Alex Hager
KUNC Reporter, Colorado River BasinAlex is KUNC's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. He spent two years at Aspen Public Radio, mainly reporting on the resort economy, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he covered the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.
Alex has a journalism degree from Elon University, where he spent four years working for the student newspaper and TV station. While at Elon, he also worked as a sports correspondent for the Burlington Times-News, covering ACC football and basketball as well as Carolina Panthers NFL football.
When he’s not in the office, Alex enjoys hiking, practicing Spanish, playing basketball, and reading poetry. He was born and raised in Connecticut.
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Damage inside Glen Canyon Dam could mean problems with the "river outlet works," a set of small tubes near the bottom of the dam that were originally intended to release excess water when the reservoir is nearing full capacity. The dam allows water to pass through to the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.
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A coalition of environmental groups has proposed a set of new rules for managing the Colorado River amid heated negotiations about how to share the water supply, which is shrinking due to climate changed.
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The Gila River Indian Tribe (GRIC) in Arizona said it does not support the Lower Basin's proposal for post-2026 river management, adding a new layer to complicated negotiations.
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The seven states that use water from the Colorado River have proposed competing plans for how it should be managed after 2026. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have one plan in mind. California, Arizona and Nevada have a different idea. The states primarily disagree about how to account for climate change and how to release water from Lake Powell.
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Water negotiators from states around the Southwest said they are planning to submit separate proposals to the Bureau of Reclamation about managing the Colorado River after 2026.
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Dendrochronologists found that high temperatures in the 21st century make the current drought unprecedented compared to other dry periods around the Colorado River across the past 500 years.
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The hydropower company Nature and People First had proposed a "pumped storage" project in the Black Mesa area. Indigenous advocates are celebrating the decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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The Bureau of Reclamation released a draft plan for releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell. It's an effort to protect native humpback chub from smallmouth bass.
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Water from the Shoshone hydropower plant near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, will be purchased by the Colorado River District. It's part of an expensive effort to keep water flowing to the farms, cities and rivers of Western Colorado, and away from fast-growing cities and towns around Denver.
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The limited snowfall could have big implications for the Colorado River, which gets most of its water from snow in the Rocky Mountains.