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<br />.. <br /> <br />ROLAND ROBISON <br />REGIONAL DIRECTOR. UPPER COLORADO REGION <br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION <br />REMARKS TO THE <br />17TH ANNUAL COLORADO WATER WORKSHOP <br />GUNNISON. COLORADO <br />JULY 23. 1992 <br /> <br />"Showdown on The Colorado River"...What a title for a <br />conference...especially here in Colorado! Many of you are too young to <br />remember the old black and white movies...especially a lot of the classic <br />westerns such as Mv Darlino Clementine, complete with Wyatt Earp and the <br />shoot-out at the OK Corral. How about all the John Wayne shows...or even <br />Clint Eastwood's so-called "spaghetti westerns" of the 1960's. There was a <br />common theme in all those "shoot-' em ups." We had cl early defi ned heroes and <br />villains with lots of action, bullets flying everywhere.. .and finally, in the <br />last reel, good triumphs over evil with a resounding finish! <br /> <br />Tonight there may be a "Showdown on the Colorado"... but now we don't <br />have clearly defined heroes and villains. The bullets are indeed flying <br />everywhere...but in some ways things are more like a Marx Brother's movie than <br />a John Wayne epic. Like those master comedians, we too are frequently running <br />in circles...shooting each other and ourselves with the seltzer bottle. The <br />problem is, the Marx Brothers were funny, but today life on the Colorado River <br />is a much more serious matter. <br /> <br />Consider the paragraph on the inside of your program. To refresh your <br />memory, it says, <br /> <br />"Join experts in western water issues for an examination of the shifting <br />demands that are straining the water resources of the Colorado River <br />basin. How can the system satisfy environmental requirements, Native <br />American rights, and a growing urban population? How will interstate <br />compact entitlements be affected by these changing circumstances?" <br /> <br />If that challenge doesn't keep attracting bright young minds to <br />Colorado's law schools, nothing will. <br /> <br />The challenge given to me tonight by Lucy is to address how the Bureau <br />of Reclamation plans to manage the Colorado River to satisfy all the demands <br />in the basin. Furthermore, Lucy asked me, "How can the Bureau fulfill <br />commitments to water users and power producers while also protecting <br />endangered species? What role will increased public interest play in <br />operating plans?" <br /> <br />1 <br />