Great Salt Lake Collaborative
David Condos
KUER Southern Utah Reporter
David Condos is KUER’s southern Utah reporter based in St. George. He covers the dynamics shaping life in communities across the southern part of the state with a focus on environmental issues. His reporting has earned several prestigious honors, including a National Edward R. Murrow award, two Public Media Journalists Association awards and three Regional Edward R. Murrow awards. His radio stories have also regularly aired on NPR’s national programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Here & Now. Prior to joining KUER, Condos spent two and a half years covering rural Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. He grew up in Nebraska, Colorado and Illinois and graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Utah farms commonly use wheel line irrigation systems, like the one seen here in Wayne County, Aug. 22, 2024. Making these sprinklers more water-efficient may help farms produce more crops but that doesn’t mean it would save more water for the Colorado River. (David Condos/KUER)
Utah farms commonly use wheel line irrigation systems, like the one seen here in Wayne County, Aug. 22, 2024. Making these sprinklers more water-efficient may help farms produce more crops but that doesn’t mean it would save more water for the Colorado River. (David Condos/KUER)

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Water is precious to Dwight Brinkerhoff. Over the decades he’s farmed in Wayne County, the goal has been to stretch water supplies. “It is the resource that we have that if we did not have, we would n...
Utah farms commonly use wheel line irrigation systems, like the one seen here in Wayne County, Aug. 22, 2024. Making these sprinklers more water-efficient may help farms produce more crops but that doesn’t mean it would save more water for the Colorado River. (David Condos/KUER)
Utah farms commonly use wheel line irrigation systems, like the one seen here in Wayne County, Aug. 22, 2024. Making these sprinklers more water-efficient may help farms produce more crops but that doesn’t mean it would save more water for the Colorado River. (David Condos/KUER)

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Water is precious to Dwight Brinkerhoff. Over the decades he’s farmed in Wayne County, the goal has been to stretch water supplies. “It is the resource that we have that if we did not have, we would n...
Farmer Gary Wilson stands in one of his alfalfa fields in Moab, Utah, Sept. 17, 2024. For years, he also farmed the land next to this field, but it has been developed into large homes in recent years.
Farmer Gary Wilson stands in one of his alfalfa fields in Moab, Utah, Sept. 17, 2024. For years, he also farmed the land next to this field, but it has been developed into large homes in recent years.

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Farms are quickly becoming mementos of a different time in Moab. Over the four decades Gary Wilson has grown alfalfa in this touristy corner of southeast Utah, his fields have increasingly become isla...
Farmer and rancher Coby Hunt stands next to idle irrigation equipment in one of his fields near the town of Green River, Aug. 19, 2024. Utah is launching a new program that will pay producers to leave their fields empty, as Hunt has done, and leave their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. (David Condos/KUER)
Farmer and rancher Coby Hunt stands next to idle irrigation equipment in one of his fields near the town of Green River, Aug. 19, 2024. Utah is launching a new program that will pay producers to leave their fields empty, as Hunt has done, and leave their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. (David Condos/KUER)

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Coby Hunt’s farm field near the southeast Utah town of Green River would normally be filled with alfalfa growing up to his knees. This year, however, it was barren — pale gray dirt cracking under the...
The marina at Great Salt Lake State Park, near Magna, Utah, Jan. 27, 2024. Photo by Jim Hill, KUER
The marina at Great Salt Lake State Park, near Magna, Utah, Jan. 27, 2024. Photo by Jim Hill, KUER

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For all the talk about how much water exits Utah through the Colorado River, that’s not the primary way water leaves the state. Much of it simply floats off into the air. Right now, Utah doesn’t have...
Doug Bennett of the Washington County Water Conservancy District points out part of Sunbrook Golf Course that has been converted from grass to desert landscaping, Dec. 3, 2024. Photo by David Condos/KUER
Doug Bennett of the Washington County Water Conservancy District points out part of Sunbrook Golf Course that has been converted from grass to desert landscaping, Dec. 3, 2024. Photo by David Condos/KUER

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On the edge of St. George’s Sunbrook Golf Course , manicured greens give way to a mound of gray rock dotted with small palm trees, yuccas and desert shrubs. Compared to the sea of green turf, it might...
Agriculture is Utah's biggest water user, but some farmers don’t use any irrigation. One is Shay Lewis, seen here in his field near Monticello, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER
Agriculture is Utah's biggest water user, but some farmers don’t use any irrigation. One is Shay Lewis, seen here in his field near Monticello, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

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Shay Lewis waded into a stand of thigh-high wheat, snatched one of the seed heads and tossed some grain into his mouth. “Those are plump kernels,” he said, gesturing to the harvest waiting in his fiel...
As the Colorado River becomes increasingly strained and droughts get more extreme, some farmers and ranchers are experimenting with alternative crops, such as the Kernza grain seen here on Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER
As the Colorado River becomes increasingly strained and droughts get more extreme, some farmers and ranchers are experimenting with alternative crops, such as the Kernza grain seen here on Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

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Just outside Canyonlands National Park in San Juan County, rancher Matt Redd walked to a spot where two of his pastures meet. One side is growing alfalfa and other traditional grazing crops with wheel...
Mark Maryboy points across the San Juan River to where his family used to farm on the Navajo Nation in southeast Utah, Sept. 19, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER
Mark Maryboy points across the San Juan River to where his family used to farm on the Navajo Nation in southeast Utah, Sept. 19, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

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Navajo family farms once lined the San Juan River in southeast Utah, but many have fallen idle. A water rights settlement with Utah has given some Navajo residents hope those farms can return. The San...
Reagan Wytsalucy examines corn growing in a community garden she helped start next to the Navajo Nation in southeast Utah, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER
Reagan Wytsalucy examines corn growing in a community garden she helped start next to the Navajo Nation in southeast Utah, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

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When you imagine a ripe, juicy peach, you might not picture it growing in a red rock canyon. Centuries ago, however, tribes in the Four Corners cultivated vast orchards of an heirloom variety called t...
Andy Rice holds one of the nozzles on a center pivot irrigation system his ranch was able to install thanks to state money, Aug. 21, 2024. Utah’s Agricultural Water Optimization Program has put millions of dollars into helping farmers and ranchers modernize their irrigation systems since 2019. Credit: David Condos, KUER
Andy Rice holds one of the nozzles on a center pivot irrigation system his ranch was able to install thanks to state money, Aug. 21, 2024. Utah’s Agricultural Water Optimization Program has put millions of dollars into helping farmers and ranchers modernize their irrigation systems since 2019. Credit: David Condos, KUER

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BOULDER — South-central Utah is not your typical farm country. To the eye, there appears to be more red rock than green fields To make a go of it, farms often huddle around the precious few rivers tha...
Visitor Guido Vliegen tops off his water bottle at one of Zion National Park’s filling stations, July 21, 2023. Tourism growth in recent years has piled on top of population growth, increasing the burden on Washington County’s water supply.

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It’s no secret that the expanding population in St. George is on a collision course with its limited water supply. But what about the tourists and snowbirds flocking there? According to a 2019 estimat...
It’s been a pretty good year for snow across Utah, like this spot in Zion National Park seen here on Feb. 10, 2024. But even after two wet winters, forecasts expect runoff in the Colorado River Basin to lag behind snowpack numbers. (David Condos, KUER)

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I Runoff from mountain snowpack is particularly precious in Utah. It provides 95% of the state’s water supply. In recent years, however, getting above-average snowpack hasn’t necessarily led to above-...
A 3-D rendering of snow depth data near Strawberry Reservoir from Airborne Snow Observatories’ survey flight on April 13, 2024.

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A new way to snow survey that originated at NASA is flying over Utah for the first time this year. Airborne Snow Observatories ’s founders, including Chief Technical Officer Jeff Deems, developed the...
A center pivot irrigation system sprays water on a crop field in Beaver County, Utah, July 6, 2023. The state’s new water banking program provides an avenue for farmers and other water users to lease some of their water to others without losing their rights to it.
A center pivot irrigation system sprays water on a crop field in Beaver County, Utah, July 6, 2023. The state’s new water banking program provides an avenue for farmers and other water users to lease some of their water to others without losing their rights to it.

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In a dry state like Utah, there’s not always enough water to go around. But when there is extra water, how exactly do you spread it around? Over the past three years, the state’s water banking program...
 

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