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Nanjit dahonche? Hi, I'm Quannah Chasinghorse,

and I hope you are well.

I'm Han Gwich'in from Eagle Village, Alaska,

and Sicangu and Oglála Lakota

from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

I am the narrator of this film,

and on behalf of the team and I,

we really hope you enjoy this film

and leave feeling inspired to protect

the wildlife of the American Southwest.

-[rain pattering] -[water lapping softly]

[gentle music]

[wind blowing softly]

The Never Summer Mountains.

Headwaters of the mighty Colorado River.

Fueled by snowmelt from the Rockies,

the river and its tributaries grow with each confluence

and nourish valley floors

and cottonwood galleries downstream.

[bird chirping]

Its timeless power

has carved Cataract, Glen,

and Marble Canyons...

and shaped the grandest of them all.

[water lapping softly]

Like the blood flowing through our veins,

the Colorado pumps life

into the harsh Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.

For millions of years,

soil borne by the river

settled into an immense delta...

transferring its nutrients from land to sea.

[gulls cawing]

[dramatic music]

Along its nearly 1,500-mile journey,

the Colorado connects the Rocky Mountains

to the Gulf of California

and nurtures landscapes

that are bursting with wildlife.

[horn-like braying]

[rattling]

[heavy exhalation]

Water is the divine force

in this unforgiving landscape.

It is the most essential

and precious resource

that has supported humanity for millennia.

This story

follows the Colorado on its journey

to sustain society and the natural world

through a rapidly changing landscape.

[dramatic music]

[sprinklers whirring]

[wind whooshing]

[gentle music]

[crescendo]

[music fading]

[gentle music]

[water lapping gently]

[birds chirping]

This humble pond

in Rocky Mountain National Park

may seem unassuming.

But many great journeys have modest beginnings.

In the case of the Colorado River,

its ancient voyage to the sea begins here,

as a small stream below a marshy meadow.

The stream is soon joined by others...

and the river meanders through fields and forests,

down a valley as old as the mountains.

[distant bird call]

[bird calls]

But the journey for this water

has become perilous.

Its fate uncertain.

For the landscapes carved by the river

have drastically changed

in the last few centuries.

A change that can be told

through the song of the Rockies...

the bugle of the bull elk.

[horn-like call]

[rapid snorting]

[horn-like response]

Vast herds of elk and other wildlife

have roamed the Southwest for millennia.

They supported wolves, grizzlies,

mountain lions, and jaguars,

and were an important source of food and clothing

for indigenous people.

As the Southwest was colonized,

much of the wildlife was commercially hunted

for meat, hides, and for sport.

The slaughter was so extensive...

that, within mere decades,

the mountains fell silent.

[silence]

[low music]

[thunder crashing distantly]

[rain pattering]

As the last bugles faded...

a bold group of early environmentalists

and conservation- minded hunters

resolved to protect the animals that remained.

And to begin their recovery.

[dramatic music]

They led states to regulate hunting,

which allowed the herds to re-grow.

And they reintroduced elk and other species

across their historic range.

The ongoing recovery efforts

have been so successful...

that elk numbers in the Southwest

have increased from a few small herds

in the early 1900s

to nearly half a million today.

[horn-like braying]

As elk numbers grow,

so does... the competition.

Each fall, the bull elk compete for hierarchy.

The winners rise in status

to become the herd bull.

[birds chirping]

This bull is relatively young,

but he has a very impressive rack,

which has attracted the attention

of several dozen females.

[upbeat music]

He has spent weeks gathering the harem

in preparation for the rite to begin.

But some of the cows are still nursing...

and they are not interested.

Rejection...

can be difficult for young males.

[horn-like call]

To vent his frustration

and to impress the ladies with his physical fitness,

he scrapes and wallows in the mud.

His efforts...

are ignored.

[snorting]

His bugles, however, are not.

[horn-like call]

The same bugles he uses to gather the harem...

have attracted unwanted attention.

[horn-like call]

This bull is older,

more experienced,

and has been waiting for the opportunity

to seize a harem of his own.

[heavy hoof thuds]

[horn-like braying]

[yelping]

[heavy hoof thuds]

It will be a test

of age and experience

versus youth and ambition.

[dramatic music]

[horns rattling]

The younger bull goes on the attack

and drives the challenger back.

[dramatic music]

[horns rattling]

[dramatic music]

The older bull has been saving his energy

for a counter-attack.

[dramatic music]

[music fades]

Age and experience...

has defeated youth and ambition.

The challenger is the new herd bull.

[horn-like call]

The song of the Rockies

is a reminder of our ability to both destroy

and recover the natural world.

[wind blowing softly]

As autumn gives way to winter...

the mountains are enveloped

under a deep blanket of snow.

Snowpack is the heartbeat

of the Southwest.

It stores and releases water

and pumps life into rivers, cities,

and ecosystems downstream.

This seemingly limitless amount of snow

is actually finite

and quantifiable.

Water in the West

is measured by the acre-foot.

During dry years, the Colorado's flow

is around 10 million acre-feet.

In wet years, the total can exceed

20 million acre-feet.

Each spring, the snowpack begins to thaw...

-and the watershed awakens. -[ice crackling]

[water rushing]

[water continues rushing]

Thousands of streams from across the Rockies

join together in a torrent towards the sea.

[waves crashing]

[waves crashing]

[waves crashing]

-[water rushing] -[bird tweeting]

The peak of the snowmelt,

which usually occurs in late May to early June,

presents a challenge to one of nature's

most ambitious engineers.

What seems to be

a messy jumble of trunks and limbs

is part of a dam measuring six feet tall

and 100 feet wide.

The architectural mastermind is

North America's largest rodent...

the beaver.

Beavers can weigh more than 60 pounds,

and their diet consists of grasses,

forbs, and tree bark.

A lot of tree bark.

In a traditional beaver family,

there is a patriarch and a matriarch.

Their relationships are often longer

than the average American marriage.

A beaver couple's dream

is to have a pond of their own

with a big, spacious lodge.

A place to raise a family in peace.

[soft music]

Beaver mothers give birth in the springtime,

and on average,

they have four very hungry mouths to feed.

Still living in the lodge

are her nearly-grown kids from last year,

who help raise the newborns

and teach them the family trades

of woodwork, hydrology, and construction.

Which can be very competitive fields.

When they're two years old,

young beavers leave their parents' lodge

to find a partner and build a life of their own.

They seek out an ideal home site.

A place with flowing water

and plenty of timber and mud for construction materials.

Once located, they begin to chew out a living.

[upbeat music]

[upbeat music continues]

[chomping]

[rapid chomping]

[soft cracking]

[cracking]

[cracking]

[cracking]

[heavy cracking]

[thud]

Through hard work, determination,

and several months of pulling all-nighters,

these young couples can build the foundation

for their families' success

and achieve their great beaver dream.

[gentle music]

[distant birds chirping]

In pursuit of their ambitions,

beavers transform their immediate surroundings,

and as a species,

they engineer a wetland ecosystem.

By building dams, beavers spread water

across valley floors

and create a web of channels and ponds

called a beaver meadow complex.

Their porous dams filter streams

and purify water,

and their ponds collect sediment

and prevent erosion.

Like a sponge, the wetland soaks up water

during floods and spring runoff

and slowly releases it

through the dry summer and fall...

acting as both a natural reservoir

and serving as a firebreak.

[birds cawing]

The impact of beavers is so great...

that streams with beaver complexes

can hold water year-round,

compared to similar watersheds without beavers.

And although riparian habitats

are only found on 2% of the landscape,

they contain 80%

of the biodiversity in the West.

[gentle music]

Beavers make landscapes wetter,

cooler, and more resilient.

-[birds chirping] -They are a keystone species

for their habitat

and provide an invaluable ecosystem service

to everyone downstream.

As creeks and rivers flow down from the mountains,

their water is often diverted for human use.

During westward expansion,

settlers began building irrigation systems,

and by the late 1800s,

large canals had been dug

along many fertile valleys.

As communities grew,

so did the desire to spread the power of water

even further across the landscape.

[soft music]

In 1902, the United States created

the Bureau of Reclamation

to reclaim western lands

from their natural state and transform them

into irrigated, agricultural lands.

[soft music]

The federal program

developed ambitious water projects

to take the Colorado far from its natural course.

[water crashing]

To quantify the amount of water,

the Bureau calculated the river's flow

over ten years

and found an annual average

of 16 and a half million acre-feet.

In 1922,

the Colorado River Compact was created

to legally divide the water between the states.

The compact split the watershed in half.

The upper basin was allotted

seven and a half million acre-feet,

as was the lower basin.

Mexico was later granted

one and a half million acre-feet.

The compact gave no water rights

to the sovereign tribal nations

or to the river itself.

[booming]

[booming]

To distribute the water,

the bureau bore tunnels through mountain ranges,

pumped water over hills,

and diverted tributaries to distant valleys.

To regulate the water's flow,

dams were constructed over many rivers and streams.

Dams impound water

and create reservoirs that store it for human use.

The release of water is carefully managed

to generate electricity,

provide irrigation,

and fulfill downstream water commitments.

The bureau's water projects

have helped grow the human population

that depends on the Colorado

from 2 million people in the year 1900

to over 40 million people in 2025.

But the dams and altering the river

have come with consequences.

The released water is unnaturally cold,

the water quality is diminished,

and the altered flows disrupt natural processes.

The disruptions are so extensive

that an iconic fish of the West

now only survives in a small fraction

of its historic waters.

But they still have strongholds

in a few very special streams.

In early summer,

cutthroat trout begin traveling

to their spawning sites.

Each female has several hundred eggs to lay,

and they are determined to reach a stretch of stream

that will give their offspring the best chance of survival.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music continues]

[gentle music]

She has reached a shallow stream bed

with pea-sized gravel.

The perfect place

to dig a small depression

as a cradle for her eggs.

As she prepares the bed,

the males gather behind.

[gentle music]

She protects her eggs

by covering them with loose gravel,

and in a few weeks' time,

a new generation of cutthroat trout

will emerge.

[water rushing gently]

A hundred miles downstream of its headwaters,

where the Colorado drifts

through hills of Ponderosa and Aspen

and flows over boulders and cobblestones,

an ancient event prepares to surface each spring.

[water rushing]

This is the largest aquatic insect

in North America.

The giant salmonfly.

They spend three to five years

feeding on vegetation in the boulders

and traveling with the river's current.

[dramatic music]

[gentle music]

[dramatic music]

[gentle music]

Their constant downstream motion

presents a challenge.

How will they travel back upriver

to lay their eggs

for their offspring to live and grow

in the same home waters?

Such a feat requires...

a metamorphosis.

[coyote howling]

Under the cover of darkness

in early summer,

the mature salmonflies

begin to emerge.

[soft music]

This is their first time

to leave the river.

An instinct propels them upwards

in search of a safe place

to shed their exoskeleton.

[soft music]

[exoskeleton rustling]

[rustling continues]

[rustling continues]

After half an hour of struggle,

they reveal their new adult form.

Four wings will give them

the power of flight,

and the ability to travel upstream

to lay their eggs.

By morning, thousands of salmonflies

cover the willows,

each in search of a partner.

[romantic music]

Finding a match comes easily for some.

For others...

love is beyond their reach.

Traveling through the terrestrial world

is difficult for the salmonflies.

And the banks are rife

with unfamiliar dangers.

[ominous music]

[ominous music]

The salmonfly hatch supports an entire ecosystem.

But from their perspective...

they're surrounded by terrifying monsters.

[ominous music]

Their best chance of survival

is to climb back to the safety of the willows.

-[feet thudding] -Or else.

[dramatic stinger]

[rustling]

[chirping]

[chirping]

[dramatic music]

[music fades]

Although many individuals fall,

the salmonflies' greatest strength

is their sheer abundance.

Within the willows, they find safety in numbers

and overwhelm the shoreline predators.

After mating,

they wait for dry and sunny conditions

with little wind

to take flight.

[majestic music]

Rising together,

the salmonflies create a swarm

that travels up the canyon walls

and begins their journey upstream.

[majestic music]

[gentle music]

The swarm can fly for several miles

before the females return back to the water

to release their eggs.

[water lapping gently]

Their offspring will now have a chance at life

in the same home waters.

It is their final act.

The salmonfly hatch

is a massive transfer of nutrients

from the river to the surrounding ecosystem.

But like the cutthroat trout,

salmonflies have disappeared

from hundreds of miles of western rivers

because of dams and their unnatural water releases.

Managing dam releases to mimic natural river flows

would help bring the hatches back,

and the entire river community would benefit.

[water rushing gently]

As the Colorado and its many tributaries

leave the Rocky Mountains behind...

they begin to carve their way

through the Colorado Plateau.

Water and soil from faraway watersheds

converge at each confluence,

nourishing fertile valleys and cottonwood forests.

This remote Four Corners region

has been called home

for thousands of years.

In Bears Ears National Monument alone,

there are more than 100,000

cultural and archaeological sites.

[gentle music]

These canyon walls have witnessed

the laughter of children

and the dreams of their parents

for longer than 1,000 human generations.

This individual was part of a community

that lived in a multi-room dwelling

overlooking the river.

Their handprints are still visible in the mortar,

holding walls that have stood for a thousand years.

Following the springtime floods,

they walked down well-worn paths

to the valley below

and planted a variety of desert-adapted crops.

[distant bird cawing]

After the growing season, they placed their harvest

into ceramic pots,

and carried them up familiar steps

to their homes and granaries.

Agriculture allowed their communities to flourish.

They played games,

made music,

raised children,

and passed down their stories and wisdom

to future generations.

The largest communities contained thousands of people,

and their cultural networks were so vast

that people traded tools and jewelry

from across the continent...

exchanged language and knowledge...

and traded spices,

medicinal plants, and religious objects.

Some of these items

would've been taken into sacred kivas

and used for ceremonies.

Perhaps to pray

for the health of an aging parent...

the healing of a friend...

or for the germination of a seed.

They most certainly

prayed for rain.

[distant thunder rumbling]

[distant thunder crashing]

[rain patter increases]

The connections that indigenous cultures had

and still have with the land

is so intimate

that their clan names are often described

by their homeland.

[soft music]

Yadokkya-kwe.

The Zuni Sun Clan.

Weeminuche.

The Ute Mountain Ute.

Chakwaina.

The Black Earth Kachina Clan

of the Hopi.

Tachii'nii.

The Navajo Red Running Into Water Clan.

[water rushing]

[gentle music]

Like other cultures around the world...

the people who lived here passed on their wisdom,

beliefs, and memories

through art.

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

These panels speak of times

when game was plenty...

of the sanctity of water...

and the devastation of drought.

[music fades]

Oral history, combined with evidence

from tree rings,

tell of a severe dry period

nearly 1,000 years ago

that lasted for a century.

The rivers diminished

from a lack of snow,

and the crops withered

from a lack of rain.

A vibrant culture

much older than the United States

was disrupted,

and conflict swept across the land.

[ominous music]

Families hid their crops

in secret granaries

to conceal their food from hungry raiders.

And communities built defensive towers

to protect themselves against desperate bands.

People prayed for rain.

But the scarcity of water and food,

along with bad omens...

led entire communities to leave their homes

and move to more hospitable areas

of the Colorado Plateau.

Water has always been the most essential

and precious resource in the Southwest.

Sadly, our understanding of these cultures

and their ancient wisdom is incomplete,

because a genocidal war

was waged against their descendants...

and almost all of the archaeological sites

have been looted.

Many panels have been vandalized,

and some of humanity's oldest artwork

has been used for target practice

and is riddled with bullet holes.

This cultural desecration from vandalism

is salt in the wound to the partial drowning

of their ancestral homes.

[soft melancholic music]

Buried beneath the surface of Lake Powell

are more than 3,000 known archaeological sites,

and Glen Canyon...

a canyon whose arches, grottos, and spires

are so beautiful, it is often remembered

as America's lost national park.

When the reservoir is low, its rocky cathedrals

are partially revealed,

providing a glimpse

of the submerged wonders.

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

Lake Powell was formed by the Glen Canyon Dam

in 1963,

which impounded 186 miles

of the Colorado River,

making Powell the second-largest reservoir

in North America.

The largest reservoir

is 300 miles downstream,

Lake Mead,

which was created in 1936

after the completion of the Hoover Dam.

In total, there are

15 major dams and diversions

on the main stem of the Colorado,

and dozens more along its tributaries.

Lake Mead was constructed to store water

for the lower basin states

and deliver it to farms,

communities, and cities downstream.

In contrast, Lake Powell's main purpose

is for the upper basin to store water

and release it to the lower basin

to fulfill their legal water obligations.

In the hundred years

since the Colorado River Compact was created...

the annual river flow has diminished

from 16 and a half million acre-feet

to only 13 million acre-feet.

The reservoirs expose water to the sun,

and over 10% of the Colorado's water

is lost to evaporation.

As of 2025,

Lake Powell has been reduced

to only 39% capacity.

Lake Mead has fallen even lower,

down to only 33%.

Water is projected to decrease even further

as climate change makes the Southwest

hotter and drier.

These dams,

and the Colorado's water management system

were designed with values that are over a century old,

for an amount of water that no longer exists.

[water rushing]

Hope for revival can be found

beneath vermillion cliffs

along the Navajo Nation.

These canyons are home

to one of the planet's most rare

and endangered birds.

The California condor.

Fewer than 100 condors exist

in Arizona and Utah.

They are descendants of a captive breeding program

that saved the species from extinction.

[gentle music]

Condors often soar over 100 miles a day

and fulfill the important role of scavengers.

Their greatest threat

is consuming lead bullet fragments

left in the carcasses of hunted animals

and dying from lead poisoning.

[majestic music]

This couple has defied the odds

and laid hope for the future.

Their precious hatchling will become known

as Condor 1150.

The number since the species was

nearly lost to extinction.

His parents will spend the next several months

keeping him fed, safe, and warm

until he is old enough to fly on his own.

[soft music]

[upbeat music]

Condor 1150 is now five months old

and almost fully grown.

He spends his days exercising his wings

and exploring the ledges around the nest.

Like all youngsters,

he's fascinated with the world around him.

[music softens]

[thud]

[rocks clacking]

Gravity.

He'll have to overcome that.

But, for now, Mom has brought home the groceries.

[upbeat music]

His favorite: leftover roadkill.

His parents have chosen a nest location

that is 500 feet above a vertical cliff face.

As he grows, his parents must bring back

more and more food,

which requires them to be gone for days at a time...

leaving him alone

and unsupervised.

His only chance to leave the confines of the nest

and be with his parents is to fly.

For that, he'll need to keep exercising his wings

and practicing.

[ominous music]

[dramatic music]

[music fades]

1150 survived the fall.

But he doesn't have the strength or skills

to fly back to the nest.

His only hope of returning

is to attempt a first ascent.

He begins to climb home.

[gentle music]

1150 succeeds in climbing

the first hundred feet

and discovers a chimney crack.

He's able to find enough holds

to climb up the vertical distance

and make his way to the same elevation

as the nest.

All that remains is the horizontal traverse.

[ominous music]

[dramatic music]

A much-needed lucky break.

But he still faces

the crux of the climb.

The gap separating him from the nest.

The gap he originally fell from.

[gentle music]

[dramatic music]

Like the condors before him,

1150 overcame the odds

and returned home.

A few weeks later,

with more confidence in his abilities,

1150 spread his wings.

[stirring music]

With luck,

he will soar for the next 50 years

and help increase

the endangered condor population...

where they will soar

over one of Earth's most iconic landscapes.

The Grand Canyon.

[majestic music]

The landscapes of the Southwest

have inspired some of the greatest

conversation efforts in the history of the world.

They led to the creation

of national parks and monuments

and to the world's first designated wilderness.

In total, 60% of the Southwest

is public land.

They are a beacon of hope for wildlife

and an opportunity

for every American

to experience wild places

and have a stake in the stewardship

of our environment.

[stirring music]

For 277 miles,

the mighty Colorado

chisels its way through ancient rock.

The power of water

carves the canyon ever deeper.

[waves crashing]

[gentle music]

Weather and time

have sculpted a geologic masterpiece

that reveals layers of Earth's history

like chapters in a book.

The topmost layer is Kaibab Limestone,

formed 270 million years ago,

when dinosaurs still roamed the planet.

It sits atop the Toroweap,

Coconino, and Hermit layers

and above the Esplanade Sandstone,

when the first reptiles appeared.

The Redwall Formation below

contains some of the earliest insects

and terrestrial plants.

At the very bottom is the Visnhu Schist,

formed one and a half billion years ago,

when the first cells containing a nucleus

appeared in the fossil record.

The plants and animals alive today

are nature's survivors.

the descendants of those

who endured mass extinctions

and climatic changes.

A precious existence

in our current layer of time.

Downstream of the Grand Canyon,

the Colorado flows into the Mojave Desert.

A scorching landscape

in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevadas.

Some parts of the desert

receive mere inches of annual rain.

Earth's hottest surface temperature,

134 degrees Fahrenheit,

was recorded in the Mojave's Death Valley.

The namesake of this desert

produces two types of venom:

a hemotoxin that destroys tissue

and a neurotoxin

that attacks the nervous system.

[eerie music]

[tail rattling]

The Mojave rattlesnake.

This female has released pheromones

to summon males.

She wants snakelets.

A potential suitor approaches.

But is he worthy?

[eerie music continues]

She responds to his advance by slapping him repeatedly.

He seems committed,

but he'll need to prove himself.

[eerie music continues]

His fitness and determination

meet her standards,

and she coils around him.

She seizes what she needs

and clasps onto him

and drags him by his reproductive organs.

[eerie music continues]

She will keep him locked for the next 12 hours

until his usefulness has expired.

[music fades slowly]

A few months later,

she descends into a burrow.

[eerie music]

[body gurgling]

[body gurgling]

This mother sacrificed

40% of her body weight

and most of her water

to deliver life to her 13 offspring.

Such extreme measures

are needed for the harsh conditions above.

[dramatic music]

[music fades]

The Mojave's plants and animals

have evolved over millions of years

to survive and thrive

in one of the most arid

and unforgiving landscapes

on Earth.

In contrast,

our water management system

is in the early stages

of adapting to a desert environment.

Below Lake Mead,

the Colorado loses its identity

as a wild river

and becomes a conduit

for the Colorado River Compact.

4% of the lower basin's water

is allocated to Nevada.

Arizona receives 37%,

and California takes 59%.

[soft music]

At the Imperial Dam,

the Colorado is diverted

into the largest canal in the world...

the All-American Canal,

which transports nearly one quarter

of the entire river basin's water

to Southern California's Imperial Valley.

In total, the Colorado irrigates

over 5 million acres of farmland.

The abundant sunshine

and lack of extreme weather events

makes these desert farms a stable breadbasket.

They are so productive

that nearly 90% of the United States'

wintertime vegetables are grown in the lower basin.

Flood irrigation is the most common

and least efficient form of irrigation.

Sprinklers are more efficient

and drip irrigation is the most efficient.

The amount of irrigation depends on the crop.

Water-intensive crops,

such as alfalfa, almonds, and cotton,

require significantly more water

than drought-tolerant crops,

like squash, Kernza, and leafy greens.

Each field is a miniature representation

of market forces,

policies and subsidies,

and the consumer's choice.

25% of the Colorado's water used by humans

is municipal, commercial, and industrial.

28% is used to irrigate crops for human consumption,

such as corn, carrots, and tomatoes.

47% is used to grow alfalfa and hay

to feed livestock for meat and dairy products.

[distant moo-ing]

The most commonly-grown crop

in the Imperial Valley is alfalfa.

Around a third of its alfalfa,

grown with Colorado River water,

is exported overseas

to feed livestock in foreign countries.

The largest opportunity

to save water in the Colorado River system

is to transition to more water-efficient agriculture.

[distant chirps, tweets]

Inspiration for water efficiency

can be found in the Sonoran Desert

of Arizona and Northern Mexico.

The saguaro cactus

is legendary for saving water

and distributing it to their community.

[gentle guitar plucking]

[thunder crashing]

[rain pattering]

Saguaros funnel water down to their base

and soak it up through shallow roots

that extend as wide as the cactus is tall.

They store their water in their trunks and arms,

which expand during wet times

and can hold over 1,000 gallons.

When it's dry, they contract.

Saguaros protect the precious liquid inside

like their lives depend on it.

Their thick, waxy skin shields their water from the sun

and nearly eliminates evaporation,

while their rows of needle-sharp spines

defend it from any predators.

Their water-saving strategies

are so efficient

that saguaros can live over two centuries

and can survive years without rain.

[upbeat music]

[music ends]

During the scorching conditions

of early summer,

they prepare an annual gift

for their desert community.

[soft music]

[gentle music]

For only one night and day,

the flowers bloom and reveal their nectar.

The sweet aroma drifts through the desert air

and attracts a variety of pollinators.

[birds chirping, hooting]

In exchange for the nectar's sugar and moisture,

birds, bats, and bees

transfer the flower's pollen

to other saguaros.

A few weeks later,

the flowers mature

into a succulent, red fruit.

It is a life-saving gift

of food and water

during the hottest and driest time of year.

In return,

the saguaro seeds are distributed

right in time for the summer monsoons.

[wind whooshing]

[wind whooshing]

Above the Sonoran Desert,

mountain ranges

rise into the clouds

and create sky islands of dense forest.

[thunder rumbling]

Known to roam these mountains

is an animal so beautiful,

powerful,

and sacred...

that, to many cultures...

it is nothing short...

of a god.

[dramatic music]

[thunder rumbling]

Behold...

the apex cat of the Americas.

[snarl]

The jaguar.

South of the U.S.-Mexico border,

conservation organizations have established

wildlife reserves

and work with local ranches

to protect jaguars and their habitat.

Their numbers are increasing,

and jaguars are now roaming into the United States,

where they were historically found

as far north as the Grand Canyon.

[gentle music]

This female is known as...

Libellula,

the dragonfly.

She is the matriarch of the Northern Jaguar Reserve

in Sonora, Mexico.

She is marking her territory

and leaving scent to communicate

with other jaguars.

Libellula is 12 years old

and has successfully raised

several cubs on the reserve.

Her most recent cub is fully grown,

and she is now seeking a partner.

[jaguar roaring]

Her roars travel through the mountains

and have been heard by the dominant male...

-[jaguar roaring] -...who heeds her call.

He follows the trail

that Libellula has left behind

and covers her marks with his own.

[dramatic music]

He is communicating to any other males

that this is his territory,

and he is in pursuit.

[dramatic music continues]

[music fades]

[gentle music]

Libellula's calls have been answered.

If their courtship is successful,

she will spend the next two years

raising her cubs

before they disperse

to find a territory of their own.

If her cubs travel north along the Sky Islands,

they could potentially cross the border

into the United States

and help bring the jaguar back to American soil...

if that door of opportunity stays open.

[beeping]

[booming]

[booming]

[booming]

[rapid booming]

[equipment whirring]

Over the last 50 years,

a border wall has been constructed

on three out of every four miles

of the U.S.-Mexico border

in Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

If the border wall is completed,

the north to south flow of wildlife

would be halted

at a continental scale.

The disruption of natural processes

has become a defining feature

of our modern society.

From its headwaters to the border,

the Colorado is diverted, divided, and dammed.

Its water is impounded,

evaporated, and subjugated.

The most essential ingredient for life on Earth

is turned into a commodity

that is sold, consumed, and exported

so extensively...

that by the time the river flows

past the border wall,

the Colorado is so exhausted,

all that remains is the amount of water

that is owed to Mexico

under the river's compact.

After crossing the border,

the river is dammed and diverted

for its final time.

Only a small trickle seeps

into the river's natural channel.

[gentle music]

At this location...

the mighty Colorado,

which carved the Grand Canyon

and has journeyed to the sea

for 6 million years...

ceases to flow completely.

Less than one lifetime ago,

the river spread across

a 2-million-acre delta,

nourishing forests and wetlands

that teemed with water fowl,

fish, and jaguars.

This...

is the delta now.

An entirely man-made

wasteland.

This ecological collapse

is spreading as the Southwest

becomes hotter and drier.

And is a symptom

of policies and values

that ignore the health of the Earth.

The same strenuous efforts

to conquer the river...

are now needed to recover it.

On the east side of the delta,

a small amount of agricultural runoff

seeps into the historic wetland

and has created

the Cienega de Santa Clara.

This...

is a small taste

of what the delta once looked like

and could look like again,

if a portion of the Colorado River

is allowed to fulfill its ancient journey

and flow to the sea.

[gentle music]

[birds chirping]

[birds cawing]

[stirring music]

Restoring the river can be achieved

by saving water at every opportunity...

and by giving the river

the legal right to flow.

[soft music]

There isn't a shortage of water in the Southwest.

There is an opportunity

to better steward this magnificent landscape

and its most essential resource.

[waves crashing]

The Colorado

is the artery that connects

landscapes and life.

And the river's health

is a reflection of our own.

[dramatic music]

If we listen...

ancient knowledge can teach us

the sanctity of water

and the perils of a changing climate.

Like the layers revealed by the river,

we are writing our own chapter into the rock.

But unlike the billions of animals

in the fossil record below us,

our species, at this point in time...

is the first to have the knowledge and power

to influence the thickness

of our layer in Earth's history...

and what life will exist

in the layers above.

[gentle music]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

[music fades]