Jennifer Pitt joined Audubon in December 2015 to advise the organization’s strategies to protect and restore rivers throughout the Colorado River Basin. At Audubon she continues to lead the United States–Mexico collaboration to restore the long-desiccated Colorado River Delta. She serves as the U.S. co-chair of the bi-national work group whose partners will, through 2026, implement existing treaty commitments providing environmental flows and habitat creation.

Prior to joining Audubon, Jennifer spent 17 years working to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems in the Colorado River Basin at the Environmental Defense Fund. With partners, she led the conservation community’s efforts to prioritize and implement restoration of the Colorado River Delta, and she worked with Colorado River stakeholders to produce the unprecedented Colorado River Basin Supply and Demand Study, the first federal assessment of climate change impacts in the basin and the first basin-wide evaluation of the impacts of river system operation on water supply reliability and river health. Jennifer has also worked at the National Park Service headquarters and in Mesa Verde and Sequoia National Parks, as a legislative assistant to U.S. Congressman Mike Kopetski, and in the headquarters office of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

Jennifer graduated from Harvard University and received a master’s in Environmental Science and Policy from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Articles by Jennifer Pitt

Western Water News

Who gets harmed as the Colorado River changes?

By Jennifer Pitt
March 09, 2023 — Negative impacts of water shortages will be vast.
Western Water News

How to Save the Colorado River? Use Less Water

By Jennifer Pitt
January 20, 2023 — Audubon submits comments to Bureau of Reclamation as they develop new operating rules.
Western Water News

Well, the West is Getting a Lot of Snow and Rain

By Jennifer Pitt
January 05, 2023 — But conservation mindset still needed.
Western Water News

The Colorado River Compact at 100

By Jennifer Pitt
November 22, 2022 — Can it survive another century?
Western Water News

How to Negotiate for Peace, Resilience, and Environment on the Colorado River

By Jennifer Pitt
September 20, 2022 — Audubon’s letter to address historically low water supplies.
Western Water News

Feds Predictably Declare Record Shortage on the Colorado River

By Jennifer Pitt
August 16, 2022 — Water scarcity on the River means deeper cuts are coming.
Western Water News

Grand Canyon’s Ecosystem at Risk with Colorado River Crisis

By Jennifer Pitt
July 27, 2022 — We must address climate change to protect everything that depends on the River, including an iconic national park and its many fish and birds.
Water flows in the Colorado River Delta.
Western Water News

Water for the Colorado River Delta in a Dry Year

By Jennifer Pitt
May 18, 2022 — Binational agreement a model for river management in a climate change world.
Western Water News

Stumbling Toward “Day Zero” on the Colorado River

By Jennifer Pitt
April 22, 2022 — Urgent action needed from seven states and feds to avoid water crisis.
Western Water News

The State of the Colorado River Going into 2022

By Jennifer Pitt
December 14, 2021 — The rules of the Colorado River need to match modern values and our climate realities.