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<br />"3 '"', 0') <br /><_i lJ ~ (j " <br /> <br />The Opportunity for a Proactive Colorado Initiative <br /> <br />Therefore, Colorado faces new opportunities to continue to forge the evolution of water <br />policy, and to further our own interests, on the Colorado River. Those opportunities demand <br />that Colorado and the other Basin States step forward in a leadership role to resolve the <br />environmental and water allocation challenges on the River. With the changes that have already <br />taken place in Western water policy, and with the issues on the Colorado River now poised for <br />resolution, it is clear that change will come on the River, with or without the participation of <br />the States. <br /> <br />Although the status quo on the Colorado River will be altered, proposals for change must <br />be carefully conceived and clearly articulated. They must be based upon sound historical <br />foundation and upon principled public policy. <br /> <br />In May, the entire statewide political leadership - Governor Romer, Senators Brown and <br />Campbell, and members of Congress McInnis, Allard, Schaefer, Skaggs, and Schroeder - <br />convened a series of meetings around the state to seek input from constituent groups on whether, <br />and how, Colorado should participate in the continued evolution of Colorado River water policy. <br />The meetings were convened to seek input on Colorado's position on the several interrelated <br />issues now before us. The meetings were both historic and precedential, in that a united effort <br />was sponsored by the entire delegation to seek constituent input on a defined series of issues. <br />The notes from those meetings will be distributed to all the participants, and the conveners, in <br />consultation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and with continued input from <br />interested parties, will determine the direction for the formulation of a Colorado strategy. One <br />clear message from the meetings was that Colorado should be proactive in helping to forge <br />acceptable solutions to the challenges we face on the Colorado River. <br /> <br />The risk of inaction on the part of the Basin States is far greater than the risk inherent <br />in the assumption of leadership. The opportunity is here for a proactive Colorado initiative. <br /> <br />Strategies and Principles for the Future <br /> <br />I suggest that any proposal developed by Colorado should be based on several principles <br />and strategies. Those principles and strategies are as follows: <br /> <br />. There need not, should not, be a reallocation of the apportionments to the Upper <br />and Lower Basins established under the Colorado River Compact of 1922. <br />Colorado's right of development under the Law of the River is a perpetual <br />allocation and cannot be negotiated away. We need to keep Colorado's options <br />for the future open, so that future development can occur in response to identified <br />needs, and in an environmentally and economically sound manner. <br /> <br />10 <br />