Overall, the snowpack in the Animas, San Juan, Dolores and San Miguel basins stood at 93 percent of average Wednesday, said Mike Gillespie with the National Resources Conservation Service in Denver. It's been melting out pretty quickly down there. We've lost more than one-half of the maximum pack reached in mid-April, which was the equivalent of 28 inches of water," Gillespie said.

As pressures mount on the West’s river basins, a local effort to navigate the tricky waters between protection and development has been launched.

Irrigators, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the state have struck a deal to protect aquatic life on the Pine River.

Bayfield had violated its sewage discharge permit limits before. But the sewage hit the lagoon, so to speak, when the Southern Ute Indian Tribe stepped in. Complaining that Bayfield's sewage was polluting the Pine River and threatening its drinking water, the tribe asked the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in a letter dated Feb.

The push is on to go native in the headwaters of Hermosa Creek. The Colorado Division of Wildlife and San Juan National Forest are currently working to reverse the local decline of the native Colorado River cutthroat trout. However, the reintroduction effort, which focuses on the drainage’s headwaters, has also drawn mixed reviews.

As coalbed methane development continues with closer well spacing, La Plata County officials are anticipating requests to drill within 1.5 miles of the Fruitland formation outcrop where methane seeps and even underground coal fires have been an issue.

Fish in the Pine River below Vallecito Reservoir would get some extra protection under an agreement approved by a state water board Thursday. The Colorado Water Conservation Board voted to accept a donation of water from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Pine River Irrigation District.

A recently completed environmental study opens the way to use Vallecito Reservoir water for purposes other than agriculture, the traditional use of Pine River water since the federal irrigation project was dedicated in 1941...The study clears up confusions and disagreements over current uses of nonagricultural water and lays the foundation to satisfy future demands for municipal and industrial wat

La Plata County Commissioners will decide whether to approve a $25,000 amendment to the county budget to fund a mercury-monitoring study at Vallecito reservoir and in the Pine River...The state of Colorado posted warning signs last summer advising residents of dangerous mercury levels in the tissues of predatory fish caught in the river and reservoir...The county funds will be used to purchase mon