Prolific river protector Gary Wockner gives us the straight scoop on the state of the Colorado River (and others), and the growth obsession that keeps southwest states and cities from responding rationally to increasingly scarce water resources.

TODAY, nearly half the world’s population experiences severe water shortages at least part of the year. So far, fresh water issues in the American Southwest amount – mostly - to first world problems – like “I can’t water my lawn whenever I want,” “it’s hard to keep the golf course lush and green with less water,” or “How can I develop my next residential project if there’s no water?” But the future could be grim, if we can’t get the cities and states into a 12-step program to break the growth addiction habit.

Our guest, Gary Wockner, works globally as an advocate and consultant for protection of rivers. He founded and directs:

• Save the Colorado
• Save the Poudre
• Colorado River chapter of CASSE

He also cofounded Tell the Dam Truth, a nonprofit that supports river-protection groups by engaging with federal and state agencies to make sure that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by dams and reservoirs are counted, reported, and then considered during policy making, rulemaking, and legislation.

He most recently led opposition to the Northern Integrated Supply Project. He filed a lawsuit to stop it, and recently settled the suit. He shares about the settlement in this episode.
Gary is also author of numerous books, including:

• River Warrior: Fighting to Protect the World’s Rivers
• Comeback Wolves
• Pulse of the River

LINKS:

News stories, opinion pieces, books and more related to Gary Wockner’s work: https://garywockner.com/all-garys-writing-advocacy/

Disaster Capitalism on the Colorado River - Column by Gary Wockner:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/03/27/colorado-river-drought-destruction-interior-moonshot-disaster-capitalism-column/80468488/

Save the Colorado: https://savethecolorado.org/

Save the Poudre: https://www.savethepoudre.org/

Tell the Dam Truth: https://tellthedamtruth.com/

Colorado River Chapter of CASSE (Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy): https://steadystate.org/meet/chapters/

Colorado River Basin Climate and Hydrology: State of the Science: https://wwa.colorado.edu/resources/colorado-river-resources/CRBreport

Colorado River States Still Have No Unified Long-Term Management Plan and ‘Are Just About Out of Time,’ Experts Warn – May 31, 2025 Denver Post story:
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/05/31/colorado-river-negotiations-2026-deadline/

Water Supply Uncertainty Could Slow Growth in Colorado Springs – May 2024 news story
KRDO13 Colorado Springs: https://youtu.be/rvGGqZHwHdM?si=bimFT2BSWlCq_c5C

Officials Fear 'Complete Doomsday Scenario' for Drought-Stricken Colorado River -
The Washington Post, December 1, 2022: https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-fear-complete-doomsday-scenario-202316932.html?guccounter=1