The Colorado River system is consistently ranked among the most endangered in the nation, plagued by drought, climate change, over-engineering, and overuse. Despite its compromised status, this system provides water for 36 million people, irrigates up to 4.5 million acres of agricultural land and defines the very essence of some of our nation’s most iconic national parks. Colorado is currently engaged in a critical, statewide effort to plan for the future of its water resources. The forthcoming Colorado Water Plan focuses on creating a framework for dividing water within the state, but will have implications downstream as well.
Carrying melted snow from its headwaters inside Rocky Mountain National Park across the dramatic desert landscapes of the Colorado Plateau toward the Gulf of California, the Colorado River and its tributaries provide recreation opportunities, support ecosystems and wildlife, and carve out the primary geologic features of 11 extraordinary national parks, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Arches, Canyonlands, Dinosaur National Monument, Lake Mead, and the Grand Canyon. These national treasures are afforded the highest level of protection under the law and generate more than $1 billion each year in visitor spending, so it is surprising that most lack the water rights to sustain them. Not having guaranteed supplies of water leaves these parks vulnerable to decisions made through processes occurring outside their boundaries (such as the Colorado Water Plan) that affect the rivers that run through them.
One Colorado Basin river of special importance is the Yampa in Northwest Colorado, which joins the Green River inside the exquisite canyons housed by Dinosaur National Monument. As the last major, free-flowing Colorado tributary, the Yampa provides the entire downstream system with nutrients and sediment, and some of the only remaining habitat for spawning endangered fish species. However, there are outstanding proposals to tap the Yampa to fuel growth across the Continental Divide in the Front Range. In a landmark case, Dinosaur National Monument was denied a water right that might have prevented this, and now it remains a possibility under the current draft of the Colorado Water Plan.
The Colorado Water Plan offers hope that protecting fish, wildlife, and natural geologic features dependent on a healthy river system will be compatible with supporting the state’s other objectives of maintaining vibrant agricultural and recreational economies, and supporting growing cities.
The Colorado Water Plan presents several opportunities to protect national parks and other natural resources within the Colorado Basin, and throughout the state. These include:
• Ensuring that new water storage projects prioritize viable native fish habitat, and provide sufficient seasonal flows for recreation and ecological health. Species native to the Colorado River system evolved to rely on natural ebbing and flowing, but dams and reservoirs can inhibit this variability.
• Making it easier for farmers and ranchers to lease excess water on a short-term basis for ecological or recreational purposes, rather than permanently selling water rights to cities or industry. This keeps water in the hands of agricultural rights holders, but allows for them to voluntarily make it available for the environment when appropriate.
• Increasing funding opportunities for “environmental flows” — special water rights that allow for water to be kept in rivers for fish, recreation or other values.
• Preventing future water diversions across the Continental Divide from the Colorado Basin to support growth in the Front Range. Removing water from the strained Colorado River system could have unforeseen effects on the overall health of the 11 national parks that depend on it.
The future of these national parks is inextricably entwined with the future of the rivers in the Colorado Basin. Colorado certainly must consider its own needs in its water planning, but it also has a responsibility to balance those needs with the health of these beloved national assets.
Vanessa Mazal is the Colorado program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
