Recreation Gets a Voice in the Colorado River

Every December, more than one thousand water managers, federal decision makers, and other stakeholders convene in Las Vegas for the Colorado River Water Users Association conference. The conference is over 75 years old and has always been held in downtown Las Vegas; attendees get the full experience walking out of the conference halls and straight into the bustling gambling and tourist scene that Vegas is known for. 

At the conference, recreation typically has not had a seat at the table despite the fact that every water management decision in the basin implicates river recreation and its fast-growing economy. But this year, American Whitewater’s Southern Rockies Protection Director, Kestrel Kunz, was invited to speak about recreation in the Colorado River Basin. Kunz sat alongside representatives from the municipal, agricultural, industrial, tribal, and environmental sectors. Each representative had an opportunity to address the current state of their sector, how it fits into basinwide management, and the challenges due to decreased water supply in the basin. 

Kunz kicked off her presentation with a fictional image of 300 people in business suits on one big raft together, “I thought I’d imagine that we are all going rafting together while I give this presentation.” That remained the theme of her talk as she emphasized how important the recreation piece is to the Colorad River water puzzle, and that if we all work together we can support a growing recreation economy while meeting other water use needs. 

The conference happened at a pivotal time in Colorado River management discussions. The week prior marked the close of public input on the near-term management of Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams. That same week, the Bureau of Reclamation and Virga Labs released an interactive water management tool to the public, allowing people to assess water management scenarios for the long-term operations at the two big reservoirs. American Whitewater is working directly with the tool engineers to ensure that river recreation is incorporated into the public facing interface; currently it is not. 

We are confident that river recreation will continue to have a place in these important conversations around the Colorado River Basin and American Whitewater is committed to ensuring that recreation voice has a seat at the table. 

Photo by Aaron Citron