Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): water supply

Climate change will force us to make tough decisions. Adaptive management can help.

In the face of climate change, it can be difficult to balance environmental, economic and community needs, but it’s a challenge we must overcome to adapt, survive and thrive.

To do this, professionals from multiple sectors across the globe are increasingly incorporating adaptive management techniques into resource planning for all kinds of essential ecosystems – from major watersheds like the Mississippi River Delta to high food production regions like the Corn Belt.

The lessons learned from past management decisions in these places will help shape resilience strategies for communities and industries around the world as they prepare for a new normal. Read More »

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Colorado farmers have a lot to say about the state’s first-ever water plan

colorado landscapeThis post was co-written by Mark Harris, general manager for the Grand Valley Water Users’ Association.

In a recent op-ed, the Colorado Forum – a nonpartisan organization of CEOs and civic leaders – delivered a powerful message to Governor Hickenlooper, who is drafting a first-ever Colorado Water Plan to confront the state’s growing water demands.

The forum’s message: we must all work together to secure a water future that keeps Colorado a world class place to live, visit, work and play.

The forum made a handful of recommendations in the article, but one stood out to us as particularly relevant as we attempt to balance many competing interests in a single water plan: agriculture must be given the freedom and opportunity to thrive in Colorado’s water future. Read More »

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A new perspective on the risks to western lands and water

Photo credit: David Owen with support from Lighthawk.

EDF’s Jennifer Pitt prepares for her flight. EDF partnered with LightHawk to increase understanding of the impacts of water imports to population centers in Colorado’s Front Range. Photo credit: David Owen with support from LightHawk.

I’ve been a student of water use, storage and transportation for decades, but never before have I seen the collection and diversion systems from the air, other than a glimpse of a big reservoir from a commercial jet. That is, not until a few weeks ago, when I had the extraordinary opportunity to fly with a LightHawk volunteer pilot to see Colorado’s waterworks from the air.

Seeing the landscape from above gave me a completely new perspective.

The point of my trip was to see the effects that Colorado’s urban growth – with its increasing urban water demands – is having on the state’s working lands and rivers. One view painted a very clear picture: a footprint of idled farmland in Rocky Ford, Colorado.

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