As of November 19, 2015, Colorado has its first ever Water Plan. The Plan, ordered by Governor Hickenlooper in 2013, is intended to guide how the State of Colorado will manage water, protect rivers, and sustain agriculture through 2050 while facing climate change and a growing population. The Plan represents thousands of hours of work on behalf of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, river basin roundtables, and conservation organizations like American Rivers and many others.

So what’s in the Plan? Groundbreaking stuff- a conservation goal of 400,000 acre/feet or a little over 130 billion gallons of water in cities and towns, recognition that streams and rivers are important to Colorado’s economy and quality of life, committed funding for Stream Management Plans, a commitment to more flexible and dynamic water management, and an assurance that future water development will not come at the expense of farms and ranches.

The revolution of the Colorado Water Plan cannot be overstated. For over a hundred years, water has been managed at the expense of rivers. It has been litigated and literally fought over. In Colorado, it has been the east side of the state vs. the west side, farmers vs. cities, and environmentalists vs. all of the above. On November 19^th, the needle moved. Conservationists, ranchers, and city water providers representing every corner of the state stood behind the governor in support of the final Plan.

Equally as revolutionary is that following the release of the Plan, one representative from each of the 9 basin roundtables (the structure from which the Water Plan was developed) was selected to comment before the Governor, CWCB, and the media. There are 25-30 representatives on each roundtable, of which one or two represent conservation interests. Ken Neubecker, Associate Director of the Colorado Basin Program for American Rivers, was chosen by his roundtable colleagues to speak for the Colorado River basin. This represents a colossal shift in the paradigm and recognition that if the State of Colorado is going to have healthy rivers, thriving cities, and vibrant agriculture, we have to work together and embrace our shared values. Seven years ago, it was unthinkable that an established conservationist like Ken would be asked by his roundtable peers (mostly ranchers) to speak for their river.

It is important to understand that the final Water Plan is merely a document. Real success will be determined by how it is implemented, which will take a lot of work, dedication and money. Successful implementation depends on growing the goodwill and trust that has been built between conservation, agriculture, and municipal water providers during the Plan’s development. But for, now we should celebrate how far we have come and all those who made it happen.

Big congratulations to American Rivers, Western Resource Advocates, Trout Unlimited, Conservation Colorado, Environmental Defense Fund, Audubon, all the basin roundtables, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Governor Hickenlooper, and many many others.

When I was in high school and my sister was away at college, we would ask for large desk calendars for Christmas (now that I see this fact in writing, I notice how sad it sounds. We did receive other, less boring gifts, I promise). We would then spend the following year using them to keep track of homework assignments, test dates, and more importantly, our vacations from school. We’d also keep track of fun activities we did, any trips we took, or notable things from our days on our calendars. After each month, instead of ripping the page off and throwing it in the recycling, we’d simply turn it over and tuck it behind the rest of the calendar.

By the end of the year, our calendars would be a little bulky but we managed to keep them in one piece most of the time.

After Christmas, when my sister was home from college on her long winter vacation, we would each pull out our calendar, flip to the beginning and each take turns going through our year, month by month. Even though we kept in touch while she was away at school, it was a great way to catch up with each other, share our accomplishments, and remember some of the smaller details that might have been forgotten.

To honor that tradition, I’m going to share the highlights, accomplishments, and memories from the 2015 cleanup season! In the past 12 months of cleanups, organizers across the country have accomplished great things, including:

• Registering 1,320 cleanup sites
• Mobilizing 45,399 volunteers
• Removing 1,971,442 pounds of trash

I was lucky enough to take over the National River Cleanup® program in August of this year and was out at my first American Rivers cleanup on the Merrimack River in Massachusetts within the month. I learned a lot about organizing a cleanup and was energized by the enthusiasm and passion of the volunteers. The excitement stuck with me as we hosted cleanups in some of our priority river basins.

We cleaned up the Ashley River in South Carolina, the Yampa River in Colorado, and Marsh Creek in California. The first half of the year brought volunteers together with American Rivers in Knoxville, Tennessee; Windsor, Virginia; Sumner, Washington; Castroville, California; and Waterbury, Vermont.

I saw volunteers stick out the rain and extreme heat to clean up their waterways and pull tremendous amount of trash out of rivers.

We unearthed countless tires, bottles, and even an ATM and enjoyed getting a closer look at our local rivers. With 2015 coming to a close, I’ve already started filling in my calendar for 2016: The 25^th Anniversary of National River Cleanup!

With this milestone, American Rivers plans to expand our reach and hold more cleanup events in our priority river basins! Make sure to mark your calendars with these events and come out to clean up:

• the Anacostia River in Washington, DC in April
• the Yampa River in Steamboat Springs, CO in July
• the Nooksack River in Bellingham, WA in September
• the Ashley River in Charleston, SC in September

I have had a blast being a part of the National River Cleanup program for the past few months. It has definitely added some bright spots to my planner and I look forward to filling in more in 2016!

Because of the hard work of all the cleanup coordinators and volunteers, communities have cleaner rivers, safer drinking water, and more scenic waterways for all to enjoy. Thank you for all your hard work in 2015!

Leave a comment below telling me about your favorite river cleanup memory from 2015, or what you’re most looking forward to in 2016!

Last June, while on a Smith River float trip hosted by American Rivers, our group was on the Smith River in Montana and got caught in one of the most violent rainstorms I’ve ever witnessed.

Thunder shook the canyon walls, lightning flashed all around us, and it dumped two inches of rain in a matter of minutes. As the storm passed, the once-clear river quickly turned to mocha and its volume more than doubled.

Why am I sharing this story?

Because the mining company that just submitted a permit application to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to build an underground copper mine in the headwaters of the Smith River, listed as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers in 2015, says not to worry. They tell us that the mine would be located along upper Sheep Creek, some 19 miles upstream from its confluence with the Smith River.

But as that thunderstorm so vividly demonstrated, what happens in the headwaters affects everything downstream. Pollution from mining flows downstream, too.

To be fair, the Vancouver, B.C. based company that wants to build the so-called Black Butte copper mine, Tintina Resources, has been very transparent about their plans and they promise to build a modern mine with environmental protections the likes of which Montana has never seen.

And having met with Tintina’s front people in White Sulphur Springs, they are genuinely nice and I believe they care about what happens to their community and the surrounding landscape.

The problem is, these lifelong Montanans don’t control Tintina Resources. As of last month, Tintina fell under the control of an Australian mining company, Sandfire Resources. That means every major decision about the Black Butte copper mine will be made in a boardroom ten thousand miles away.

It’s not far-fetched to say that sometime in the future after the mine is opened – if it is permitted—it could be sold to another company. At that point, the new owner could seek to change the mine from a relatively benign underground operation to a much riskier open-pit mine. Tintina says that would never happen because its contracts with surface landowners prohibit it, but contracts can be renegotiated if the financial incentives are sweet enough.

Even if Tintina retains ownership of the Black Butte copper mine for the duration, the anticipated lifespan of the mine is only 11 years. After the mine closes, or perhaps even before then, Tintina almost surely will seek to expand its mining operations onto adjacent lands. While the footprint of the Black Butte copper mine is a mere 250 acres, Tintina controls mineral rights on 12,000 acres of surrounding lands.

For all intents and purposes, what is being proposed here is not simply a modest-sized copper mine that will be around for only a decade: It’s a gambit to establish an industrial-scale mining district that could be around for several decades.

Finally, there’s no getting around the fact that mining companies are notorious for making, and then breaking, lofty promises about how their operations will be environmentally benign. Far too often they metastasize into unmitigated environmental disasters. A recent case in point is the “state-of-the-art” Mt. Polley open-pit copper and gold mine in British Columbia, which suffered a catastrophic breach of its tailings impoundment last year, wreaking havoc on downstream salmon runs.

There are plenty of examples of modern mining operations gone bad right here in Montana. Among them are the Zortman-Landusky mine near Malta, Beal Mountain mine near Anaconda, Kendall mine near Lewistown, and Basin Creek mine south of Helena. In most of these cases, taxpayers will end up paying millions of dollars in cleanup costs. Meanwhile, the rivers and streams that are polluted rarely are returned to their former health.

In reviewing the permit for the proposed Black Butte copper mine, the Montana DEQ would be wise to heed the words of advice that casinos commonly post for all gamblers to see: “Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.” For what’s at stake here is much more valuable than a stack of poker chips: It’s the Smith River. Once it is lost, it can never be won back.

Earlier this week, the US House of Representatives voted to advance an industry wish list bill for hydropower dam owners.

H.R. 8, the hydropower industry’s so-called “Unlock Hydro” bill creates a giant loophole that allows hydropower dam operators to avoid requirements to protect fish, wildlife and water quality. My colleagues and I are springing into action to fight this bill as it moves to the Senate.

The industry and their allies in Congress claim that hydropower is “clean” energy. But if their idea for power rejects the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, then I don’t think you can call it clean, or responsible.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that massive coal-fired utilities like Duke Energy and Southern Company are pushing this anti-environment bill. After all, hydropower companies own four of the top ten dirtiest power plants.

The good news is that H.R. 8 passed the House on a narrow vote. And President Obama threatened to veto the bill [pdf] if it gets to his desk because the bill “would undercut bedrock environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act.” However, we can’t afford to let it get that far. My colleagues and I will not sit by while this happens. But to take on critical fights like this, we need you!

The “Unlock Hydro” bill is outrageous. We need your help to stand up to the industry and to promote real clean energy – not a 19th century vision for the future of U.S. energy policy. If you agree, help us fight back.

Thanks for standing with us to ensure our rivers, fish and wildlife are protected.

October’s devastating flooding overwhelmed Columbia and other South Carolina communities and shattered our sense of safety and security. While the area received heavy rainfall outside our control, the damage to our communities was compounded by multiple dam failures that we can take steps to prevent in the future. This underscored that the state needs a better strategy for dam management.

Sixteen dams failed in the Columbia area and more than three dozen failed across the state, which sent storm surges through neighborhoods and business districts. The floodwaters claimed roads and bridges, damaged homes, and most tragically, caused the loss of 19 lives.

After the water cleared, three critical facts emerged.

First, South Carolina’s landscape is littered with dams that either don’t meet modern design criteria or are out of compliance with maintenance requirements. Second, the state’s dam safety program is seriously flawed. Most disturbing, the flood levels recorded in most South Carolina rivers and streams did not break records. This disaster was not a once-in-a-lifetime anomaly. It was a warning to expect higher flood levels to become increasingly common.

The State newspaper reported that the Department of Health and Environmental Control has asked for additional funding and new staff positions to double the size of its dam safety program, which is currently resource-starved. To keep downstream families and businesses safe, the state desperately needs more trained staff to verify that dams are well maintained and, when not in compliance with modern safety standards, to rigorously enforce regulations to ensure flawed dams are repaired.

Unfortunately, with approximately 2,400 regulated dams in South Carolina, we can’t expect the Department of Health and Environmental Control to properly inspect all of these structures, most of which are privately owned. Dam owners need to take responsibility to ensure their structures are regularly inspected by certified dam inspectors who then report the results to the state. Further, in the interest of public safety, dam owners should consider removal in cases where they can’t afford necessary repairs. Not only is removing a dam often cheaper and faster than repairing it, removal is always safer than leaving a flawed dam in place.

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials and FEMA recommend a model dam safety program that might benefit South Carolina. Rather than running state employees people across the state, dam safety program staff would concentrate on reviewing certified inspection reports submitted by owners and third-party inspectors and then working with dam owners to ensure deficiencies are addressed promptly and properly. This strategy is less resource-intensive without sacrificing the safety of downstream residents.

Residents should expect that severe bouts of drought and flooding are the new normal for Columbia and South Carolina. Further, the nation’s leading scientists, including some from the University of South Carolina, tell us that catastrophic weather events will become more frequent and more extreme in the coming decades.

We have already suffered needlessly as a result of the extreme rains, devastating flooding and dam failures we should now expect. The safety and security that the citizens of South Carolina so greatly value depends on our taking action now to ensure that all dams meet modern safety criteria and are inspected regularly.

American Rivers is one of the nation’s leading experts on river restoration and dam removal, and we’re always grateful when our successes inspire others to learn from our experiences.

In October, we were delighted to share our expertise with a group of activists, engineers and government officials who want to restore their rivers. American Rivers teamed up with the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) and researchers from the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources to present a first-ever dam removal training workshop on the UGA campus.

American Rivers’ River Restoration staff experts presented alongside speakers from UGA, SARP, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The event brought together regulators, students, scientists, conservationists, and government and wildlife conservation agency officials who work at the local, state and federal levels.

The session presented the science and strategy behind dam removal from planning and permitting to construction and habitat restoration and all the steps in between. The workshop concluded with a roundtable discussion about next steps in Georgia. Among those, the group decided to develop a “Georgia Aquatic Connectivity Team,” in which American Rivers plans to participate along with government officials and other interested folks. We expect the team to spark a lot of partnerships and collaborations that will get more projects moving in Georgia.

Partnerships and collaborations are vital for any dam removal success. Recently, American Rivers pioneered an innovative partnership with the southern region of the U.S. Forest Service to remove the Citico Creek Dam in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. The dam was constructed 50 years ago to segregate cold and warm water fish, but researchers discovered the dam was doing more harm than good. We worked with the Forest Service to remove the dam, and are now working to restore the natural stream corridor.

American Rivers will continue working with the Forest Service and other partners to remove unused, unsafe and unsound dams as well as those that risk public health and adversely impact species that rely on rivers.

I have been lucky to visit so many natural treasures across this country, which, when their given names are spoken, conjure up singular images about the place. Grand Canyon, Washington Monument, the Everglades, Zion, Nebraska – when you hear those words spoken, an image flashes across your mind that tells the story of that place in a second. But in the minds of many, the hearing the words “Lake Powell” can spark a diverse collection of thoughts, emotions, and reactions.

Contrasts explode through the mind like a 4-year old in a bouncy castle.

To some, Lake Powell is deemed Lake Foul, and a kinder term for the place does not exist, especially among those who experienced the grandeur and sublimity of Glen Canyon before it was flooded in the 1960’s to supply cheap air conditioning to Phoenix. With others, the name draws images of sun and splashing, of bikini’s and jet-skis and three-season motorized fun. To a few, Lake Powell is a symbol of what is wrong with humanity, and our need to control and confine nature.

Amid those contrasting opinions of the second largest reservoir in the country, Lake Powell has a purpose that touches nearly all of the 36 million people who depend on the Colorado River. Like it or not, as we have become more dependent on water storage in the West, Lake Powell is the one place that helps out states like Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico like no other. Without the existence of Powell, a number of other rivers in those states would be more heavily dammed and diverted – sacrificed for storage and certainty, rather than flowing and in most cases, naturally wild.

It is in this cloud of emotions, and declining lake levels due to lingering drought and overuse of the Colorado River, that a team of five adventurers is setting out this week to experience, contemplate, and capture on film some of the broad horizons and hidden wonders being revealed as water levels drop. In July, I visited the area around Antelope Point at Page, Arizona with a film crew from the Tzu Chi foundation, and we made a short film about water supply and the native people who depend on the Colorado River in Arizona. Again in September, I visited Wahweep Marina and the Glen Canyon Dam in Page with the crew from CNN’s The Wonder List, shooting an hour-long show about the Colorado Basin that will air in February, 2016.

This time, our team will be traversing the lake from north to south, 83 miles by sea kayak.

We’ll be paddling from Hall’s crossing in Utah to Antelope Point over 10 brisk December days. Kayak Lake Powell is setting us up with boats, gear, and logistical support, although they are likely scratching their heads about why we would choose the dead of winter to launch this trip.

Writers Brendan Leonard and Hilary Oliver, photographer and film maker Forest Woodward, adventurer and pro skier Kalen Thorien, and I will launch our 17-foot crafts and begin the journey south, exploring features like Iceberg Canyon, Cathedral in the Desert, Music Temple, and Dungeon Canyon over 9 days.

Many features won’t be immediately obvious, and others we may only see their tops – like headstones dotting a 50 year old graveyard – but even knowing that we are bobbing along above some of these lost treasures will invoke the imagination of what is below and was submerged as the waters ascended the canyon walls a half century ago.

Stories and photographs from this trip will grace the pages of Canoe & Kayak magazine in the spring, which is super exciting. We would also like to thank NRS, Smartwool, and Revo Sunglasses for their support of this adventure.

Here’s to warm days and crisp nights!

The Ashley River provides an amazing connection between a historically significant river and diverse natural resource in South Carolina in a relatively undisturbed tidal ecosystem. Last week, we released a new map for the Ashley River Blue Trail, describing access points and activities to enjoy both in and along the river. Are you interested in planning your next trip to the Ashely River? Check out the new Ashley River Blue Trail map to learn where to access the river, find historic features and explore this Lowcountry gem.

Ashley River Blue Trail (North – start of Blue Trail)

Ashley River Blue Trail (South – end of Blue Trail)

Photo Credit: South Carolina DNR, Ashley River

While it is sad to see the river cleanup season come to an end, we now get to look back and think about our successes these past few months. Thousands of cleanups engaged tens of thousands of volunteers and removed millions of pounds of waste from our favorite rivers and streams.

One of the best ways to demonstrate our accomplishments is through photos. While I always eagerly await organizer’s data results, what I really pore over are the pictures that often accompany the trash and volunteer tallies. Before and after shots of recently cleaned riverbanks or pictures of muddy volunteers hauling away bags of trash always remind me of the importance of our river cleanups.

With the end of the cleanup season comes a lull in my nearly continuous supply of new river cleanup photos from all over the United States. Luckily, the end of the cleanup season also marks the start of the annual National River Cleanup® Photo Contest!

We are accepting submissions from now until December 31 of your 2015 cleanup photos at AmericanRivers.org/cleanup. Look for the Photo Contest link, read over all the rules, and upload up to 10 of your very best photos. After December 31, we will stop accepting submissions, narrow down the photos to our top ten, and ask the public to vote on which photo they think best represents the spirit of our National River Cleanup Program.

So, what makes a strong cleanup photo? While we enjoy photos of dumpsters full of trash bags, stacks of tires, and various recyclable materials sorted out into their respective piles, what we really love to see are the hardworking people who helped make the river cleanup possible.

And if that wasn’t enough guidance, here is a recipe for a winning National River Cleanup photo contest entry:

• At least 1 smiling volunteer (mud optional)
• Trash – either being picked up or held by said smiling volunteer(s)
• The river!
• Incorporation of the words “National River Cleanup” and/or “American Rivers” – in the form of a labeled trash bag, banner, etc. (bonus points for creativity!)

To see a photo that followed this recipe to the T, check out last year’s Photo Contest winner. I hope this inspires you to rummage through your 2015 photo collection, pick out your favorites, and enter them in the Contest.  In addition, for the next year, the winning photo will be the face of National River Cleanup’s 25^th Anniversary in 2016!  We’ll use it on the website, in publications and everywhere else we can think of.

If you’re still not motivated, for every photo you submit, your name will be entered automatically in the American Rivers Klean Kanteen® Water Bottle Giveaway! American Rivers is giving away ten Klean Kanteen® water bottles between December 31, 2015 and February 15, 2016. ALTERNATE METHOD OF ENTRY: Send an email to NRC@americanrivers.org for giveaway with the subject “American Rivers Klean Kanteen® Water Bottle Giveaway”. Limit one entry per email address.

We look forward to seeing all your great photos and learning the stories behind your cleanup. Good luck!

When I saw that Cox Enterprises, Inc. (Cox) had sent volunteers to Blue Cypress Park and Reddie Point Preserve for cleanups with National River Cleanup the past two years, I became nervous. Would the volunteers be bored of the site? Would there be enough trash? After two years of highly successful cleanups, would the third year be a big disappointment?

To help answer some of these questions, I went to the cleanup sites the day before to scout out the trash situation. What first caught my attention was the beauty of the parks and the river. Both parks include acres and acres of natural areas, trails, and piers that go far out into the St. Johns River. What I noticed second, and was distressed by, was the amount of trash in the park, and specifically right along the water. I was baffled by the way people were able to pollute the natural areas around them. While I was disheartened by the amount of trash at the parks, the cleanup the next day brought a complete mood shift for me.

When I arrived early at the registration site in Blue Cypress Park, volunteers from Cox Media Group Jacksonville and Manheim Jacksonville had already begun setting up tables with reusable water bottles, trash bags, and other materials for the cleanup. Soon, volunteers began trickling in; then arriving in mass quantities. We ended up with almost 80 volunteers, many of which had come out in previous years. While signing in volunteers, a smile came across my face when I overheard one woman say she had been waiting for this cleanup all year after hearing her colleagues’ fun stories from past cleanups. These volunteers truly embodied the spirit of Cox Conserves.

Even with uncharacteristically hot and humid weather, volunteers continued to arrive, excited to get to work. After drinking some coffee, catching up with their colleagues, and getting a quick introduction to the cleanup and safety instructions, volunteers split off to their sites. About 10-15 volunteers headed to Reddie Point Preserve to tackle the trash there, while the rest of the volunteers marched down the road to the shoreline at Blue Cypress Park. Some volunteers got an early start on the river cleanup, picking up trash they found throughout the park.

Once the volunteers reached the main cleanup site, people dispersed even further, reaching remote parts of the shoreline and finding hidden pieces of trash I had even missed the day before while walking through the park. Some of the younger volunteers and their parents brought out empty trash bags to volunteers who had already filled theirs and carried the full bags back to the starting point. While on the boardwalk, I spotted two especially enthusiastic volunteers hopping over the rail to reach trash several feet below that I had assumed we would have to leave behind. One first-time volunteer couldn’t stop himself from searching for small pieces of trash he overlooked on his way out even as the cleanup was coming to a close and volunteers were gathering for lunch.

Passersby on the shoreline stopped and thanked the volunteers for all they were doing, and I couldn’t help but do the same. The enthusiasm and commitment that the Cox team brought to the cleanup was not only invigorating but inspiring. Everyone came back to our meeting spot with smiling faces and full trash bags – the indicator of a successful river cleanup.

At the end of the day the volunteers had removed 780 pounds of trash and recyclable material from the river! The number of returning volunteers from previous years not only shows how much enjoyment volunteers get out of these cleanups, but also how committed Cox volunteers are to cleaner, healthier rivers. National River Cleanup was proud to partner with Cox volunteers St. Johns Riverkeeper for this cleanup and we look forward to returning next year for even more fun!

What do groups from Alaska to Florida, from Maine to California, from Alabama Rivers Alliance to Zoar Outdoors, from the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society to the League of Conservation Voters all agree on? That the hydropower industry is dead wrong about their bill, H.R. 8.

All of these groups agree: The hydropower industry’s bill is “an unprecedented assault on our nation’s rivers and the people and wildlife that depend upon them.”

The industry’s trade association, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) has said that their bill protects “environmental values.” I don’t know what their environmental values are, but I do know this: when it comes to protecting the environment, I trust groups whose interests are in protecting the environment, not power companies whose interests are in protecting their profit margins. And those groups say this: H.R. 8 “is a massive giveaway to special interests at the expense of healthy rivers and the fish, wildlife, and people that depend upon them. If H.R. 8 passes, power company profits will go to the head of the line, ahead of every other user.”

NHA also says that their bill protects the States’ authority under the Clean Water Act to protect rivers within their borders. But the State of California disagrees: “H.R. 8 would seriously impact and in some cases eliminate the mandatory conditioning authority of the State Water Board under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.” The State goes on to say that NHA’s bill would “result in harm to California’s water quality and associated beneficial uses, public lands, and fish and wildlife by removing key state and federal authorities designed to protect the environment.”

Big corporations say their bill is good for the environment. Environmental groups say it is terrible for the environment.

Power companies say their bill protects States. States say it takes away their authority to protect State waters and State citizens.

Massive coal-fired utilities like Duke and Southern Company say that we can’t fight climate change unless we reduce environmental protections at hydropower dams. But groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and Environment America, which have been on the front lines fighting against carbon pollution for years agree: “If you care about clean water, irrigation, meeting tribal treaty and trust obligations, wildlife, recreational fishing, commercial fishing, whitewater boating, water quality, municipal water supply, fire safety, flood control, or any other purpose other than generating power, then you should vote NO on H.R. 8.”

Who do you trust?

Every business. Every Family. Every team. Every state.

All have one thing in common. In order to be successful, they must have a plan, and staying true to that plan and trusting in the process is paramount to a successful outcome.

Over the past two years (and arguably over the past decade), Colorado has been deep in developing a new plan – one that affects every resident of the state, every visitor to the state, and the halo of an entire region of the country that depends on this one, very important aspect of everyday life.

Water.

As a headwaters state, Colorado is the genesis for much of the water in the western US. However up to this year, there has been no overarching plan for how our water is managed, used, distributed, and conserved. But soon, after hundreds of meetings, thousands of hours of contemplation and negotiation, tens of thousands of public comments (from people like you – thank you!), covered by dozens of media stories, action alerts, and Facebook posts, Colorado is racing toward the goal of having a tangible and actionable Colorado Water Plan.

On November 19th, the final plan will be delivered to Governor Hickenlooper by the board responsible for managing our most valuable and precious resource. What will it say, and what it will do, is still fodder for speculation until the bound cover of the final plan is cracked open. But here is what we do know:

• We know that the boat is definitely pointed in the right direction. We look forward to participating in the plan’s implementation so future water decisions continue to reflect the values and priorities outlined in the plan.
• We are pleased to see the plan include many of the points Coloradans have expressed overwhelmingly—through more than 30,000 public comments submitted to the state—including a strong statewide urban conservation goal and proposed funding for healthy rivers and streams across our state.
• Over the next year, we urge the CWCB and the Hickenlooper administration to maintain this positive momentum to ensure there will be inclusive implementation, specific, stringent criteria for project selection and adequate funding to protect our rivers, outdoor recreation industry, agricultural heritage, and thriving cities.

So what’s next?

It’s essential this plan doesn’t just sit on a shelf. It must be implemented to build on the momentum created through this extensive effort. From every corner of the state, people came together to hammer out goals and ideals, prioritize needs and wants, and think deeply about how we as a state move past the arguments of old, to move together towards a collaborative vision of water in Colorado. We look forward to working with the state to implement this vital plan, and owe it to the tens of the thousands of people who’ve engaged and commented on this plan to have it realize its public values and priorities.

More to come when the final plan reaches the finish line in a few weeks. Please stay tuned, and thank you for making your voice heard for Colorado’s water future!