A Colorado author and group of activists bare it all for conservation
Jonathan Waterman, environmental adventurer and author of Running Dry: A Journey From Source to Sea down the Colorado River (2010), is ass deep in Colorado River issues. Literally. A skinny dipping session was captured on film as the promotional photo for Save the Colorado, and is part of the summer ad campaign for New Belgium Brewing Company, one of the seven founding sponsors of the program.
Stretching from Wyoming to the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico, the Colorado River is a vital natural and recreational resource, serving the water needs of over 30 million people. Due to intense supply demands (a whopping 78 percent goes to agriculture irrigation), the Colorado now dries up before reaching its delta at the Sea of Cortez.
In Running Dry, Waterman recounts his journey by boat, and foot when necessary, down the 1,450-mile Colorado. He experiences every nuance of the river from catching endangered Humpback Chub in the Grand Canyon to seeing the tenacity of the invasive Zebra mussel in Lake Powell, from the snow melt headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park to the gag-inducing, chemical waste cocktail encountered in its southern reaches. Waterman addresses the issues facing the river, introduces those who depend upon the Colorado for their livelihood, nourishment and recreation and suggests changes needed to save it from running dry.
Save the Colorado is a philanthropic partnership created to raise awareness of the Colorado River’s overburdened state, support organizations working to preserve its fragile ecosystems and address the myriad issues flowing from the elemental problem of too many people and too little supply. Other sponsors include Patagonia and National Geographic, publisher of Running Dry.
To learn how you can help save the Colorado and for more on Waterman’s journey, go to savethecolorado.org.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
the colorado river between the Interstate 10 south to the 1st farmers bridge is a diaster. Blm doesnt not have resources to police the area. the crowds from LA come out leave huge bags of trash at primitive campsite , the critter rip them open . Some the time they dont even bag it, they just throw it on the ground. The river is getting polluted by filling jet ski’s an boat on shore, after the week end the smell of gasoline fills the air around most campsites.
the colorado river between the Interstate 10 south to the 1st farmers bridge is a diaster. Blm doesnt not have resources to police the area. the crowds from LA come out leave huge bags of trash at primitive campsite , the critter rip them open . Some the time they dont even bag it, they just throw it on the ground. The river is getting polluted by filling jet ski’s an boat on shore, after the week end the smell of gasoline fills the air around most campsites.
the colorado river between the Interstate 10 south to the 1st farmers bridge is a diaster. Blm doesnt not have resources to police the area. the crowds from LA come out leave huge bags of trash at primitive campsite , the critter rip them open . Some the time they dont even bag it, they just throw it on the ground. The river is getting polluted by filling jet ski’s an boat on shore, after the week end the smell of gasoline fills the air around most campsites.