As Colorado Faces Drought, Rafters Enjoy Rivers while They Can

As Colorado Faces Drought, Rafters Enjoy Rivers while They Can

Across Colorado, rivers are at some of their lowest levels on record. But on one river in the northeastern part of the state, the water is not too low to enjoy. Happy children and guides still float down the river in blue rafts - rubber or plastic boats filled with air.

The Cache La Poudre River is full of rafters and boaters enjoying the water while they still can. Businesses are fighting for survival¹ in a season threatened by drought.

Kyle Johnson's rafting company, Rocky Mountain Adventures, has been running full river trips seven days a week. Johnson recently told The Associated Press, "Any time that you make your living off of Mother Nature, you definitely partner with a pretty turbulent² environment."

Turbulent means not stable or steady.

Johnson said the increased demand on the river is a "redemption" from the last rafting season, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic and wildfires. But the healthy water levels on the river might not last much longer. Johnson said the drought could end this season early as well.

Colorado resident Savannah House recently floated down the Poudre. Noting the extreme weather in many parts of the state, House described her experience as "a little bittersweet."

Bittersweet is a term that describes something that mixes a feeling of sadness and a feeling of happiness.

For years, those who depend on rivers and streams to make a living have struggled with hotter, drier weather brought on by climate change.

Now the heat wave is deepening³ worries and affecting even simple outdoor activities.

The Yampa River in northwest Colorado is experiencing some of the lowest water flows on record because of below average snowfall, increasingly dry soil, and the spring's hot, dry weather.

In Steamboat Springs, which is located on the river, rafting and kayaking ended a few weeks ago. Fishing and tubing could also end soon if the water goes much lower. Tubing is an activity that involves riding a tube, a round object that holds air, down a river.

Kent Vertrees of Friends of the Yampa recently told the AP, "We have known since 2002, when this mega-drought started, that our climate has shifted to a hotter and drier future. And the future is now."

The group has received financing⁴ from the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports The Associated Press' reporting on water and environmental policy.

To help with the dryness, environmental groups and water agencies created a pathway to release water from a reservoir - a large lake used as a source for water. The move helped "keep the fish wet, cool the river down and increase the oxygen levels in the river," Vertrees said.

Cottonwood trees have also been planted to block the sun and cool the river down when the water runs low. So far, though, it is unclear what effect such measures will have on water levels.

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

redemption – n. the act of making something better or more acceptable⁵

kayaking – n. the act of riding a long narrow boat that is pointed⁶ at both ends and that is moved by a paddle with two blades

shift – v. to change something

1 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

2 turbulent   

adj.动荡的，混乱的；汹涌的，狂暴的

参考例句：

• The current is turbulent.水势汹涌。
• The present international situation remains tense and turbulent.当前的国际局势依然紧张动荡。

3 deepening   

n. 加深, 深化 动词deepen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• With the deepening of the economic crisis, unemployment shot up. 经济危机加剧，失业人数激增。
• The sky, deepening to ochre, is broken by two or three seagulls. 两点三点白鸥划破了渐变为赭色的天空。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

5 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。