News from the Colorado River Research Group

Yellow-billed cuckoo

Signs of Success in Delta Restoration

Aug. 22, 2024

A team of researchers including the CRRG’s Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta has recently published 2 studies in Ecological Engineering showing that efforts to restore riparian habitats in the delta have led to noticeably larger and more diverse bird populations. READ MORE Related articles: Bird community response to one decade of riparian restoration...

PBS Tipping Point

PBS Special on the Colorado River “Reckoning”

July 24, 2024

The CRRG was well represented in a live PBS event broadcast from Hoover Dam (on July 24, 2024) focused on the Colorado River’s challenges. John Fleck and Jack Schmidt were part of a line-up that also included Bruce Babbitt, JB Hamby, Mark Kelly, Karen Kwon, Pat Mulroy, Jim Lochhead, and...

Lake Powell Aerial courtesy of LightHawk and the  Water Desk

Assessing the Impact of the Recent Snowmelt Season on Basin-Wide Storage

July 17, 2024

The latest publication from the Center for Colorado River Studies looks back at the 2024 runoff season (mid-April to early July), observing that the basin netted only a modest bump in storage of 2.5 maf, a significant volume but much lower than the unusually wet 2023 season. However, combined with...

Brown Trout Image from Canva

Study Offers an Environmental and Economic Argument in Defense of Flood Irrigation

June 13, 2024

New research from a team at the University of Wyoming (including the CRRG’s Kristi Hansen) suggests that flood irrigation in shallow alluvial aquifers can have significant economic benefits in the Upper Green by creating return flow regimes benefitting the brown trout sport fishing economy. The work highlights the complicated site-specific...

Colorado River

Colorado River Research Group Members Offer Post-2026 Alternative

April 16, 2024

Colorado River Research Group (CRRG) members Jack Schmidt, Eric Kuhn and John Fleck submitted an “alternative” to the post-2026 EIS process entitled: “Managing the Powell/Grand Canyon/Mead ecosystem after 2026.” In a nutshell, the alternative suggests that the Secretary of Interior be empowered to employ an adaptive management approach allowing releases...

Colorado River

Water Year 2023 in Context: A Cautionary Tale

Dec. 7, 2023

Water Year 2023 was exceptional for runoff and for boosting reservoir storage---but it isn't likely to repeat itself for the additional 3-6 years needed to refill the reservoirs to 1999 levels (the last time they were full). We need to work to conserve the gains of WY2023, as history shows...

Cornerstone at the Confluence

Cornerstone at the Confluence Released

Nov. 30, 2022

Cornerstone at the Confluence: Navigating the Colorado River Compact's Next Century is a book that leverages the centennial year to reflect on the compact and broader “Law of the River.” The book was edited by CRRG member Jason Anthony Robison; several other CRRG members contributed.

The Vanishing River

The Vanishing River: USA's Mega Drought

Sept. 12, 2022

Australia Public Broadcasting featured Dr. Jack Schmidt with an interesting out-of-country perspective on problems currently hitting very close to home. The 30-minute program is a primer on the Colorado River's troubles.

Ripple Effect: Tier Two Shortage Declarations and More

Ripple Effect: Tier Two Shortage Declarations and More

Sept. 9, 2022

Professor Jason Robison joined the podcast Ripple Effect to discuss the latest activities for the Colorado River, including the BOR's recent Tier 2 Shortage Declaration, status of interstate negotiations, and much more.

sunset

NPR's Marketplace: Conservation plan for Colorado River in holding pattern

Sept. 6, 2022

“Unprecedented,” said Jason Robison, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Wyoming. “Two to four million acre feet in conservation saving blows the doors off of anything that has been done since the onset of the megadrought in 2000.”

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