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Two Leaders Who Influenced The C,BT 'History is not made b~ lifeless, one~dimensional fIgures pl~ding through the pages .of history books. [Rather, it is ,haped by vibrant individuaI, who may intll,lence the .outcome .of events, by the sheer force of their persona)ity or commitment. The Colorad~~ Big . Thompson Project was con~eived and" forged by many such indiviQuals. ,These men directly molded the prOject's evolution. ' Two prominent figures:were Charles Hansen, editor of the GreeleyjTribune, and Rep. Edward Taylor of Glen woodS pring" aU. S. Congressman represedting .the West Slope's 4th Congressional Di~ict. Hansen was .one of the most influentf~ proponents .of the project, -Taylor .one .of i~ most vocal opponents until near the en4 of his Hfe. o I,~~) ~ ~. .t.~. o CHARLES HANSEN . . In August 1933, the Public Works.. Administration (PW A) met wii/1 the Weld' County Commissioners in Gre+ley to discuss potential projects that" ~ould benefit northeastern Colorado ilnd bolster the suffering economy in the midst of the Great Depression. The proposelJ Grand Lake transmountain water divenion project was one of those discusSed. Many prominent Greeley dvic leaders got behind the project and one of the most vOcal was Charles Hansen, editor of the Greeley Tribune. Almost immediately ~ey began funding was sought to build the p<t>ject by submitting an application to th~ PW A. Hansen, a Greeley resident,: since 1903, took a leadership role in pu~licizing the Grand Lake Project. He thus I:jegan 20 years of faithfid, dedicated serviceito water resource development for northePstem Colorado. Hansen worked to secure fidandal contributions for a small expens~ fund to be used for project promotion. IIi September 1933 he al,o began . corresponding with an old acquaintance, Congressman Ed Taylor, to disc~ West Slope concerns raised the propos~ transmountain diversion ofColora~o River water. At the same time" the recently fonned Grand Lake Committee had decided to forget the 'idea of soliciting PW A funds', and to concentrate its efforts , on securing Uniteci S~tes Bureau of. . Reclamation (USBR) sponsorship for the diversion project. Throughout this time; Hansen's Tribune continued to promote the project. Hansen was also chainnan of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce Irrigation Committee. In this capacity he organized a meeting of all irrigation officials and interested citizens to determine what support existed for development of the Grand Lake Project. Seventy people attended the aU-day meeting held at the Weld Couney courthouse in Greeley on April 6, 1934. From this meeting a temporary committee was formed to represent the water users of northeastern Colorado in securing the Grand Lake Project. Hansen and eight others were elected to serve on the committee. Hansen took a lea.ding role in committee activities. One of the committee's first activities was to meet with the Western Slope Protective Association (WSPA) ro discuss any problems that the West Slope had with the proposed project. The two sides met. formally in Grand Junction on April 23, 1934, in an effort to. reach a preliminary understanding of each other's positions. . The Orand Lake Committee was reorganized in January 1935 as the Northern Colorado Water Users Association (NCWUA). An eleven-man Board of Directors was fonned, with Hansen chosen as presideht~ ' Hansen was tireless in his efforts to promote Water development, as evidenced by his service on the the "Committee of Seventeen." This statewide Water Resources Advisory Committee was fonned in June 1934 to develop a statewide program of projects and policies, to be passed on to the State Planning Commission for action. Hansen supported what came to be known as Resolution No. 17 1 which endorsed construction of the Grand Lake Project pending approval by the USBR, Congress, and the WSP A. In May 1935, Hansen made one of many trips to Washington D.C. to gain the support of Colorado's Congressional delegation for the Grand Lake Projecr. He also hoped to convince Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to allow a preliminary survey to i:le conducted in Rocky Mountain National Park. Two years later, in May 1937, Hansen was again in Washington, this time to meet with representatives from the WSP A. In a landmark meeting, the two sides agreed upon the Grand Lake project as proposed by the USBR. On June 11. 1937, each Weld County CourthoUse where irrigation offidals met on April 6, 1934 group signed'''Letters of Submittal" to . Secretary !ekes confirming their approval. Hansen, in his capacity as NCWUA president,. signed for the East Slope interests. These letters were subsequently included in Senate Document 80 and were presented to the U.S. SenciteinJune 1937 by Sen. Alva B. Adams. At almost exactly the same moment, the COlorado. Legislature passed enabling legislation f<;:lr organization of Water Conservancy Districts. When the Northein Colorado Water Conservancy District was officfally' organized in September 1937 Hansen was unanimously elected as its first president. As President, Hansen's 'first major responsibility was to negotiate with the USBR for a repayment contract, which, when signed, would signal the go~ahead for project construction. Once again, Hansen publicized the merits of the proposed contract as he pushed for its passage. Execution of the contract required approval by vote of the majority of taxpayers within District boundaries. This approval was secured by a 17..-1-marginin a June 28, 1938 election. The Disttict Board of Directors formally executed the contract on July 5, 1938. Thus, Charles Hansen had achieved what he had set out to do in 1933. The C..BT was now a reality and he deserved much credit for its success. No man did more for the C-BT Project than Hansen. His unwavering interest and support were instrumental in making it a reality. He served as President of the NCWCD until his death in 1953, a toral of 16 years. In 1952 the Department of Interior honored him with its highest civilian award 18