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.
A new report "Review of Smallmouth Bass Management in the Colorado River ecosystem" explores potential expansion of the abundance and range of smallmouth bass in the Colorado River ecosystem beyond their present distribution.
Information about the Colorado River and its plumbing system, by Jack Schmidt. May 5, 2025.
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.
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 Basin will feel the loss of Bob Snow with his retirement from the Solicitor’s Office at the Department of the Interior. His more than forty-year presence in the most impactful and most difficult conversations in the Basin has been both...
The process for determining the operating rules for the Colorado River system that will take effect in 2027 is in full swing. While various alternative operating regimes have been proposed, no preferred or consensus alternative has yet emerged. As a group...
The History and Negotiation of the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact: The 1922 Colorado River Compact divided the river’s water between the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin, but it didn’t say how much water each state would get. This article examines how ...
