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.. irrigated farmland have dried up since hitting a high point in the 1970s, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, with the majority of the loss occurring since 1997. The report blamed the decline on the prolonged drought, new laws reducing the use of irrigation wells and the sale of farm water to cities. . The report says the drying of these lands raises major lifestyle questions for the state, from preserving the lush farms that ensure fresh produce at farmers' markets to keeping green open space along urban corridors. Colorado acreage made arable by irrigation has dropped to fewer than 2.4 million acres, according to data from NASS and estimates from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, well below the 3.1 million acres that state planners estimated existed six years ago. "We've got to get a handle on this," said Don Schwindt, a rancher from Dolores who sits on the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the board of Family Farm Alliance, a group representing farmers in 17 Western states. "It's extremely depressing, but there is still significant opportunity out there. We just need to hurry up," Schwindt said. That the West would revert back to a browner landscape has long been considered unavoidable, as cities replace the farms that once dominated the countryside. But any wholesale dry-up will have a profound effect across the West, said Dan Luecke, a water expert and environmental consultant. "It is inevitable," Luecke said. "However, anyone who says we'll get all of our water from agriculture is either being very insensitive or not very savvy." Planners had hoped that a gradual transition back to more dryland farming and innovative new partnerships with cities could allow both entities to continue in the increasingly water-short region. But the rate at which irrigated land is disappearing threatens this key premise of water planning. . In 2003, Colorado for the first time began estimating current and future water needs through its Statewide Water Supply Initiative. The $2.7 million study estimated that Coloradans will need 53 percent more water by 2030, primarily because of new growth. The report projected that cities would dry up 185,000 to 428,000 acres of irrigated land during that time to meet those demands if they couldn't find other sources, leaving Colorado with roughly 2.67 million irrigated acres. The new data, however, suggest that the state has already lost that much land and more, leaving it with about 2.4 million irrigated acres. And the process occurred in considerably less time than the 25 years planners had originally projected. Water's Role Dominates Gubernatorial Forum: Water's role in the growth of Colorado dominated a discussion between gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter and a representative for Congressman Bob Beauprez at the end of July. The forum took place at the 31st Colorado Water Workshop. Beauprez did not attend the event and local water attorney Richard Bratton stated the candidate's position on key water Issues. During the forum, Ritter said Colorado will grow in the future. The state is expected to increase by two million people over the next decade and Ritter said the water for that growth should come through conservation and more efficient use. He said he opposed drying up agriculture lands and transmountain diversions to meet the state's future water needs and stated that water sustainability is a condition of the state growing. Bratton said Beauprez wants discussion about future water use to begin with facts. He said the candidate . 10