The Colorado River is one of the most engineered river systems in the world. Over millions of years, the living creatures that call the river home have adapted to its natural variability, of seasonal highs and lows. But for the last century, they have struggled to keep up with rapid change in the river鈥檚 flows and ecology.

Deep in the Cameron Peak burn scar, nestled among charred hills, there鈥檚 an oasis of green 鈥� an idyllic patch of trickling streams that wind through a lush grass field. Apart from a few scorched branches on the periphery, it鈥檚 hard to tell that this particular spot was in the middle of Colorado's largest-ever wildfire just a year ago. This wetland was spared thanks to the work of beavers.

Water supplies are so tight in the West that most states keep close watch over every creek, river, ditch and reservoir. A complex web of laws and rules is meant to ensure that all the water that falls within a state鈥檚 boundaries is put to use or sent downstream to meet the needs of others.