Science! Fish! Irrigation! with the Henrys Fork Foundation
In today’s episode, we talked with three HFF science team members about how science, landowners, and conservation can work together. Thanks to Dr. Rob Van Kirk, HFF’s science and technology
One In A Thousand: Drought Strikes Colorado River Basin
The western United States should be emerging from the icy grips of winter, but this year sun tans are emerging early and wildflowers are confused because this year, there was practically
“If Lake Powell Was a Ranch:” WLA’s Field Day at Mountain Island Ranch
MOUNTAIN ISLAND RANCH, CO — After no snow and unseasonably warm temperatures this winter, the effects of drought could be seen everywhere at Mountain Island Ranch. But clever construction and
Stream Restoration on the Knight Ranch to Improve San Juan Cutthroat Trout Habitat
The article and photographs below were created by Ed MacKerrow between August and October of 2025. Ed tragically passed away shortly afterward. It has been lightly edited to update the
Long-running Colorado lab says 2026 is the worst snow year in Gunnison Basin recorded history
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) reports that, as of late March, spring 2026 snowpack surrounding its Gothic, Colorado, campus was at its lowest level recorded in more than 50
What’s Going on Down There? Satellites, Irrigation, and Science with Perry Cabot
Perry Cabot is using cutting-edge science to understand evapotranspiration rates and how farmers and ranchers can adapt to drought in a drier West.
In drying West, hope for wetlands found on working lands, says new study
The warming climate in the American West is drying out wetlands at a greater scale than previously known. But where wetlands remain, and why, may surprise you. A 2025 paper, “Going,
Warming winters are disrupting the hidden world of fungi – the result can shift mountain grasslands to scrub
Stephanie Kivlin, University of Tennessee; Aimee Classen, University of Michigan, and Lara A. Souza, University of Oklahoma When you look out across a snowy winter landscape,
Flood Irrigation Can Lead to Better Streamflow, Study Says
The conversion of flood irrigation to sprinklers has been a boon to producers. Sprinklers are more efficient, which means better yields, and better yields mean more to sell on the
Dryland Farming in the Colorado Basin with Gus Westerman
In a drying West, more producers are looking for options to remain viable, which is why today we’re taking a look at dryland farming.
Indigenous Irrigation Looks at the Whole World
There is a basic assumption that undergirds many of the conversations about water in the west: what irrigation is. Irrigation is commonly thought of as man-made structures moving water from one
Using Rock Weirs to Slow Water in the Big Hole Valley with Rancher Erik Kalsta
Today we’re digging into a deceptively simple tool with big impacts on water and soil health: rock weirs. Rancher and Working Wild Challenge director Erik Kalsta joins us from Montana’s Big