230. The Colorado River Is Running Out of Time with Jennifer Pitt

Today, Matt speaks with Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director at the National Audubon Society, about the deepening water crisis facing the American West. Jennifer explains how the Colorado River's reservoirs — once full just 25 years ago — now sit at roughly one-third capacity, and why the expiration of the existing water management agreements at the end of 2026 creates an urgent governance challenge. They discuss the role of irrigated agriculture in consuming 80% of the river's water, the politics of voluntary water buyback programs, and why seven states must reach consensus before the federal government is left with blunt tools and the risk of Supreme Court litigation.

 

Jennifer also addresses what cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles need to understand about this moment — and why both people and wildlife across the interior Southwest are counting on a collaborative solution.

 

Learn more about Audubon's Colorado River work: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/colorado-river

 

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Jennifer's Bio:

Jennifer Pitt is the Colorado River Program Director at the National Audubon Society, where she has worked since 2015 to protect and restore rivers throughout the Colorado River Basin. With more than 25 years of experience in western water policy, she previously spent 17 years at the Environmental Defense Fund leading efforts to restore the Colorado River Delta. She co-chairs the binational U.S.-Mexico environmental work group under Minute 323, co-leads the Alianza Revive el Río Colorado, and has testified before Congress on the river's future. She holds an A.B. from Harvard and a master's in Environmental Science and Policy from the Yale School of Forestry.

 

Episode Resources

• Jennifer Pitt / Audubon Colorado River Program: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/colorado-river
• Jennifer Pitt at Audubon: https://www.audubon.org/people/jennifer-pitt
• Matt Matern on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin
• A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast
• A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast
• A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids