The Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University
James V. Risser awarding the 2005 Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism to Jerd Smith, one of three journalists at the Rocky Mountain News who won for their series The Last Drop, which detailed the degree to which the rivers of Colorado's Rocky Mountains face ominous threats from the thirst of urban development.
2005 Risser Prize Symposium
Water in the West: 21st Century Challenges in a 19th Century Legal Framework.
Related Media
- Symposium Audio (available on Stanford iTunes)
- Symposium Announcement
Panelists
Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson, Stanford Law School
Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News, co-winner, 2005 Risser Prize
Thomas Graff, California regional director, Environmental Defense
Symposium
A trio of authorities on Western water issues gathered at Stanford on Nov. 1 for a symposium that examined whether legal precedents dating from the 19th century are appropriate for solving 21st century water problems.
The symposium, held in Stanford's Green Library, was presented in conjunction with the presentation of the first James V. Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism. Todd Hartman, Ken Papaleo and Jerd Smith of the Rocky Mountain News, won the prize for their series, "The Last Drop," which detailed the degree to which the rivers of Colorado's Rocky Mountains face ominous threats from the thirst of urban development.
Knight-Risser Prize Symposiums:
“When the Well Runs Dry: Confronting a Groundwater Crisis” 
January 2017 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, January 25, 2017
“Breathless in Texas: Energy Production Puts Air at Risk”
2016 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, February 17, 2016
“Troubled Waters: Marine Life and the Threat of Ocean Acidification”
2015 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, February 25, 2015
“Deadly Measures: Uncovering a Little-Known Agency's Toll on Wildlife”
2014 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, February 5, 2014
“Wildlife, Wired: How Technology Is Changing Nature Reporting”
2013 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, February 20, 2013
“Adapting to Dry Times: The Role of the Media in an Increasingly Arid West ”
2012 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, January 25, 2012
“The Crisis in Western Environmental Journalism”
November 2010 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium, November 17, 2010
“Visualizing the Environment”
January 2010 Risser Prize Symposium, January 27, 2010
“Climate Change Hits Home”
December 2008 Risser Prize Symposium, December 3, 2008
“Environmental Fallout of the Cold War”
March 2008 Risser Prize Symposium, March 13, 2008
“Water in the West: 21st Century Challenges in a 19th Century Legal Framework”
2005 Risser Prize Symposium, November 1, 2005
Digital mapping tools helped the Times’ team’s reporting dig deeper and added another visual punch to their discoveries. The team was among a number of digital graphics advocates who spoke at the symposium, titled “Visualizing the Environment: Mapping Data and Telling Stories in Journalism, Scholarship and Environmental Policy.”
Texas Tribune, ProPublica
The Desert Sun and USA Today
CPI, InsideClimate News, The Weather Channel
The Seattle Times
The Sacramento Bee
High Country News
5280 Magazine
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
What Went Wrong?
The Seattle Times
San Antonio Express-News
The Los Angeles Times
High Country News
For more information: knightrisserprize@lists.stanford.edu
