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.
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

Details
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

Details
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

Details
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

Details
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

Details
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.

Details
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)

Details
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.

Details
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.

Details
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...
 

GSLC logo white

 

Stay up to date with our newsletter

Subscribe

© 2024 Great Salt Lake Collaborative
A Solutions Journalism Project
Stories copyright their respective publishers, used by permission.

 Facebook   Instagram

 

Site by Third Sun