Jonathan Waterman recalls that his interest in the Colorado River began shortly before 2008 when he discovered that the well water on his property could not be used to water his vegetable garden, let alone any other outdoor needs. After 25 years of living high in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado near the headwaters of the great river itself, he discovered that people downstream owned the water on his property, which meant he was not allowed to use it for his own purposes. Shortly after realizing that this was an issue Waterman read an article in the New York Times magazine talking about the glum future of the Colorado. He explained, with a quick laugh during our FaceTime interview, how these discoveries spurred him to “plunge right into action.”
For Waterman, action meant kayaking down all 1,450 miles of the Colorado River from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez. As an avid adventurer who has spent a remarkable amount of time on explorations, the choice to kayak the Colorado was a run-of-the-mill decision for him. The difference this time was the location. Instead of being up in Alaska, the usual site of Waterman’s explorations before 2008, he would be in his own backyard in the southwest.
As a prominent writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Waterman produced and continues to produce numerous works on the great north, but after his excursion on the Colorado, his work turned to focus on the issues that had presented themselves along the river.
The most critical and shocking issue he discovered was that the grand Colorado River no longer reached the Sea of Cortez. It runs dry about 70 miles short of the ocean. This meant that he was forced to end his journey, not paddling down, but walking down the dry, salty, and cracked riverbed.
And yet, despite what he saw and experienced at the conclusion of his trip, he left the dry delta with “tremendous hope for the future of the river.” This “hope” reflects his ability to acknowledge the bad but emphasize and truly believe in the good. He went on to explain that this is because, “there was a feeling that nature was somewhat intact.” Waterman explained that there were areas along the river where he felt that nature remained, places where he did not expect there to be any traces of nature at all. These unexpected findings led to him nurturing this sense of hope for the future.
In order to communicate his findings, he first needed to show what happens when a river is depleted at an unprecedented rate. With the construction of dams that siphon water away for agriculture and a growing population, combined with continuing climate change and a naturally arid region, the Colorado has been stretched too thin. But, in addition to the devastation, he also wanted to convey his optimism.
The product of his efforts were articles, books, and a documentary film, “Chasing Waters,” about his journey down the river. Through the firsthand experiences of Waterman, the film allows the audience to see the progression of the Colorado from the breathtaking headwaters in the Rockies, to the dammed, slow-moving stretches in the desert, to the desolation that lies at the end. In his book, The Colorado River, Waterman and his close friend and photographer, Peter McBride, take readers on a journey of the Colorado from above with astonishing aerial photos. Waterman describes the river in one of his introductory sentences in, Running Dry, “From mountains to desert to delta, with breathtaking vistas and rapids, no other American river system has so many endemic fish species, lawyers, and silt.” Combining all of his works it is almost impossible to not have a full comprehension, understanding, and appreciation of this natural wonder. Waterman communicates his connection to its surviving nature, despite the human sculpting over time.
Waterman also commented that since 2008 he has probably given over 100 lectures on the topic, at various places, from conferences to colleges, spreading the word and bringing this issue to the forefront. One of the most powerful aspects of his message is the form, or forms in which he communicates with. He goes on to explain how he learned “that by spending time on the ground and then exploiting every type of medium: film, books, magazines, lecturing and the Internet, that he could really reach a lot of people.” And that is what he has done and continues to do to this day.
Because of the profuse amount of media he has produced on the Colorado, Waterman humbly comments that he would like to take some of the credit for the river’s recent developments. About two and half weeks ago a large amount of water was released from a dam to restore the habitats in the last 70 miles of the Colorado River delta. The release came about with the support of many organizations and foundations, which the media attention Waterman brought to the river back in 2008 probably helped inspire.
“I have this strange passion to go explore,” Waterman says with a laugh, “And by exploring I learn a lot, I develop a sense of place that is very difficult to develop if you’re just an ordinary journalist. I sleep out in the ground and spend a month getting to know a place and along the Colorado I found a real sense of hope and potential for the future.” Today, Waterman wants to carry on sharing this optimism for the future of the Colorado River through writing and lecturing in hopes that it will continue to influence people to better the world in whatever way they can.
His compassion for nature and his appetite for exploration are what drive him. Having just returned from an “arduous” hike in the mountains for our interview, he says with passion, “I feel most alive in the wilderness and I feel a sense of discovery and exploration that makes me realize my full potential as a human being.”
But ultimately, Waterman says, “For me what’s more important is that I’m passionate about what I do, so that’s all that counts. It makes me happy and I know that it’s important, someone has to do it, you know, the wilderness needs a voice.”
And Jon Waterman is that voice.