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program. As researchers, we typically like to sit back and just do the research, publish it some- where and let it go. They decided from the very beginning that the research was not going to be worth anything un- less they connected it to an active outreach pro- gram. It's one of the best examples, I think, in our institution of where outreach flowed from the research as the results were being accumulated. As a result of this approach, we have seen some dramatic differences in the way dryland cropping systems in eastern Colorado have evolved. In something less than 20 years, we have gone from less than 10,000 acres of dryland corn in east- ern Colorado to over 300,000 acres in the years before the drought of 2002. I think there's hope in these figures. All this increase in dryland corn production came from the existing dryland acres in eastern Colorado. It did not come from con- version of irrigated land to dryland. I think this provides substantial promise for lands currently devoted to irrigated agriculture, in that there are alternative dryland systems out there that will give us some productivity when water transfers occur. practices. The primary objective of these stud- ies will involve maximizing the use of minimum water supply. Looking at factors such as deficit irrigation, alternative cropping patterns, and alter- native crops, researchers hope to minimize water use while maintaining yields at acceptable levels. If we look at significant increase in additional dryland acres that we'll likely see in eastern Colorado, we may need to broaden our reach be- yond traditional Soil and Crop Sciences. We can anticipate croplands mixed with grazing lands or newly established rangelands, so we'll be look- ing at additional disciplines and alternative crops that don't necessarily look like traditional crops. For example wildlife surveys in eastern Colorado have documented substantial increases in pheasant populations. These increases have been partially attributed to improved habitat associated with the conversion of cultivated acreages to grasslands as a result of government conservation programs. Pheasant hunting on private lands offers new opportunities for alternative enterprises on these acreages. Perhaps this could make up for the anticipated decline in crop productivity on previ- ously irrigated lands after water removal. More recently, this cropping systems effort has shifted its focus to limited irrigation cropping Mutual Understanding Sets the Stage, Discovery Changes the Conversation by Kurt Fausch, Professor Colorado State University, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife Biology l ve been conducting research with my col - eagues and grad students since the 80s on not only stream fishes in high mountain waters, but also stream fishes all the way out to the edge of the state on the eastern Plains. Most of that work on plains streams was on private agricultural land. One of the things that helped me a little bit was that my father was a professor of Ani- mal Science and raised on a farm so I spent my weekends working with large animals and normal dinner table conversation usually included pork and beef prices. I have a little bit of background that helps me when I think about working with private land owners there. To summarize all that work from the 80s and 90s that we did in plains streams, I think I can make three basic points. First is that plains fishes are declining. Of the 38 native species of fishes that we have in the eastern plains, 19 of them are either extricated or on the state list. We have no federally threatened or endangered plains fishes but we do have a number of state endangered threatened and special concerns species. Second 21