The Colorado: America’s Most Endangered River—and How We Can Save It

In 2016, after an election that rocked our country, the Mighty Arrow family, board and team gathered around a table and asked, “How do we adapt our grantmaking strategy to tackle the issues this new administration will neglect?”

That’s when we decided to deepen our investment in an effort to heal our connection to the common lands and waters we call home and launched our Lands & Waters focus area.

Whether home is a major city, remote ranch or somewhere in between, nature is essential to our lives. Our health and well-being depend on healthy environments, both urban and rural. From walks in the park to epic adventures, we revel in the West’s natural beauty—and we’re also fully aware of the many forces at play that threaten our home. Climate change fuels historic drought, record-breaking heat and terrifying wildfires. Industry extracts and exploits dwindling natural resources. Nowhere is that more clear than where we’ve dug our roots in deep, right here in the Colorado Basin.

Our partner American Rivers named the Colorado River the #1 Most Endangered River in the country today, highlighting the threat climate change and outdated water management pose to 30 federally-recognized Tribal Nations, seven states, Mexico and the drinking water for 40 million people. Also threatened is vital habitat for wildlife, as the Basin is home to 30 native fish species, two-thirds of which are threatened or endangered, and more than 400 bird species. 

Rising temperatures and drought driven by climate change, combined with outdated river management and overallocation of limited water supplies, threaten the entire region. In March 2022, water levels at Lake Powell fell to the lowest point since the lake first filled in 1980—so much so, you can see it from space—and the levels continue to drop. The Colorado River system is already operating at a deficit, and climate change is expected to further reduce the river’s flow by 10 to 30 percent by 2050. In short: We’ve got too many straws in the drink.

“We all know the perilous situation we’re in right now and in order for us to move forward we can’t build on the past,” says Daryl Vigil, an enrolled member in the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation’s Water Administrator and co-facilitator of the Water & Tribes Initiative in the Colorado River Basin, in his video statement. “We have an opportunity to create a new paradigm of policy making of inclusive voices, where we jointly create a future together.”

We couldn’t agree more. These big, complex problems demand an abundance of compassion and action on an unprecedented scale. We’re in a critical moment and our partners need robust financial support now; we must go all in on investing in solutions. 

“The Colorado River Basin is ground zero for the climate and water crisis,” says Matt Rice, Director of the Southwest Region for American Rivers. “The seven Basin states and the Biden administration must work with Tribal Nations and Mexico to act urgently. Failure is simply not an option, given all that depends on a healthy Colorado River.” 

The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change make it clear that the consequences of climate change are already widespread, devastating to people and ecosystems. Communities of color feel these impacts most acutely and many Tribal Nations across the basin suffer from a lack of modern water infrastructure, due to systemic inequities and historic disinvestment.

With this report, American Rivers is calling on the seven basin states and the Biden administration to engage with the basin’s Tribal Nations to address this emergency. The Ten Strategies for Climate Resilience Report is one example of a road map for investment of federal infrastructure dollars in the Colorado River Basin as well as innovative practices to keep more water flowing in the Colorado River.

But the threats don’t start or stop on the Colorado, Arizona’s San Pedro River is also included on the list this year due to excessive groundwater pumping and rollbacks of the Clean Water Act. Our partner Earthjustice continues to lead the legal fight to protect this vital source of water for 40 percent of Arizonans in a rapidly drying West. 

“The San Pedro River is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America, but its future is under threat due to rampant development, lack of state level protections and lingering policies from the Trump Administration,” says Earthjustice Legislative Counsel Julián Gonzalez. “In order to protect this iconic river, the Arizona legislature must quickly pass policies to protect precious groundwater supplies while the Biden administration must forcibly reject the Trump Administration’s Dirty Water Rule and issue a new rule that offers better protections for our nation’s waterways.”

Regardless of who you are or where you live, the threats facing these rivers impact all of us. In addition to providing drinking water for more than 40 million people, the Colorado supports a $1.4 trillion economy and irrigates 5 million acres of farm and ranch land. The ripple effects of this mighty river go far beyond basin lines, across the country—and the world. At the very least, if you’ve eaten a salad this winter, chances are you’ve got the Colorado to thank for those baby greens. What happens here, on the Colorado and in Arizona on the San Pedro, will decide the next chapter of our story as a nation. What do you want that story to be?

The dominant narrative consistently pits people versus nature. But we believe it’s long past time to flip that script. It’s time for new solutions. We envision a future of healthy lands and waters supporting thriving communities and strong local economies. By developing technology, supporting innovative legislative efforts and advancing just, equitable watershed conservation strategies, we are rebuilding the connection between people and nature.

And as Administrator Vigil says in his statement, “Do I have hope for the future? Absolutely.”

Let’s get to work—together. 

Nathan Fey is the Land & Water Program Director for the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation. Mighty Arrow Family Foundation supports the American Rivers Southwest River Protection Program and Earthjustice. Learn more about our Land & Water strategy, please visit: https://www.mightyarrow.org/land-water