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co R MAN DY The Colorado River has always been recognized as the lifeblood of the arid southwest. Initially it was harnessed to promote agriculture in a hostile and sparsely populated region. But during this century, demands on the river's resources have grown and diversified as the southwest has become settled and developed. Today real and poten- tial consumptive uses by agriculture and urban populations exceed the volume of water available, while senior Native American water rights claims create further uncertainties. Growing urban populations increase demand for recreation and aes- thetics. Efforts to protect natural and cultural resources place immediate additional demands on the system. Stakeholders are more numerous and issues more complex. Never before has this river, sometimes labeled the most over-allocated in the world, been called upon to provide so much to so many. Management issues facing the basin today are largely driven by two realities. First, we are approaching the river's limits for consumptive use. During 1996, the lower basin exceeded its allocation of 7.5 million acre-feet for the first time. While some upper basin allocations remain undeveloped, lower basin demand, coupled with uncertain- ties in long-term basin hydrology and the outcome of Native American water rights claims, is forcing consumptive users to fa.ce the finiteness of the river's water resource. Equally important is the rising demand for protection and restoration of the non-con- sumptive resources of the Colorado River. Changing societal values, inside and out- side Lhe basin, which elevate management for recreation, aesthetic, cultural and envi- ronmental resources of the river, add new stresses to the system. We are simply ask- ing the river and its managers to do more with less. The management of the Colorado River is in a period of great change. Over the past decade a number of creative and cooperative efforts have emerged in both upper and lower basins. Several proposals for intra and interstate transfers of water from within and aCross basins have been discussed. Water banking proposals have been offered by states and tribes. Creative conservation programs are stretching utilization of the river'S water resources. These initiatives and proposals would have been unheard of a decade ago. With the complex issues before and these examples to guide us, it seems reasonable to expect even greater changes in the next decade. Reclamation (on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior) plays a crucial role in the diverse and often competing public needs for the Colorado River and its resources. The secretary, through Reclamation, develops an Annual Operating Plan for the Colorado River, completes periodic review of the Long-Range Operating Criteria for its reservoirs and has a unique role as Water Master in the lower basin. With present and future challenges there is a critical need to ensure that management strategies and approaches associated with performing these responsibilities are broad, flexible, and responsive to accommodating a number of long-term demands. Reclamation asked Grand Canyon Trust (Trust) to identify the critical management issues before managers,water users, and other stakeholders, and, where possible, include approaches that could be taken to resolve them. As a result the Trust initiat- ed this comprehensive study of basin management issues. In further consultaLions, it was decided that the most thoughtful, informed suggestions would be produced with the involvement of a broad cross-section of stakeholders. From that decision came the current study design and this format for presenting the results.