8012

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8012
• Author: Grand Canyon Trust.
• Title: Colorado River Workshop, issues, ideas, and directions ‎(February 26-28, 1996 Phoenix, Arizona)‎ An open forum for discussion of management issues between managers, water users, and stakeholders of the Colorado River basin.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: 1996.
• Copyright Material: NO

The Colorado River basin, stretching from Wyoming to
Mexico, has been the focus of epic resource conflicts
during the past century. Although basin states and
Native American tribes hold and administer a majority
of rights to use the water from the Colorado River, the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plays a key role in manage-
ment processes by helping develop long-range manage-
ment criteria and by preparing an annual operating
plan for the river and its reservoirs. What challenges
and opportunities face the Bureau of Reclamation in
the Colorado River basin in the next several decades?

How can Colorado River water users, resource man-
agers, and other stakeholders better work together in
the future? Participants in the Colorado River Workshop,
organized by Grand Canyon Trust in cooperation with
the Bureau of
Reclamation, tackled
these questions.

The Law of the River is a compilation of laws, decrees,
treaties, compacts, and regulations that administer the
waters of the Colorado River across the seven Colorado
River basin states. It has evolved, beginning with the
Colorado River Compact of 1922, to encompass new
information and changing values. It continues to change
to address the emerging trends and management issues
of today and tomorrow. The water users, managers and
other stakeholders of the basin provide an appropriate
constituency to discuss these changes and to identify
important elements to basin management.

The objective of the Colorado River Workshop was to
identify important elements that can help to guide
management of the Colorado River basin by provid-
ing an interactive,
open forum for discus-
sion of present and
future management
issues. Through a
series of panel discus-
sions and small group

Who attended the work-
shop? Anyone concerned
with the management of
water and related
resources in the Colorado
River basin - federal,

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
BY INTEREST GROUP

Consulting firms and individuals
Federal agencies
State agencies
EnvironmentaURecreation
MunicipaUIndustry
AgriculturaURural
Tribal
Utilities, power users
Other

state, tribal, and local
officials; representatives
of agricultural and
municipal water development, public power, environ-
mental, recreation and other interests; scientists, stu-

19%
17%
12%
11%
10%
10%
10%
7%
5%

workshop participants
discussed the values of

breakout sessions,

the river, present
approaches to issues,
integration of new
information, and emerging trends in management.
A set of case studies explored examples from other
river basins. The Workshop provided a basin-wide
forum for the free and open discussion of issues by
stakeholders.

dents and academics concerned with the Colorado
River; and members of the public who wanted to learn
about and contribute perspectives on the river.

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