Pete McBride - Witness to Water
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson
Mountain & Prairie Media
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 March 2026
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pete McBride is a photographer, filmmaker, and author whose work has taken him all over the world, but at the center of it all is a river much closer to home: the Colorado River. He's been a frequent guest on this podcast over the years, and his work has consistently offered one of the most thoughtful and visually compelling perspectives on the landscapes and water systems that define the American West. His latest book, "Witness to Water: One Photographer's Mission to Defend the Colorado River," is a departure from his previous photo-driven projects—it's all words, and it brings together two decades of stories, observations, and hard-earned insight from time spent on and around rivers.
In this conversation, Pete and I talk about the Colorado River—where things stand today, what he's seeing across the basin, and why this moment feels especially urgent. We discuss drought, over-allocation, and the complicated, often frustrating realities of water management in the West. But we also zoom out, exploring how Pete's perspective has evolved over time—from adventure photographer chasing stories around the globe to someone deeply committed to telling one layered, long-term story about a single, essential river.
We also spend quite a bit of time on the more personal side of Pete's new book. He opens up about family, the influence of his parents, and a period of his life that didn't match the outward success people might assume. It's honest, vulnerable, and, like the best stories, deeply relatable. As always, there are plenty of wild experiences and hard-earned lessons woven throughout, but what stands out most is Pete's willingness to share the full picture—the wins, the struggles, and everything in between.
Pete is also a talented musician, and the song you heard at the beginning is him playing. And at the end of the episode, you can hear the full song. Be sure to check out the episodes for timestamps and links to everything we discuss, and be sure to grab a copy of "Witness to Water." Enjoy!
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- Pete McBride
- "Witness to Water" by Pete McBride
- Episode notes: https://mountainandprairie.com/pete-mcbride-4
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:
Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Central Grasslands Roadmap, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, North Bridger Bison, and the Old Salt Co-op for their generous sponsorship.
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- 0:00 - Introducing Pete McBride and highlighting TNC Colorado
- 5:43 - The "all words" book
- 8:51 - How Pete's dad ended up in Colorado
- 10:50 - Resisting the Colorado River
- 13:36 - Working in India
- 18:45 - Watching the water run out
- 22:51 - Len and Pete's horrific death march
- 27:09 - Combining the reservoirs
- 29:31 - The deadline
- 35:17 - How to get informed on the water conversations
- 39:28 - Adventurers of the Year
- 44:35 - Nobody knows what they're doing
- 49:57 - Not nervous
- 51:53 - Flying nerves
- 55:41 - The most scared Pete has ever been
- 59:24 - Djibouti
- 1:02:02 - Discussing judgment and wrapping up
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | And I wrote an op-ed suggesting that these water managers should maybe just get in a boat on the river, |
| 0:08.9 | leave the fluorescent lit conference rooms behind, you know, force themselves to have conversations on the river, |
| 0:17.3 | and then don't leave the river until they figure it out. |
| 0:19.5 | Because what's going to happen is if they can't figure it out and we bring in the federal government everyone's going to lawyer up |
| 0:24.8 | and it's going to drag out longer and longer and the big major loser will be the river itself |
| 0:32.0 | that's pete mcbride playing the guitar i'm ed roberson and this is the Mountain and Prairie podcast. My guest today is |
| 0:39.1 | Pete McBride. Pete is a photographer, filmmaker, and author whose work has taken him all over the |
| 0:45.0 | world, but at the center of it all is a river much closer to home, the Colorado River. He's been a |
| 0:51.1 | frequent guest on this podcast over the years, and his work has consistently offered |
| 0:55.6 | one of the most thoughtful and visually compelling perspectives on the landscapes and water systems |
| 1:01.0 | that define the American West. His latest book, Witness to Water, one photographer's mission to |
| 1:07.5 | defend the Colorado River, is a departure from his previous photo-driven |
| 1:11.6 | projects. The book is all words and it brings together two decades of stories, observations, |
| 1:18.1 | and hard-earned insight from time spent on and around rivers. |
| 1:22.5 | In this conversation, Pete and I talk about the Colorado River, where things stand today, |
| 1:27.3 | what he's seeing across the basin, |
| 1:29.4 | and why this moment feels especially urgent. We talk about drought, over-allocation, and the complicated, |
| 1:35.7 | often frustrating realities of water management in the West. But we also zoom out, exploring how Pete's |
| 1:42.3 | perspective has evolved over time, from adventure photographer |
| 1:45.8 | chasing stories around the globe to someone deeply committed to telling one layered, long-term |
| 1:51.4 | story about a single, essential river. We also spend quite a bit of time on the more personal |
| 1:56.3 | side of Pete's book. He opens up about family, the influence of his parents, and a period of his life |
... |
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