The Rio Grande has lost as much as 93% of wetland habitats. Dam construction, building diversions and levees for flood control meant the human grip on the flows eliminated the patterns to grow cottonwoods and willows. People transformed wetlands to support agriculture or more urban development.

The Rio Grande, which serves as a massive 1,200-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico, is currently facing a severe ecological and hydrological crisis due to "over-allocation" and climate-induced drought. For much of the 21st century, the river has frequently "run dry" before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, a phenomenon known as the "Forgotten River." This is primarily because nearly 95% of its water is diverted for agricultural irrigation and municipal use in cities like Albuquerque, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez. In 2026, the river’s flow is further threatened by record-low snowpacks in the San Juan Mountains and increasing evaporation rates. Invasive species like the "Saltcedar" (Tamarisk) are also choking the banks and consuming precious water. While international treaties (like the 1944 Water Treaty) govern how the water is shared, the "structural deficit" of the river means that it is essentially a "dying" waterway that rarely functions as a continuous river system anymore, transforming instead into a series of disconnected reservoirs and dry, sandy beds for significant portions of the year.