California’s snowpack was more than twice the average in much of the state in early March 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up … Continue reading Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look
Reflection Canyon Utah taken in 2015 What comes next for Lake Powell? Craig Childs/High Country News There is the crumpling, the mess. A marina that once floated in a cove has been towed out of the shrinking lake and dropped in a field of Russian thistle, its metal pontoons partially sunk into dry, crack-crazed soil. Cooler … Continue reading Glen Canyon Revealed
https://vimeo.com/701890951 Earth Day 2022: A journey through our adventures of the last year or so, offering subtle reminders of the importance to protect our planet and its future.
Parts of the Mountain West could be nearly snowless for years at a time in just a few decades. Snowmaking at Aspen Highlands Ski Resort started on October 13, leaving spots of snow on the ground and aspen trees.Kelsey Brunner Sarah Sax/High Country News Across the Central Rockies, it’s been an unseasonably warm, dry year. … Continue reading Winter without Snow is Coming
Tools for a prescribed burn conducted in the Sierra Nevada in November 2019. Susan Kocher, CC BY-ND Susan Kocher, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Ryan E. Tompkins, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Californians have been concerned about wildfires for a long time, but the past two … Continue reading MOVING BEYOND AMERICA’S WAR ON WILDFIRE: 4 WAYS TO AVOID FUTURE MEGAFIRES
Climate change and rising demand are sucking the life out of the Southwest’s water supply. Jonathon Thompson/High Country News One of the most visible signs of the state of the West’s water supply is the big bathtub ring around the sandstone rim of Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. Whenever the massive hydrological system that delivers … Continue reading The Incredible Shrinking Colorado River
Conflicting visions in central Idaho force tough decisions over logging and prescribed burning. Carl Segerstrom/High Country News Smoke blotted out the midday sun as firefighters rappelled from helicopters into the remote backcountry of the Salmon River Breaks in central Idaho. A small but swiftly growing string of blazes roared across the granitic walls of the river … Continue reading Facing Future Wildfires, a Community Fights for its Forest