McBride believes his work has had a positive impact, however difficult to measure it may be. “I think at the least, my work has moved the needle a smidge with the public—making them think about our watershed differently,” he says. This past spring, Colorado River water managers released enough water so that for the first time in 15 years, water flowed across the Colorado River delta and into the Sea of Cortez. “I’d like to think my work played a tiny hand” in that restoration experiment, McBride says. That release of water turned into another chapter in McBride’s project. He and Waterman followed the flow across the delta on assignment for Outside magazine, ostensibly paddling to the Gulf of California, but at times dragging their kayaks through the foliage and extremely shallow water along the way. The delta is dry again, but never mind how short-lived that water-release experiment was. For McBride, it was cause for hope that the river someday might be rescued and once again flow to the sea. “That helps keep me going, and hopefully the public, too,” he says. In the meantime, the project and McBride’s work as a river advocate is far from finished. The water levels of the river continue to drop. Nevada and Arizona, with their growing populations in desert regions, are on the brink of statewide water shortages, “so new chapters are forming,” McBride says. “My guess is that to some degree, this project will continue for my life (in small doses at times), in part because I enjoy documenting my backyard—mostly the beauty but also its growing challenges—as frustrating as some can be.” - See more at: http://www.pdnonline.com/features/Environmental-Crusad-11576.shtml#sthash.8r3QACjt.dpuf