Aspen Journalism

The 30 tribes of the Colorado River basin have rights to use about 25% of the water, and these rights are senior to those of nearly all other water users in the basin. “Bucket 1” funded the System Conservation Pilot Program, administered by the Upper Colorado River Commission, which pays eligible water users in the Upper Basin states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico) to leave their fields dry for an irrigation season and let that water flow downstream. Since water conservation in the Colorado River basin has largely meant paying agricultural water users to cut back, paying tribes who already aren’t using their water to continue to not use it won’t result in an immediate, measurable amount of conserved water.

Every 10 years, officials from the Colorado Division of Water Resources review every water right — through diversion records submitted by water users and site visits — to see whether it has been used at some point in the previous decade. Abandonment-process protections. Although the concept of abandonment may loom large in the minds of water users, only a tiny percentage of water rights ends up on the abandonment list every 10 years, and it’s rare for the state to formally abandon a water right. . If water users find themselves on the abandonment list, they have a year to file an objection with DWR, and many argue that they did not intend to abandon their water right.

State legislators have introduced a bill that would create a water-testing program at mobile home parks, addressing residents’ long-standing concerns about water quality.

On a recent busy Saturday morning at Ruedi Reservoir in the Fryingpan River valley, Jaime McCullah sprayed a high-powered jet of hot water over every nook…

Colorado’s last wild wolves were killed in the 1930s, but this winter, wildlife officials confirmed that a wolf pack has moved in to Northwest Colorado.…

Bill McKibben first wrote about the changing climate more than 30 years ago, and he continues to document global warming and speak out against the largest…

The Gunnison sage-grouse, a smaller cousin of the greater sage-grouse, is a unique, regal-looking bird found in southwestern Colorado. In 2014, the U.S.…

Just as new research shows that aspen forests are a fountain of biodiversity, Aspen’s namesake trees in the Roaring Fork River watershed are battling…

As awareness of the potential effects of climate change grows, so does anxiety and grief about the seriousness of the crisis. As a result, a new…

Pitkin County’s Open Space and Trails Board has a plan for Penny Hot Springs north of Redstone. It’s the first plan ever for the popular spot in the…