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C011C2 N then describes some of the pres- sures on the current system to adapt to changing circumstances, The Indian role in water manage- ment, the needs of traditional ace- quia associations, the instream flow concerns and the potential for water marketing in the basin are the issues examined in that section. In a brief conclusion, we summarize some of the challenges facing all residents of the upper Rio Grande region as they attempt to create policies for the future. The dynamic of decision-making about the upper Rio Grande during this century has followed a pattern that is evident wherever choices have to be made about a limited resource. Early in the century initia- tive was taken by irrigation interests to build water projects that would provide relatively secure supplies and minimize flood and other prob- lems, thus protecting investments in agriculture, As urban areas grew dramatically after World War II, pressures mounted for further flood control but also for new stor. age specifically to meet urban needs. State and federal efforts to conclude interstate apportionments on the Colorado and Rio Grande systems also created opportunities for federal funding of water pro- jects. By and large, the interests of economic growth in agriculture and urba,n expansion were driving forces behind water development, Those groups, supported by capa- ble congressional representatives, created the legal and institutional structure which now has the prin- cipal responsibility for administra- tion and management of the ' region's water supply. But as in most other river basins of the West, new forces began to acquire political influence over the past twenty years as the population and priorities of the region and the Congress began to change. The national themes of environmental protection, Indian sovereignty, minority rights, rural development and a diminishing federal role in the financing of local infrastructure have all been reflected in controver- sies in the upper Rio Grande region about water, While the existing institutions and the constituencies that support them may feel threat- ened by the emerging power of new groups, they are simply witnessing a process of political change that is common in the allocation of resources. As one constituency after another defines its interests and has a political impact through publicity, lobbying, litigation or other means, it tries to influence existing institutions to change basic policies. That integration of new policies and criteria for decision- making with the old can happen gradually over a long period of time or in a concentrated period of struggle. Environmental groups, concerned about instream flows for species protection or recreation, search in vain through statutes written to meet the needs of agricultural water users for decision-making stan- dards that will serve their interests, They will push water administra- tors to the limits of discretionary authority under existing law but then have to work to change the law itself to incorporate new criteria. In the Pacific Northwest, a process of this type regarding the Columbia basin culminated in the passage of the 1980 Pacific Northwest Power Planning Act. That act created new management objectives for the sys- tem as a whole. Henceforth, wild- life protection was to have as high a priority for the management agen- cies as storage of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power develop- ment. Similarly, Indian tribes were to have a new role in planning. But that 'act was passed only after years of conflict during which the Indian and environmental groups shar- pened their powers to be effective in the political arena, At a national level, similar changes have occurred in relation to the licensing of small-scale hydropower projects by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, After years during which environmentalists fought the decisions of the Commission as favoring power development inter- ests exclusively, they were able to get a bill through Congress which directed the Commission to give equal consideration to environmen- tal issues during the licensing process. Laws and institutions governing river management decisions change in response to the pressures of con- stituencies as they become able to work in the political process, Today, in the Rio Grande region, Indian tribes, in the midst of adjudication of water rights, are preparing for expanded roles in water management and water quality protection. His- panic residents'of rural communi- ties are attempting to revitalize local agriculture and the water institu- tions that support a traditional way of life. Environmental groups are pressing federal and state water agencies to pay attention to their priorities while other governmental units charged with protecting wild- life and environmental quality are attempting to tie their efforts into those of the agencies dealing with water supply. Out-of-state interests are pushing to be able to market water in the region or export it across state lines, It is by no means a foregone conclusion that recent pressure will result in institutional change. Indeed, some observers believe it is too late to change an institutional framework created by international treaty and federal law. Water administration and manage~ ment, once an obscure area of gov- ernment, is getting more and more publicity as the population as a whole begins to understand its importance for future decisions about economic growth and environmental protection, This handbook is designed not as an advocacy document but as a tool in understanding the current system of decision-making and the policy issues posed by pressures for change. ~ 5 -:"'. ~ .