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Glen Canyon Institute

Dedicated to the restoration of Glen Canyon and a free flowing Colorado River.

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Nat Geo Article

America’s Most Endangered River of 2013: The Colorado

It is a river that goes by many names – Red. Grand River Red. The Canyon Maker. And today it is the Most Endangered River in the country.
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Major Initiative

Keep The Colorado River Flowing                                

Tell Congress to support funding of critical programs that address sustainable water supply in the Colorado River Basin and across the West!
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In The News

As Oil and Gas Drilling Competes for Water, One New Mexico County Says No

In drought-plagued New Mexico, water is gold. And this week, Mora County in the northern part of the state took a firm stand to protect its precious liquid: it banned all oil and gas extraction from county lands. It is believed to be the first county in the nation to take such action. Big oil companies, notably Shell, had reportedly already leased more than 100,000 acres of land in Mora. Read More »

Warmer Springs Causing Loss of Snow Cover throughout the Rocky Mountains

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Warmer spring temperatures since 1980 are causing an estimated 20 percent loss of snow cover across the Rocky Mountains of western North America, according to new research from the U.S. Geological Survey. The new study builds upon a previous USGS snowpack investigation which showed that, until the 1980s, the northern Rocky Mountains experienced large snowpacks when the central and southern Rockies experienced meager ones, and vice versa. Yet, since the 1980s, there have been simultaneous snowpack declines along the entire length of the Rocky Mountains, and unusually severe declines in the north. Read More »

Earth Notes: Glen Canyon Dam - What Flows In (And Not Out)

Two hundred miles upstream from Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado River roars through Cataract Canyon in a rust colored tumult, thick with silt and clay. Each year, the Colorado and its tributaries carry, on average, some 61 million cubic yards of sediment into Lake Powell, enough to fill more than 200,000 railroad boxcars. When the Colorado meets the reservoir's still waters, it drops that load of suspended solids, forming a delta now 180 feet thick. Downstream, the San Juan River's own Lake Powell delta has mounded to a depth of 120 feet. Read More »