Researchers Lay Out Top Colorado River Priorities for New Administration

Credit Bureau of Land Management / Public Domain

A group of researchers has compiled experts' opinions on top Colorado River priorities that should be addressed by the new president.

The Colorado River Future Project identifies top priorities for the upcoming administration, including a U.S.-Mexico agreement to treat the river as one across the border, and Lake Mead's dropping water levels.

University of Colorado's Anne Castle is the former secretary for water and science in the U.S. Department of the Interior. She says she led the project's team and says these issues must be addressed within the new president's first 100 days of office.

"We thought it was necessary and would be helpful to the new leadership to provide a consensus of opinion about what the urgent priorities are that they should focus on immediately," she said. 

The project included the opinions of over 65 key players within the basin states, including government representatives, tribal leaders, and water managers, and released two documents, one called The Colorado River: A Roadmap for the Secretary of the Interior, and another called Colorado River Policy: Opportunities for Tangible Progress.

They were written prior to the election.