The Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University is a nexus for innovative research, teaching, and outreach that informs management of the Colorado River and other major rivers of the American Southwest. We undertake critical studies that inform how different parts of the Colorado River and its tributaries can be effectively managed, train future researchers and managers who will be responsible for tomorrow's Colorado River, and provide education and training to stakeholders to support informed and focused decision making. Because the water available to restore the Colorado River ecosystem is increasingly limited, we are especially interested in research and outreach to inform the very difficult decisions about priority locations and actions that provide the best opportunity for significant restoration success.
Projects & Partners
Explores alternative Colorado River water supply and river management strategies to develop new tools and approaches by which the river-ecosystem outcomes of water-supply decisions can be considered.
Informal thoughts from John Fleck, journalist, scientist, and thinker. A former science journalist and Professor of Practice in Water Policy and Governance in the University of New Mexico Department of Economics, Fleck is focused on the problems of the Colorado River as an imperiled water source.
Lael Gilbert
Outreach Coordinator
Phone: (435) 797-8455
Email: lael.gilbert@usu.edu
Jack Schmidt
Program Director
Phone: (435) 797-1791
Email: jack.schmidt@usu.edu
The Colorado River has one of the largest natural sediment loads of any large river in the United States. In 1936, Hoover Dam was completed, thereby beginning the filling of Lake Mead and the trapping of the upstream sediment load. In 1963, Glen Canyon Da...
What does the future of the Colorado River look like? That question and more were discussed at a recent USU Research Landscapes event featuring Jack Schmidt. The presentation, hosted on Aug. 10 in Salt Lake City, brought together state and community leade...
It’s time for a serious reckoning with the way we use water from the Colorado River, and the way forward will be tough, according to a new publication by Jack Schmidt, chair of the Center for Colorado River Studies in the Quinney College of Natural Resour...
