As we wait for the federal government to come up with a new plan to divide up water from the Colorado River, ABC15 is taking a closer look at who depends on the River – and it’s not just us humans!

According to the Nature Conservancy, at least 150 threatened species of mammals, reptiles, fish, and plants depend on the Colorado River.

ABC15’s Nick Ciletti recently had a conversation with Alec Young, a conservation expert who works at the nonprofit Trout Unlimited and also partners with the Arizona Game & Fish Department. Young says, amid concerns about the ongoing drought situation in Arizona, one of the best things all of us can do is to stay informed.

See more of our Impact Earth content, including the latest on the Colorado River, here.

“The education piece is the most important thing moving forward,” explains Young. “It’s not going to get better moving forward without that piece, so the more informed residents we have in the state about what’s going on, the more they know about the real facts about what’s happening and ways that they can help be advocates… I think the more we can contribute to that, the better off we’ll be long-term.”

The federal government needs to come up with a water sharing plan for the Colorado River before Oct. 1, 2026, which is when the new water year begins.

The Department of the Interior previously told Ciletti that officials were hoping to release details of the new plan in late spring or early summer, which is technically right now. Count on ABC15 to check back in with Department of the Interior officials.

Both Arizona Game & Fish and Trout Unlimited have free resources you can check out when it comes to learning more about our water systems and the environmental impact.

To check out Arizona Game and Fish, click here.

To learn more about Trout Unlimited, click here.