The second State of the Rockies Speakers Series event of the year is tonight! Come join us at 7pm in the Celeste South Theater of the Cornerstone Arts Center on the CC campus to hear Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs and U of WY Professor of Law Larry MacDonnell speak on The Law of the Colorado River Basin- Rigid Relic or Flexible Foundation for the Future?
The Colorado River Basin faces mounting challenges for the future, including the implications of climate change and the exploding demographic trends of the West. Roughly 27 million people rely on the river for water, energy, and healthy ecosystems. Studies predict that by 2050 the river system will be unable to meet the growing demand from the next generation. Can a nearly 90-year-old set of laws weather the turbulence of the 21st century? The Colorado River Basin is ruled by a compilation of decrees, rights, court decisions, and laws that together are referred to as the “Law of the River.” The keystone of these “commandments” is the 1922 Colorado River Compact, an interstate agreement created by the seven basin states with provisions for general water allotments. As municipalities, agriculture, and environmental interests jockey for continued water supplies in the face of projected diminished flows, will the Law of the River be able to bend under new stresses or will it break? For this talk, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg Hobbs and Colorado River legal scholar Professor Larry MacDonnell will discuss the implications of the river’s legal foundation for the next generation.
