Drought threatens an Indigenous tribe's farm in an isolated corner of Colorado

A way of life and sustenance for a small tribe in the high desert of southern Colorado is under threat by the Western drought, which has left a reservoir used to irrigate farmland perilously low.

The 7,700-acre Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm & Ranch Enterprise has produced alfalfa and corn for four decades, irrigated by snow melt flowing from the surrounding San Juan Mountains.

But higher temperatures and less runoff feeding into the nearby McPhee Reservoir have led to a slowdown in production over the past two years, costing the farm from $4 million to $6 million last year. The losses combined with the pandemic forced the company to lay off more than half its workforce of 50.

The remaining 20 or so employees, who earn $15 to $25 an hour, are members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, part of the Weeminuche band of the Ute Nation. Many view their work as a contribution to their Indigenous society and are proud that the fruits of their labor make their way into items sold in grocery stores.