27th Annual Wallace Stegner Center Symposium | The Colorado River Compact: Navigating the Future

The Stegner Center’s 27th annual symposium will consider the network of laws and policies governing the Colorado River, including the Colorado River Compact, which will celebrate its centennial in 2022, and the management framework for the Colorado River system, which is set to expire in 2026. The significance of the Colorado River Basin cannot be overstated: It extends across 244,000 square miles and includes portions of two nation-states (United States, Mexico); seven U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming); two Mexican states (Baja California, Sonora); and 30 Indian reservations. The Basin provides vital water for 40 million people and extensive agricultural operations. The symposium will review the “Law of the River,” including the Compact, as well as its economic, environmental, and cultural impacts. It will also look forward, identifying possible river management modifications given hydrological changes from prolonged drought to climate change, as well as increased population and water demands. The symposium will bring together speakers from law, science, the agencies (including Biden Administration officials), the basin states, the tribes, and Mexico to reexamine management of the Colorado River system. Sponsors include the Wallace Stegner Center and the Water and Tribes Initiative (WTI).