美国洛基山地区的牧场主正面临前所未有的水资源危机。上科罗拉多河流域（包括怀俄明州、科罗拉多州、犹他州和新墨西哥州）今年的雪量创下历史新低，迫使牧场主们每天为牲畜运送饮用水1。科学研究表明，人为气候变化使这种极端干旱的出现可能性增加了约14倍1。
牧场主们正采取多种措施应对这场危机。Scott Snyder每天需要运输8次，花费9小时为800对母牛-牛犊补充水分1；Lance Bray购置了行驶里程超过30万英里的平板卡车作为第三辆水运车1；Jeff Christensen在犹他州中部钻凿了两口深达500英尺的水井，成本约为2万美元1。除了运水之外，牧场主还通过减少畜群和购买饲草等方式适应干旱1。
恢复正常状态仍遥遥无期。Mark Ragsdale指出，需要10年以上高于正常的降水才能使水情恢复到常态1。美国农业部为运水和饲草的超常成本提供补偿，但无法弥补牧场主投入的时间成本1。
Ranchers across the Upper Colorado River Basin are confronting an unprecedented water crisis as record-low snowfall forces them into a grueling daily routine of transporting water to sustain their livestock.1 The Upper Colorado River Basin, which spans Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, has experienced historically minimal snow accumulation this year.1 Scientific research has determined that human-caused climate change has made such extreme snow-water droughts approximately 14 times more likely to occur.1
The toll on ranching operations has become substantial. Scott Snyder devotes nine hours per day to eight water-hauling trips to supply drinking water for 800 cow-calf pairs.1 Similarly, Lance Bray has purchased a third water-transport truck—a flatbed vehicle with over 300,000 miles on its odometer—to meet his operation's water demands.1 Jeff Christensen in central Utah has invested approximately $20,000 to drill two water wells each 500 feet deep.1 According to Mark Ragsdale, recovery to normal conditions will require more than a decade of above-average precipitation.1
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides compensation for extraordinary hauling and hay-purchase expenses, the assistance does not fully address the burden on ranchers.1 The financial support does not account for the time costs ranchers absorb in managing this daily crisis.1
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