drought

The Cowboy State is in the early stages of launching a voluntary water conservation program, but it has no money to pay applicants yet.

Sixteen Wyoming counties are experiencing extreme drought while areas of Park County including Cody, Meeteetse and Powell are experiencing a severe drought, according to a chart released by the U.S. Drought Monitor last week. As drought conditions worsen, ranchers are beginning to sell cattle.

Severe drought is shrinking the places many Western animals depend on for food, water and shelter, and the effects may be strongest for predators, according to new research.

States that use the Colorado River say they want to avoid litigation about its future, but are unable to agree on a plan to share water.

Colorado's negotiator, Becky Mitchell, and Nevada's, John Entsminger, spoke to a crowd of policy experts and answered questions from the audience.

Researchers looked at more than 750,000 wildfires in the West between 1992 and 2020. In the second half of that period, the number of reported wildfires were down by 31%, but acreage burned was up 40%.

Longer wildfire seasons can blanket communities in smoke. Summer heat records continue to rise. Drought remains a persistent concern for water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems.

The federal government will soon finalize a framework for distributing dwindling Colorado River water, but it’s facing urgent questions.

Water negotiators, river enthusiasts, Native tribes and lots of lawyers convened at the University of Colorado Law School on Thursday to take stock of the future of the dwindling Colorado River.

Water experts are calling for urgent changes at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as a dry winter could send reservoir levels dangerously low.