Rivers are the lifeblood of the American West. We depend on them to provide water, power, protein, recreation and so much more. Yet, our dependence on rivers has paradoxically changed them in ways that threaten their ability to sustain our own livelihoods.

River scientists have worked hard to understand the properties of rivers and have uncovered fascinating details about how these ecosystems ‘work.’ They have learned that healthy rivers are physically complex, biologically diverse, and thrive best when they are allowed to change naturally over time.

Wyatt Cross, professor in the Department of Ecology and Director of the Montana Water Center at Montana State University, tells us about this subject in his talk “Rivers of the American West: Embracing Biological Complexity for a Sustainable Future”, presented by The Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands and Peoples.

Recorded at the Museum of the Rockies on October 28, 2019.