Colorado River
Forty million people across seven states rely on the Colorado River, but population growth and drought have stretched the river to its limits. In addition to supplying water to hundreds of communities within the watershed, the Colorado River is the foundation of riverine ecosystems that are the central focus of the watershed’s great national parks. It also provides critical habitat for dozens of endangered species. As people continue using the river to supply their communities and grow their crops, the need for reliable information about the river system is greater than ever so our management decisions about the Colorado River and its water supply can be based on sound science.
The Institute for Land, Water, and Air has partnered with the Center for Colorado River Studies and the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources to expand USU’s position as a central nexus for science and policy in critical natural resource issues that directly informs decision-makers and policy development for the Colorado River basin.”
Additional Resources:
- The Colorado River water crisis: Its origin and the future
- Water in the West: Trends, production efficiency, and a call for open data
- Drought-busting ‘miracles’ in the Colorado River Basin may become less frequent and less powerful under climate warming
- The Impacts of Drought on Southwest Tribal Economies
Center for Colorado River Studies
The Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University is a nexus for innovative research, teaching, and outreach that informs management of the Colorado River and other major rivers of the American Southwest. The Center undertakes critical studies that inform how different parts of the Colorado River and its tributaries can be effectively managed, train future researchers and managers who will be responsible for tomorrow's Colorado River, and provide education and training to stakeholders to support informed and focused decision making. Because the water available to restore the Colorado River ecosystem is increasingly limited, the Center is especially interested in research and outreach to inform the very difficult decisions about priority locations and actions that provide the best opportunity for significant restoration success.
Colorado River Collaborative
The Colorado River Collaborative is a statewide media group created to help train, inform, and support news organizations in telling solutions-focused, local-perspective news stories on the Colorado River. The group’s mission aims to significantly expand Utah-based coverage of this critical water basin.
This new collaborative is based on the previous success of the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, which has been responsible for much of the local and shared coverage of Great Salt Lake in the past two years. The Great Salt Lake Collaborative’s work resulted in more than 600 stories and articles over the past two years and received national recognition.