Works

A look at visual art exploring the border and borderlands between the United States and Mexico, as a prelude to the...

A podcast on the history of water politics in Monterey County, California. A decades-long fight for the control of water...

How the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples presents a path for Native American communities to have greater...

The following memorandum presents five key potential financing strategies for a north-south bicycle/pedestrian path...

Due to major economic and population growth in the Mid-Peninsula, communities are struggling with increased traffic...

Summer 2015 research report, California Coastal Commission Project, Bill Lane Center for the American West

The phenomenon of attributing significance to a location, or creating a sense of place, figures prominently in studies on environmental behavior. Researchers define this sense of place as the cognitive, affective, values-based way of interacting with a specific site. This article explore commercial and non-commercial experience of the Grand Canyon, looking at the experience of the Native American tribes that call the canyon home and at our own group's trip down the Colorado River.

Climate change is expected to decrease the Colorado River’s flow by as much as 20 percent. As states scramble to secure sustainable water sources, experts and policymakers consider various water development and reclamation proposals. The Bureau of Reclamation recently tested one controversial option, the Yuma Desalination Plant (YDP).

For nearly a century after the signing of the Colorado River Compact, Nevada’s water allotment of 300,000 acre-feet per year adequately served the population of Las Vegas. However, since the 1980s the city has experienced explosive population growth, forcing Las Vegas water officials to discuss new sources of water for the city. Our report explores historical, political, legal, and economic dimensions of Las Vegas' water use and the Southern Nevada Water Authority's role in the Colorado River Basin.

Even more powerful than the Colorado River itself are the international laws and treaties that govern its flow. But unlike a river, which can suddenly change course, laws adapt slowly to evolving popular perspectives. Our research examined the 1944 US-Mexico Treaty governing the Colorado River, focusing especially on the treaty's responsiveness to changing environmental attitudes toward water in the international realm. Although there have been minor amendments to the treaty that display concern for the environmental integrity of the Colorado River, much room remains for improvement.