western water

New research finds only a small portion of the nation’s rivers may be able to maintain today’s diversity of fish and other aquatic wildlife as the climate warms.

Reservoirs across the West are slowly losing space to store water as dirt, sand and other sediment pile up behind dams, according to new, sweeping, nationwide research.

Much of the West sweltered through record-breaking heat this summer, as a strengthening El Niño, unusually warm oceans and ongoing human-caused climate change combined to push temperatures to historic levels.

As the climate warms, some mountain trees are moving higher up, while others are spreading downhill. Scientists say something inside the trees may explain why. And that split could reshape watersheds and wildfire risk.

Scientists have a new name for a weather pattern reshaping how the West gets its water: so-called “snow-eater” heat waves.

As communities across the West keep a close eye on water supplies and wildfire risk, a new federal drought forecast highlights where relief may be on the way, and where dry conditions are likely to continue.

As federal officials negotiate new rules for sharing the Colorado River's shrinking water supply, scientists are expanding efforts to better measure one of the basin's biggest sources of water loss: evaporation.

A new study is challenging one of the most persistent arguments against removing aging dams: that nearby communities will suffer economically if the structures come down.

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.

After a wildfire, rivers and streams can take years to recover. Native plants and wildlife are often crowded out by invasive species in the aftermath. But in Nevada’s Virgin River watershed, a collaboration between federal agencies and conservation groups is pointing to early signs of recovery.