colorado river

In Western Colorado, towns and farms are banding together to pay a hundred million dollars for water they don't intend to use. Today on the show, how scarcity, climate change and a first-dibs system of water management is forcing towns, farms and rural residents to get spendy.

Related episodes:
A watershed moment in the West? (Apple / Spotify)
The Amazon, the Colorado River and a price on nature
Water in the West: Bankrupt?

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Droughts, worsening fire seasons, temperature swings and monsoons all impact farmers' businesses, food production, utility costs and livelihoods. The new normal has caused some farmers to feel politically homeless — many felt abandoned by Trump-era tariff policies despite generally identifying as conservative voters. And despite the billions in funding for agriculture-related programs in Biden's signatures climate law, many farmers still feel as though lawmakers could be doing more to support them.

This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, political reporter Ximena Bustillo, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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In the 1960s, the Bureau of Reclamation built a dam that flooded a celebrated canyon on the Utah-Arizona border. Today, it's known as Lake Powell — the second-largest reservoir in the U.S.

A half billion dollar tourism industry has grown in the desert around the reservoir but a decades-long megadrought is putting its future in question.

With what some call America's 'lost national park' reemerging, an old debate is also resurfacing: should we restore a beloved canyon or refill a popular and critical reservoir? Environmental and American West correspondent Nathan Rott brings this story to guest host Dan Charles. Read Nate's full story and see pictures by photojournalist Claire Harbage of their recent trip to Lake Powell here.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Stephanie O'Neill and fact checked by Katherine Sypher. The audio engineer for this episode was Josephine Nyounai.

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