western water

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.

Storms across the Western U.S. are dumping more rain in shorter bursts than in decades past. But according to new research, that doesn’t necessarily mean landscapes are holding onto more water.

The U.S. already has about 3,000 data centers — and that number is expected to grow quickly in the coming years. A new report finds much of that growth is shifting away from cities and into rural areas, including in the Mountain West.

As data centers rapidly expand across the Mountain West, researchers say a key question is getting harder to answer: how much water are they actually using?

Disputes over water are becoming more common across the Mountain West as populations grow and supplies tighten. Now, a coalition of counties, ranchers and water advocates in Utah and Nevada is appealing federal approval of a groundwater pipeline project in southern Utah.

Salt lakes in the American West are shrinking — from Utah’s Great Salt Lake to smaller lakes scattered across the Great Basin. In her new book “Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History,” writer Caroline Tracey explores why these unusual landscapes matter, and what their decline reveals about humans’ impact on the environment.

Snowpack is often described as the West’s largest natural reservoir, storing water through the winter and slowly releasing it into rivers and reservoirs each spring. But new research suggests the way forests are managed can influence how much of that snow actually becomes part of the water supply.

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.