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Let me talk a little bit about trends and the direction we are moving in the State of Colorado. Let me talk about it in the sense of land and water. Since 1978, Colorado has annually lost an average of 90,000 acres out of agricultural production. The Arkansas valley has lost an average of 36,000 agricultural acres per year. Statewide, we have lost 19,000 acres of irrigated land each year since 1978, and that figure in the Arkansas basin is 5,000 acres. From a peak of 3.4 million acres, statewide irrigated acreage has dropped 8% a year since 1978. The Ogallala aquifer now accounts for 20% of Colorado's irrigation base. So I think that creates a basis, a kind of a trend as to where we're going. In our office at CDA, we have a multitude of responsibilities, from regulations to establishing policy, to making recommendations on state and federal legislation. You know what we all do once in awhile; we get so focused on one particular issue that we make that the world. We stay focused on that issue and we forget the rest of the story or the whole picture. That is important to keep in mind, because as growth continues I think these trends will continue. Colorado is a beautiful place -- it has aesthetics, it has a good economy right now; we've got to work on some things but this is a great place to live. This state's growth has been in the top three of the 50 states, three years in a row . It has the highest growth, the best economic prosperity, and this is a place people want to be. So what's our challenge? I think our challenge is trying to say this is where we are, either at the four yard line or the 50, and this is where we want to go. I think if we can do that as a group and with a common voice, we can move forward. So I suggest to you that we will continue to lose some of our ag lands unless we work to change that trend. That's what Smart Growth was really intending to do as agriculture's part of the effort. Let me talk about some of the consequences if these trends do continue. There will be fewer and fewer places to grow food. Right now it doesn't really matter; we grow more than we can produce and we export 20 some percent of our production. Let me give you one little thiIig that always keeps coming into mind about how important is agriculture. Obviously, if you're in agriculture it's very important, it's your livelihood. But, I think it's more than that. There are demographics that say if we continue going along this road that we are walking, we will consume all the agricultural food that we produce in this country by the year 2025. We will no longer be exporting food. And if we continue to grow in population, what's going to happen in the year 2050? You've heard the Governor say, "What is your vision, what do you want it to be like SO years from now?" Fifty years from now is 2046? Well, someplace along that road, we're going to be faced with the public, the urban public, the people that do not live off the land and do not have the same information that ag producers have. They're going to have to recognize that there must be a change or all of a sudden, food gets to be important. A friend of mine always told me it was not how much food you have that really makes the difference, it's the lack of food that really makes the difference. My intention is not to try to scare everybody and say we should be alarmed. I think we can avoid that. I think we can make it good for agriculture and the public in general by simply identifying it as a possibility and planning it out and making things not happen like demographers are projecting that could. As we continue to grow, I think agriculture will continue to lose land and water. I think it will get moved more and more to other uses. We looked at a wonderful proposal here by Pueblo. There will be more expectation for private use for citizens to utilize. Let me go back and summarize what really Smart Growth is. The Governor started a year and a half ago and said we have to think about where we're going to effectively manage the state. Really, Smart Growth is just a vehicle to have :People think about the future, about what they want it to be 50 years from now, about where they were going. It was to stimulate a grounds-up kind of approach, trying to solve a complex set of problems. The Governor realized that there were really some diverse concerns. Some people were saying, "We don't want to grow any more." Some people were saying, "We want to grow more." Some people were saying, "We want to use our resources for this activity, not that activity." In that whole process, and surprising to a lot of people, Smart Growth increased the visibility of agriculture. I think primarily that it was done because people started to recognize a lot of the values that they appreciate, and agriculture has provided for them a long time. A lot of the wildlife habitat that is provided in this country and in this state is provided by landowners, private landowners that are mostly in agriculture. It's very important to maintain that habitat so that there is a success to point to. Agriculture not only provides those other amenities or needs or desires of the public, but it also creates jobs. It also pays Arkansas River Basin Water Forum 42 itA River of Dreams and Realities"