Colorado

As the giant mound at the city of Durango's snow-storage site at Cundiff Park begins to melt, it also gives rise to worries over water quality. The 17-acre snow storage site just south of town, which the city has been using for the last eight years, sits adjacent to the Animas River.

National Conservation Areas, designed to protect cultural, historical and recreational assets, range in size from 19 acres to 799,000 acres.

DENVER - Some Colorado lakes, streams and wetlands are especially vulnerable to pollution, unrestricted drainage or destruction, according to a report compiled jointly by the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited.

Included in the report are five Colorado waterways that have lost protection from these threats as a result of Supreme Court decisions affecting the Clean Water Act.