Rio Grande Kali Parmley kicks off the adventure by heading to Florida to pursue the elusive Osceola In this episode of “Crash Course,” host Shane Beilue takes a look at the buzz toad a versatile lure that pairs the topwater action of a buzzbait with the anti-fouling properties of a weedless frog Packing all of your essentials is a necessity when heading out to camp But you must have a vehicle to get everything from point A to point B And the Polaris Xpedition has ample cargo space to transport most anything you could possibly need all while providing a fully enclosed ride along the way Gone are the days where your side by side exposes you to the elements The fully enclosed Polaris Xpedition keeps you comfortable and dry regardless of what Mother Nature throws your way during your camping adventures Fishing an unfamiliar body of water can be equal parts exciting and overwhelming Our eagerness to dial in the bite is often weighed down by the magnitude of the task at hand In this episode of “Crash Course,” host Shane Beilue provides some tips that can make the process a bit more methodical Many bass fishermen agonize over the color of whatever lure they are using Game & Fish “Crash Course” host Shane Beliue contends that taking note of things like forage and water clarity are more important than having every color under the sun at your disposal Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) loads in 12 gauge 28 gauge and .410 bore have taken turkey hunting by storm but there are some misconceptions about what TSS is and what it can do in the turkey woods Join Adam Heggenstaller and John Taranto from Game & Fish as they sit down with Jason Lonsberry of Apex Ammunition and Michael Waddell of Bone Collector to discuss the advantages that TSS loads provide to turkey hunters address the cost of TSS turkey loads and recount the performance of TSS ammo during recent spring gobbler hunts Use the onX Hunt app's Compass Mode and Rangefinder Tool to boost your turkey hunting success this spring See All Other Magazines See All Special Interest Magazines Get the top Game & Fish stories delivered right to your inbox every week This website uses online tracking technologies, such as cookies and pixels, to serve advertising and improve our services. We also share information about your use of our site with our advertising and analytics partners. See our Privacy Policy All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine Get Digital Access Subscribe Now By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use [1] Part of a 2016–2018 collaborative project of the National Trails- National Park Service and the University of New Mexico’s Department of History “Student Experience in National Trails Historic Research: Vignettes Project” [Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CPCESU) This project was formulated to provide trail partners and the general public with useful biographies of less-studied trail figures—particularly African Americans Thank you to the Old Spanish Trail Association for providing review of draft essays [2] For more on violence in Mexican California Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles (New York: W [3] Janet LeCompte “Jean Baptiste Chalifoux,” in French Fur Traders and Voyageurs in the American West: Twenty-Five Biographical Sketches Various spellings of Chalifoux’s name appear across archival and secondary sources The spelling used herein is the most common and earliest usage Some of Chalifoux’s family remained in Pueblo while others moved southeast and stayed in the St Both branches were well positioned to benefit from the emigrant and trade traffic on the trails that passed through those regions the earliest accounts that connect Chalifoux to the environs of New Mexico appear in the writings of Colonel Henry Inman yet often conflicting recollections of his contemporaries such as Christopher “Kit” Carson and “Uncle Dick” Wootton they remembered Jean Baptiste as a “nervous little Frenchman” who despised Native people and Carson recounted that Chalifoux had slept through his duties as a juror in the trials that followed the murder of New Mexico governor Charles Bent in 1847 The Taos Trappers: The Fur Trade in the Far Southwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press [5] Beginning in the 1600s Spaniards began hearing of a land called Teguayo that lay northwest of Santa Fe Despite longstanding trade relations with tribes from that area official knowledge remained hard to come by Spaniards led by Juan María Antonio Rivera explored beyond Abiquiu to the Delores River and eventually somewhere along the Colorado River In 1776 two Franciscan priests tried to establish a route between Santa Fe and Monterey (then part of Alta California); though the expedition failed it produced maps—and thus a better understanding of Teguayo One of the Franciscan’s journals contain the first eyewitness accounts of present-day Utah Lake and its inhabitants and Slavers: Forging the Old Spanish Trail 1678–1850 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press interest in establishing a trail from Santa Fe to California “appears to have waned.” Thus as Spanish traders from Santa Fe taught each other about the Yuta Country and the different ways to get to Yuta rendezvous trading points.” Ibid. [6] Chief Walkara has often been labeled “Ute,” while according to descendants he was a Shoshone-speaking leader of the Timpanogos who controlled the region south of present-day Utah Lake (see http://www.timpanogostribe.com/ ancestors.html) [7] LeCompte [8] Elizabeth R Foreigners in Southern California during the Mexican Period (San Francisco: R and E Research Associates For details of Chalifoux and the Chaguanosos participation in the revolutions and counter-revolutions of 1836–1837 The Life and Adventures in California of Don Augustin Janssens [9] LeCompte Bancroft’s History of California: 1825–1840 The History of Alta California: A Memoir of Mexican California and annotated by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M Senkewicz (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press) [10] Bancroft [11] LeCompte [12] Ibid. [13] Deanne Stillman Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West (Boston [14] LeCompte Janssens contributed his memoirs to the collection of historian Hubert Howe Bancroft and which were translated from French approximately sixty years after his death Bandini likely enlisted him to find Chalifoux because they shared a common language [15] LeCompte “Jean Baptiste Chalifoux,” 69–71 (quote from 70) [16] British explorer George Frederick Ruxton [17] LeCompte discusses the claim by Chalifoux’s descendants that he was the first rider to carry news of the Taos Revolt to Mexican officials in Santa Fe [18] LeCompte Download the NPS app to navigate the parks on the go The advocacy group American Rivers has declared a 277-mile stretch of the Colorado River that winds through the Grand Canyon as the nation’s most endangered river Environmental group says the Colorado faces a trio of potential threats: a mine The stretch of the Colorado River that winds through the Grand Canyon tops a new list of the nation’s most endangered rivers a reflection of controversial plans to reopen a uranium mine in the area and build a tramway that would take visitors to a new restaurant and river walkways on the canyon floor The Colorado was among ten rivers that the environmental group American Rivers identified as facing imminent threats The rivers on the list aren’t necessarily the most imperiled or polluted the group’s associate director of communications for the Colorado River Basin they are the ones that the advocacy group is urging the public to ask government agencies to protect in the coming months Other rivers on the list include the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon where the group says that outdated dams have decimated populations of salmon and steelhead; the Holston River in Tennessee which is under threat from chemical pollution; the Smith River in Montana where the group says a proposed copper mine threatens the river’s wild trout population; and the St where the group says a proposed copper-nickel sulfide mine threatens drinking water and wildlife The 277-mile stretch of the lower Colorado is ranked first on the group’s list because of three proposals: the planned reopening of a nearby uranium mine, the proposed 1.6-mile tramway that would help tourists get from new commercial developments on the canyon’s rim to the canyon’s floor, and a major expansion of the Arizona town of Tusayan is seeking to reopen the Canyon Mine near the south rim of the Grand Canyon and sink an additional 1,200 feet of shaft to reach ore In 2012 the Obama administration announced a federal moratorium on new mining claims in the area but four existing mines remain near the canyon “They’re casually called ‘zombie mines,’ because when the price of uranium goes down the mines pause their operations and start operating again when the price rises,” Eberle says Uranium has contaminated groundwater in the area Because of radioactive runoff on the South Rim the National Park Service warns hikers not to drink the water in a nearby creek But Energy Fuels Resources spokesperson Curtis Moore said that naturally occurring uranium deposits eroding into the canyon have more impact on the park than do the mines outside its boundaries A young man dives into the Little Colorado River in the Grand Canyon there is a lot of misinformation about our activities,” Moore wrote in an emailed statement “All we are doing at these small mines is removing uranium-bearing rock from a less than 20-acre site which are regulated as ‘zero discharge’ facilities American Rivers also cites potential impacts of the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade. (See “Grand Canyon on the Precipice” to learn more.) a private developer has been negotiating with the Navajo Nation to build hotels and a spa at the rim and the gondola tramway into the canyon at the confluence of the Colorado and the Little Colorado Rivers plans include a two-story restaurant and elevated walkways The project has not been approved by the Navajo Nation Tribal Council and it has caused debates on the reservation and among other local tribes over whether the development would amount to a slap at Native American culture The Tribal Council might vote on the proposal this summer The American Rivers group is concerned about the construction of the tramway and the related attractions—how bulldozers and cranes would be lowered into the canyon for example—and about the potential impact of new visitors arriving in the canyon via the tramway The group also worries about water use and sewage treatment for the development at the rim The nearby town of Tusayan plans to expand from about 200 to more than 2,000 homes, with an additional three million square feet of commercial space, in anticipation of a tourism boom. At the point where the Colorado River flows past Page, Arizona, limestone formations create an area known as Gooseneck. Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga says he is pleased that American Rivers has recognized the need to protect the park from development and mining. “The National Park Service preserves and protects America’s special places—but even with the bodies of law that protect a place like Grand Canyon, external threats continue to be real,” he says. But on each of these issues, Eberle says, the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, should ensure a more sustainable future for the river, wildlife, and local communities. and all are potentially damaging to the spirit of the canyon and the actual health of the river itself,” Eberle says Even with the bodies of law that protect a place like Grand Canyon external threats continue to be real.Dave Uberuaga Grand Canyon National Park superintendentThe Interior Department handles uranium mining permits and with respect to the Escalade development it should engage with the Navajo Nation and other tribes to seek more sustainable development many of the river’s native species of fish and wildlife have remained resilient “One of the things that gets lost when we talk about the river,” says Brian Healy is that “the Grand Canyon is a stronghold for native fish.” The stretch of the Colorado through the canyon hosts one of the largest populations of endangered humpback chub and a spawning population of rare razorback suckers—a species that evolved more than three million years ago experts thought the sucker had disappeared from the area A warm-water stretch of the lower Colorado hosts one of the largest populations of endangered humpback chub Aside from hosting thousands of rafters and recreationists each year and supporting wildlife and fisheries the Colorado River also is a powerful symbol of the Southwest Having grown up in Arizona, Roger Clark started visiting the canyon as a child and later worked as a river guide “It’s hard to separate who I am from the Grand Canyon,” says Clark, a program director for the conservation group Grand Canyon Trust It’s hard to separate who I am from the Grand Canyon.Roger Clark Grand Canyon Trust program directorIn the 1960s environmental groups fought the federal government’s plans to build hydroelectric dams in the canyon Groundwater pumping threatens to deplete water and climate change could exacerbate the problem “We know it’s going to get hotter and drier that the springs in the Grand Canyon will begin to dry up because of the lack of moisture.” Eberle said protecting the Colorado isn’t just for the people who live nearby or the five million people who visit the Grand Canyon each year or the more than 30 million people who depend on the river for water “It doesn’t matter whether you live in Arizona this national treasure belongs to you,” she says and especially this one—as one of the most recognizable and iconic spots on Earth—belongs to each and every American Follow Laura Paskus on Twitter. At the point where the Colorado River flows past Page limestone formations create an area known as Gooseneck An eelpout swims by a tower of tubeworms at the Tica Vent a site on the East Pacific Rise 2,500 meters deep unforgettable image is revealing how water flows through every river basin in the United States The new map was created by geographer Robert Szucs, who goes by the username Fejetlenfej on the image curation site Imgur Szucs created the map using open-source mapping software and publicly available data The new image shows the flow of different river systems in different colors while the Colorado River shows up in vibrant yellow The Pacific Northwest river basin in the United States is fed by two major rivers — the Columbia and the Snake — both of which originate in Canada while the thinner lines depict minor streams the coastal regions look like a patchwork of smaller river networks waterlogged Florida is threaded by dozens of smaller rivers Rivers play a key role in providing water to humans, both through above-ground reservoirs and groundwater reservoirs hidden deep underground Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox Original article on Live Science Tia GhoseSocial Links NavigationManaging EditorTia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science Her work has appeared in Scientific American She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism Corryvreckan whirlpool: Scotland's 'raging cauldron' that is named after a Norse king and said to house a witch Atlantic ocean currents are weakening — and it could make the climate in some regions unrecognizable Space photo of the week: Record-breaking James Webb telescope image captures 1,678 galaxy groups at once riverside towns across the country have discovered the benefits of being a “gateway” community – hosting visitors as they explore nearby National Monuments or access designated launch points for river expeditions These gateway communities have also realized a connection to local resources by protecting and restoring rivers and streams these communities have changed their outlook on rivers understanding the benefits of a healthy ecosystem and how recreation in river corridors can improve and sustain local economies Communities have learned how to promote their natural amenities and as a result have created “destinations,” resulting in evolving recreation and tourism opportunities To illustrate the benefits communities have discovered by protecting and restoring local rivers, American Rivers developed Ecotourism Benefits Through River Conservation – A Collection of Case Studies a series of case studies highlighting gateway communities and how they have benefited from local river and land conservation These towns frequently find visitors entering the communities to access parks and other recreation areas – staying in campgrounds and hotels and exploring the area’s natural and cultural resources and how your community can benefit by reading more here Each gateway community we present is unique experiencing their own set of opportunities and challenges enabling a journey towards becoming popular outdoor recreation destinations and hubs for ecotourism Each of these themes revolve around the vital protection of nearby natural resources These gateway communities have discovered local treasures – often hidden right before their eyes and have embraced the evolution from an extraction-based economy to one that celebrates and sustains its livelihood through a recreation/tourism based existence The following collection of case studies illustrates examples of communities developing and promoting and ecotourism ethic in communities across the country: The Pokey Huddle Institute is positioned on a Northern Michigan river News | Jul 1 You’ve planned this vacation for a while It’s what got you through the last two weeks of hectic work Now you’re here and have a few hours to get outside you need to decide how adventurous you want to be Does an eight-mile hike deep in the Rockies sound like the thing to you Or how about renting a boat and fishing one of our bountiful bodies of water If a hike to the backcountry is what you want to do reel and a small assortment of small spoons There are plenty of lakes a short hike from the vehicle Just always be prepared for afternoon storms or any other circumstances that might occur a hybrid of resulting from the crossing of a male brook trout and a female lake trout The higher lakes might not thaw until late June and July in some cases Most of my fish have been caught casting along the shorelines but I always make a few casts into the deeper water the creeks coming out of these lakes will have fish in them These fish are very spooky — everything above them wants to eat them Google Earth can help you find these lakes Sunset at Meadow Creek reservoir is stunning While gazing at the peaks an occasional brook trout or tiger trout is more than happy snap you back into reality which consist of light and dark colored wooly buggers and a few black ants along with a small casting bubble Place the fly 4′-6′ behind a bubble reel it in very slow with an occasional twitch Monarch Lake above Lake Granby is another excellent choice The Colorado River starts in Rocky Mountain National Park it fishes very well for brook trout with an occasional brown trout If your goal is a simple place to take young kids Cozens open space ponds just outside of Winter Park and the pond at Kaibab Park in Granby are excellent choices a few places to try some fly fishing in are Vasquez stealth is very important since the fish are spooked easily The Fraser and Colorado rivers are great choices for the person who likes to fish larger rivers Willow Creek and Williams Fork all have great trout fishing rent a boat from one of the marinas or hire a guide for the day The opportunities to explore some great places in Grand County are endless Grab your fishing rod and get outside for a few hours You just might get a very fresh trout dinner Bernie Keefe is the owner of Fishing with Bernie. He has been fishing in Grand County for more than 25 years. For more, http://www.FishingWithBernie.com The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do Share your photos on Instagram using #exploregrand or #skyhinews YUMA — Construction along the Arizona-Mexico border will resume this month with newer taller fence designs intended to discourage migrants from scaling over or burrowing under border structures Construction crews will break ground on the replacement of 26 miles of aging solid metal barriers just east of the San Luis port of entry They'll be replaced with 30-foot-tall bollards The project is the first of six segments of older fencing along Arizona's 372-mile-long border where replacement will begin this year And more projects are likely to be announced "I know there will be some 80 miles between Tucson and Yuma sectors where we'll be building physical barriers in the next year," Vice President Mike Pence said during his April 10 visit to the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales border and military officials have announced plans to replace 43 miles in southwestern Arizona The 26-mile replacement project in San Luis is the only one of the six segments so far with a timeline for construction Border officials in the Yuma area told The Arizona Republic they don't have an exact date yet for when work will begin The original start date was pushed back as the Yuma area struggled to accommodate the processing of large numbers of migrant families agents have apprehended 27,873 families and unaccompanied minors in the Yuma area That's a 212% increase over the same time last year. This month Border Patrol began releasing migrants directly into the community to make room for other families they apprehend One of the busiest crossing areas is the 26-mile stretch slated to be replaced in San Luis Border Patrol said groups of migrants routinely breach the aging barriers at all times of the day In November, Customs and Border Protection awarded a $324 million contract to Barnard Constriction Co to build 32 miles of fencing in southwestern Arizona Border Patrol has released numerous videos and photos of groups of migrants scaling outdated Vietnam-era landing mat barriers in San Luis using ladders dug holes in the sand under the fence and entered Arizona border officials hope the new bollard fence will be high enough to prevent migrants from scaling over. The new structure also will have reinforced concrete footers at the base of the bollards to discourage smugglers and migrants from tunneling under the soft sand.  Border Patrol said crews already have removed a small section of landing-mat barriers in the eastern portion of the county to test out construction methods They're also refining security practices to protect the workers and to keep migrants from rushing that area during construction more than 50 tents and blue tarps hang in a straight line They are anchored to the solid metal barriers of the border fence in the Mexican city of San Luis Rio Colorado have rotated frequently during that time as they wait to claim asylum in the United States One of the many unanswered questions surrounding the replacement of fencing in San Luis is what will happen to these families once construction reaches their location.  Landa Cenova sat in the shade of her warm tent They've been waiting here for two months and are now close to the front of the line "The people that are being allowed through are leaving their tents behind for the next people down the list," she said so did the number of tents perched onto the landing mat fence separating the two countries.  immigration officials decided to cap the number of people waiting outside the port of entry to claim asylum Once their number is close to being called past the commercial crossing and toward the main port of entry in downtown San Luis the operations officer for Border Patrol in Yuma said it was still unclear how they would approach that situation But he pointed out that the fence on which the tents are perched is U.S "I think the action to take is the least forceful that we have Once crews finish replacing the barriers in the urban areas of San Luis completing the remaining miles in the Arizona desert the flow of migrants could grow in other border areas near Yuma with little or no infrastructure Rising numbers of families are crossing through the Colorado River largely unimpeded.  The Arizona Republic first reported on this trend in December families and children can wade across the river at any point during the day they merely walk under existing vehicle barriers and turn themselves in to agents waiting on the U.S "There's no bollard-style pedestrian fence that you would think would be here now," Kallinger said on a recent tour of the river. "But see No one wanted to walk from (Mexican Federal) Highway 2 to give up." Border Patrol officials in Yuma have declined to release the number of families crossing through the Colorado River Agents have had to rescue some migrants — not from the river but from the canals running parallel to it agents soon will get a boost from the Department of Defense Army Corps of Engineers on April 9 awarded a $187 million contract to Barnard Construction — the same company that will replace 26 miles of fencing in San Luis — to replace 11 more miles of fencing in the Yuma area That includes five miles of vehicle barriers in the area that Kallinger said is routinely used by migrants to wade across the Colorado River They will be replaced with 18- to 30-foot-high bollards along the U.S The Pentagon contract — using military funds reprogrammed under President Donald Trump's February emergency declaration — also includes money to replace two additional miles of wire-mesh fencing with bollards along the Colorado River but farther south where the river no longer delineates the international boundary with Mexico Because building barriers along the Colorado River presents separate challenges, there's no timeline yet for when construction at either of these two segments will begin construction along the Colorado River is restricted by a treaty between the U.S which is enforced by the bi-national International Boundary and Water Commission A spokeswoman for IBWC referred all questions regarding the construction of barriers to the Department of Homeland Security The Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged more steps must be completed.  "There is an environmental process/assessment that is either able to be waived or must be implemented before construction can begin," the Corps said in an email It's unclear what impact upgraded barriers along the Colorado River will have on migrants seeking to reach the United States construction is not allowed on the banks or the floodplains of the river so the border barriers must be built farther back migrants are allowed to claim asylum from any point within U.S That includes the small strip of land that will sit directly between the Colorado River and the new bollards that will be erected using military funds Kallinger said that while the barriers may slow down migrants they would not keep agents from enforcing immigration laws "If they're going to come across and they're going to claim asylum we're going to make a safe apprehension we'll process them and then we'll further adjudicate their case Besides the 26 miles in San Luis and the seven miles along the Colorado River border and military officials also have announced the replacement of 10 miles of fencing along other sections of the Arizona-Mexico border by Barnard Construction One of those miles is technically not in Arizona Crews are set to replace one mile of landing-mat fencing surrounding the Andrade port of entry located just west of the Arizona-California state line The area falls under the jurisdiction of Border Patrol's Yuma sector Barnard Construction also will replace four miles of fencing at the Barry M Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona's western desert That project also is funded by the military's $187 million contract.  While most of the construction projects announced so far focus on the Yuma area one segment will be built in the Tucson sector which covers the remaining two-thirds of the Arizona border Construction crews will remove wire-mesh fencing surrounding the Lukeville border crossing south of Ajo and replace it with bollards.  Another area that could be next on the list for upgrades is one where border agents have seen the most activity in the past few months sometimes numbering as many as 325 migrants have regularly crossed the border about 15 miles west of the Lukeville crossing Smugglers in Mexico drop off the groups along Federal Highway 2 and the groups then walk through vehicle barriers.  mostly families, crossed through this area April 8 A Border Patrol spokesman said agents had to temporarily close two nearby checkpoints to respond in time The spokesman for the Tucson sector said a request is in to replace this section of fencing.  Other potential areas for upgraded barriers are the last remaining stretches of the old landing-mat fencing in the Tucson sector located between Naco and Douglas News | Jul 8 Prosecutors have filed charges against a Fairplay man accused of crashing his pickup truck head-on into an SUV on Colorado Highway 9 in Blue River last month, killing a 22-year-old and seriously injuring three others has been charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence a Class 3 felony; vehicular homicide reckless driving a Class 4 felony; three counts of vehicular assault while driving under the influence all Class 4 felonies; and three counts of vehicular assault reckless driving the driver of a Dodge Ram 1500 — later identified as Wertman — lost control of his vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with a Honda CRV State Patrol trooper Gabriel Moltrer said the day after the crash Medics on scene declared the 22-year-old driver of the Honda dead a little before 7:30 p.m. according to an affidavit in support of a warrantless arrest filed in the case The three passengers who had been riding in the Honda were transported to the hospital in “critical condition,” the affidavit states Moltrer said the passengers included a 27-year-old woman Wertman told troopers he had been traveling south on Highway 9 with his cruise control set to 52 mph before he started to hydroplane into the northbound lane He reportedly told troopers he was able to regain control but unable to avoid colliding with the Honda The Dodge Ram came to a rest off the right shoulder of the northbound lane Wertman was wearing a seatbelt and was uninjured State troopers located an empty Fireball “shooter” and another unopened shooter in the center console of Wertman’s pickup as well as several other empty alcoholic containers throughout the vehicle A trooper also smelled alcohol on Wertman’s breath Wertman agreed to complete voluntary roadside maneuvers He was “unable to perform the maneuvers as a sober person would,” the affidavit states After being booked at the Summit County jail Wertman posted a $25,000 bond and was released the following day He is scheduled to appear in Summit County Court on July 17 A defense attorney representing Wertman did not return a request for comment Thursday Kentucky Derby Parties The 151st Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday at 4:57 p.m and here are a few places you can go for watch parties: Lookout Bar at Westin Riverfront in Avon Celebrate the Kentucky.. Easter events in the Vail Valley Church services An Easter tradition that’s been going on for over 30 years is the Vail Mountain Easter Sunrise Service bright and early on Sunday morning Après Madness Championship Party at Avanti F&B The NCAA College Basketball Tournament may have crowned a champion on Monday but Friday is when you can congratulate this year’s winner of Vail’s own form of competition:.. Après at The Amp For its third year in a row Ford Amphitheater has proven that it’s not just a summer venue the Swedish pop band that took the world by storm in the 1970s and early 1980s with its hits “Waterloo,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “Dancing Queen,” will virtually..