Center for Environmental Journalism

In a new story, incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Jenae Barnes profiles environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor, whose latest work as editor of the world's first Encyclopedia of Environmental Justice documents the people, movements, and ideas that have shaped environmental justice across the globe.

The encyclopedia brings together hundreds of contributors and more than 360 entries, creating an important resource that challenges long-standing omissions in environmental scholarship while connecting environmental justice struggles across countries and communities.

Read Jenae's story to learn how Taylor's decades of scholarship are helping reshape the way we understand environmental justice and why documenting these histories matters now more than ever.

Read the story: https://tr.ee/M0KuUD

Image Credit: Courtesy of Dorceta Taylor

Lush lawns and tree-lined quads have long been a hallmark of university campuses, but maintaining them can require significant amounts of water. As the Colorado River Basin faces increasing pressure, colleges and universities are weighing aesthetics, student expectations, and environmental responsibility.

In a story for The Water Desk, later republished by KUNC, Annie MacKeigan examines how universities across the West are balancing aesthetics, student expectations, and environmental responsibility as water scarcity reshapes the region.

Read the story: https://tr.ee/msfTre

Image: The University of Colorado Boulder’s irrigation ditches are visible from Norlin Quad, a central grassy area where students and community members gather. (Annie MacKeigan / The Water Desk)

In a new story for Re:Public, former Ted Scripps Fellow Christopher Solomon examines the potential consequences of a recent executive order that rolls back federal guidance governing off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on public lands.

The move could reshape how millions of acres of federal lands are managed, with implications for recreation, conservation, wildlife habitat, and the future of public access. While existing laws and local regulations remain in place, experts say the policy changes could have significant long-term effects.

Read Christopher’s explainer: https://www.republic.land/it-might-get-loud/

Image: Off-highway vehicles near Utah's Buckmaster Trailhead, which provides access to hundreds of miles of Jeep roads and OHV and singletrack trails (Credit: BLM Utah, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

We're delighted to welcome Stephen Robert Miller as the new Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Stephen is an award-winning environmental journalist whose reporting focuses on climate change adaptation. His work has appeared in National Geographic, WIRED, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and many other publications. He is also the author of Over the Seawall: Tsunamis, Cyclones, Drought and the Delusion of Controlling Nature, which explores the unintended consequences of adaptation efforts around the world.

A graduate of the University of Arizona, Stephen has been both a Ted Scripps Fellow and a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. His work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Native American Journalism Association, and other organizations.

Please join us in welcoming Stephen to the CEJ community. We look forward to the experience, insight, and leadership he brings as he begins this new role.

Learn more about Stephen and his work: https://stephenrobertmiller.com/

Emergency drought operations on the Colorado River are taking a growing toll on communities around Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

As water is released to help protect downstream Lake Powell, marina operators, anglers, and local businesses in Wyoming and Utah are grappling with falling water levels, damaged infrastructure, and uncertainty about the future of a recreation economy built around the reservoir.

Read more from The Water Desk : https://waterdesk.org/2026/06/its-devastating-drawdown-at-flaming-gorge-hits-local-recreation-economy/

In his latest feature for National Geographic, Luke Runyon, co-director of The Water Desk, examines how worsening drought, shrinking snowpack, and rising temperatures are pushing the Colorado River toward a critical point. Reporting from Colorado's Grand Valley, his story explores the difficult balance between protecting endangered fish and meeting the water needs of communities, agriculture, and ecosystems.

As climate change accelerates long-term drying across the region, the story highlights how today's water challenges offer a glimpse of the future facing rivers and communities across the Southwest.

Read the story:https://tr.ee/mBcNFz

Image: Side channels on the Colorado River ran dry early on April 22, 2026 near Dos Rios Park in Grand Junction, Colorado. Cobble bars and muddy banks emerged as the river receded (left). Record-low winter snowpack and heavy diversion in the agricultural Grand Valley contributed to the low flows.
Luke Runyon, The Water Desk

The USDA canceled $300M in farm grants, citing fraud claims that recipients dispute.

In this Grist investigation, incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Ayurella Horn-Muller reports on widespread grant cancellations and questions raised by recipients over alleged “wasteful” spending claims used to justify the cuts.

Read more from Grist: https://grist.org/accountability/usda-canceled-land-access-grants-fraud-evidence/

Congratulations to former Ted Scripps Fellow Erin Douglas on the publication of her latest feature in Boston Globe Magazine. We are delighted to see the impactful reporting our fellows continue to produce on critical environmental issues.

Erin’s story investigates the environmental and social factors behind the growing spread of tick-borne illnesses, especially the Powassan virus (or deer tick virus) which hospitalizes dozens of Americans every year.

CEJ was proud to support Erin's reporting trip to Canada for this project. We're excited to see this important work reach readers and contribute to public understanding of the connections between climate change, ecosystems, and human health.

Read more: https://tr.ee/0HXlj5

Want to predict wildfires? The key may be underground

Annie MacKeigan, in this story from The Water Desk, explores how researchers across the West are using soil moisture data to better understand wildfire risk, forecast fire behavior, and support prevention efforts. As monitoring networks expand, scientists say the key to predicting future fires may lie beneath our feet.

Read more: https://waterdesk.org/2026/06/want-to-predict-wildfires-the-key-may-be-underground/

New polling suggests that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the construction of data centers, with women expressing the strongest concerns about their environmental, social, and economic impacts.

In this report for The 19th, Climate Reporter and incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Jenae Barnes examines public attitudes toward the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and explores why women are often at the forefront of community opposition to data center development.

Read more: https://19thnews.org/2026/05/women-opposition-ai-data-centers/