For over 40 years, the U.S. Forest Service has been monitoring high-altitude mountain lakes in Colorado to track the environmental impacts of human-caused pollutants and climate changes in delicate wilderness areas and ecosystems. Mountain lakes are extremely sensitive, making them a perfect testing ground for measuring ecosystem changes in climate and the environment. … A study [by researchers from the Forest Service and University of Colorado Boulder] set out to determine whether environmental changes — including climate change and air pollution — have impacted the lakes’ chemistry and ecosystem over time. … [T]his type of monitoring and data could help answer questions about how this winter’s historically low snowpack in Colorado could impact mountain lakes. 

Other climate change and drought impact news:

• Courthouse News Service: Some of California’s wildflowers are evolving rapidly to survive
• CNN: A wildflower survived a historic megadrought. Scientists now think they know how
• The University of British Columbia: News release: Wild plants can rapidly evolve to rescue themselves from climate change