Drought

In the arid Mountain West, rivers are under growing pressure — from climate change, drought and rising demand for water. But new research from New Mexico suggests some river ecosystems may be more resilient than they appear.

Conservation groups filed a lawsuit on March 2 challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of federal protections for the greater sage-grouse across nine states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, have received a $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study an unlikely candidate for future fuels: cactus pear.

A new report finds 2025 brought widespread drought, massive wildfires and destructive windstorms across several Mountain West states — and underscores how closely connected those disasters have become.

Across the Mountain West, groundwater is the unseen force keeping springs flowing, wetlands green, and desert plants alive. Now, a new interactive tool is making that hidden water easier to see.

As much of the Mountain West faces another dry winter, researchers are turning their attention underground to the water many communities rely on but rarely see.

Across the Mountain West, where drought and shrinking reservoirs are putting pressure on already limited water supplies, decisions about who uses how much water often hinge on imperfect data. A nonprofit collaboration called OpenET hopes to change that.

Large farms in parts of the Colorado River Basin are paying little — and in some cases nothing — for federally supplied water, even as cities and residents are being asked to conserve, according to a new report.

A new study shows Nevada’s groundwater — and the ecosystems that rely on it — is under growing strain. Researchers have mapped out solutions that could help and serve as a guide for other Mountain West states.

AI data centers use large amounts of water for cooling. And many are being built in the drought-stricken Mountain West, sparking concerns over water supplies.