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A farmhand irrigates a field of alfalfa in the Imperial Valley of Calipatria, California. The valley depends on the Colorado River for its surface water supply.
Eduardo Blancas, with Restauremos el Colorado—one of six NGOs in a coalition called Raise the River—paddles out to a restoration site near Chausse, Baja California. His NGO works with the U.S. and Mexican governments to secure water from the Colorado River to restore native wetland in the Colorado River Delta, in Mexico.

Large rotating sprinklers water a field in Paragonah, Utah, that's used to grow feed for livestock. While new irrigation methods can offer less evaporation and water waste, many small farms and ranches cannot afford to make these updates.
An aerial view of the Colorado River flowing through Gregg Basin, in Nevada, in spring 2023. The river deposits sediment along the banks before flowing into Lake Mead.

By Joe Arney
Photos by RJ Sangosti

Photographer RJ Sangosti carved out a niche in environmental journalism because crime stories had a way of following him home when he was working general assignment for The Denver Post.

“I want to stop people, make them think, and elevate how we are conserving water and planning our growth in the West.
—RJ Sangosti

He’s still doing great work—but it’s still following him home.

Sangosti has been at the Post and through other channels, including a Scripps Environmental Journalism Fellowship at CU Boulder. He also has received grants from CMCI’s to travel and hire artists to showcase his work on the river.

That support emboldened him to approach the story of a local river as a national crisis—a key goal of the Water Desk, which is dedicated to improving journalism connected to the Colorado River, especially around changes driven by climate, population and politics.

“The fellowship made me aware that journalism is not just the one big story—it’s about helping people understand and tell stories about the river,” he said.

A Gunnison native who grew up fishing and playing in the Taylor River, Sangosti hopes his work creates a visual story of the river that inspires others, including widespread sharing of his photos through the Post and, one day, a comprehensive website with photos, charts, maps—even drawings from Indigenous people who live nearby.

“I want to stop people, make them think, and elevate how we are conserving water and planning our growth in the West,” he said.