drought

Cloud seeding will stop about a month early over the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in southern Wyoming because of the high snowpack this year.The state of Wyoming sponsors cloud seeding programs in three mountain ranges in the state – the Wind Rivers, Medicine Bow and the Sierra Madres.

A University of Colorado professor is partnering with community water groups to learn about metal contamination in water – an issue of increasing concern in the Mountain West.

The shrinking Great Salt Lake puts Utah at risk of an ecological and public health emergency. Local scientists are stepping up, sharing actionable steps to help save it.

The System Conservation Pilot Program was recently rebooted with $125 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to fight shrinking water levels in Lake Powell.

The Biden administration recently announced $728 million in investments to address drought and climate change in the West. The funding will kickstart conservation programs, environmental restoration projects and water infrastructure construction, among other efforts.

Concerns over inflation and overcrowding are rising in the Mountain West, according to a new poll from Colorado College. But policies that preserve land, water and recreational opportunities remain popular for most voters in the region.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 3% drop in the country's cattle and calves inventory as of Jan. 1. The number of beef cows was down 4%, the smallest count in more than 60 years.

Wyoming’s crop production mostly declined last year, and according to experts, it is largely because of drought and the inflation of goods making it more expensive to farm.Wyoming is not necessarily a haven for growing things – there is a lot of desert, it is pretty dry and at a high elevation – but, there are farmers in the state that depend on their crop yields for a source of income.

As the West grapples with a long-running drought, a new report suggests states across the region can be doing a lot more to improve water efficiency and conservation.

Researchers have published an emergency briefing warning that the Great Salt Lake could disappear “as we know it” in the next five years. They’re calling on Utah’s governor, legislature and residents to make drastic changes to reverse the lake’s decline.