A national environmental group added northern Colorado's Cache la Poudre River to its list of the country's "most endangered" rivers — a move activists hope will add clout to their efforts to block a major river diversion.

The Bush administration announced requirements on Monday to encourage builders to compensate for destroying wetlands or streams by paying to restore or create wetlands elsewhere. The approach, which emphasizes linking losing and replacing wetlands across broad watersheds, has been contentious since it was proposed two years ago.

As the West dries up, water managers, politicians and environmental groups alike are searching for an option — any option — to create water.Recently, desalination has been the popular answer. Even the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has said the technology is no silver bullet, is considering desalting despite its many challenges. Last month, Gov.

Despite a soaker season in the mountains, Colorado Springs residents shouldn't plan to go crazy with the garden hose this summer. "It's absolutely critical we maintain that commitment to conservation," Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said Wednesday. "As quickly as we can be in a good situation, we can be in a bad situation," he said.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter acknowledged during his visit to Lamar and  southeast Colorado that there are no easy answers when it comes to water issues in the Arkansas River Valley.

The international community needs to start creating strategies for using water more efficiently and sharing it more fairly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, warning that unless action is taken soon, the conflicts and problems caused by water shortages around the world will multiply.

How to clear legal obstacles, combine interests and pay for solutions for future water needs in a statewide plan were topics batted around in a lively discussion among the state’s water leaders Friday. Conclusions were hard to come by.

Featuring internationally recognized Xeriscape expert and landscape architect, Ken Ball. For more information and/or to register, contact Durango Resource Conservation Coordinator, Nancy Andrews at 970-375-4830 or the Water Information Program at 970-247-1302.

The era of massive dam construction in the West — which tamed rivers, swallowed towns, and created irrigated agriculture, cheap hydropower and persistent environmental problems — effectively ended in 1966 with the completion of Glen Canyon Dam.

To preserve water for agriculture and meet population growth in the future will require additional storage to capture water in a time of plenty to use in times of scarcity.