Even if there were several back to back winters with deep snow and Blue Mesa filled to the brim, it would still take years for the kokanee to return to pre-drought population
Blue Mesa Reservoir
Posted inEnvironment
At Colorado’s largest reservoir, one national park scientist shifts her focus to toxic algae
Blue-green algae is native to Colorado’s largest reservoir. Two research projects seek reasons for its toxic bloom at Blue Mesa and how to stop it.
Posted inPolitics and Government
With the CORE Act stalled, its supporters want Biden to protect Colorado’s public lands right now through executive action
CAMP HALE —Supporters of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Economy Act, after watching the bill fail to advance past the U.S. Senate for several years, are asking President Joe Biden to take executive action to protect the tens of thousands of acres of federal land in Colorado the measure aims to shield. And they appear to […]
Posted inWater
Upper Basin states layout plan to help the Colorado River, but still say Lower Basin needs to chip in more
Colorado is among four states that sent a letter Monday to the Bureau of Reclamation with a plan, but also maintained the Lower Basin would need to take significant action
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Hanging Lake trail set to reopen earlier than expected; Blue Mesa marinas will be closed for the summer
Hanging Lake trail near Glenwood Springs is set to reopen months ahead of schedule on June 25, nearly a year after sections were washed away by mudslides in the wake of a wildfire. But, the marinas at Blue Mesa Reservoir in southwest Colorado will be closed for the season. The mixed news for tourists and […]
Posted inWater
500,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Flaming Gorge reservoir in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell
Blue Mesa near Gunnison is for the moment safe from letting more water go, but Colorado River Drought Operations Plan says that could change
Posted inWater
Lake Powell outlook “substantially worse” than predictions after water level falls below target elevation
It’s not looking to be a good season for boating on Blue Mesa — if there’s a season at all
Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
Federal water projections for Lake Powell and other reservoirs are “too rosy,” new analysis finds
The Bureau of Reclamation’s influential monthly forecasting report for water levels at Lake Powell and other reservoirs are consistently “too rosy,” said one of the five experts who co-published a new Colorado River basin research paper. Each month, the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages Lake Powell, releases a widely read report known as the 24-Month […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
New projections for low Colorado River flows speed need for dramatic conservation
A new federal system for projecting Colorado River water flows in the next two years confirms dire news about drought draining the West’s key reservoirs, and increases pressure on Colorado to conserve water immediately to avoid future demands from down-river states, conservation groups say. The federal Bureau of Reclamation’s new system for projecting vital Colorado […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
Colorado heads into snowpack season with low reservoirs — but a twinge of hope
Drought conditions have eased up a bit from this time last year, but as the calendar turns on Colorado’s water year, worries about a dry winter still loom, the state’s assistant climatologist says. That’s not to say Colorado isn’t parched. Most of the state remains in drought, including the Eastern Plains, which spent much of […]