Some environmental groups are expressing their disappointment that the seven Colorado River Basin states failed this week to reach a consensus on reductions in reliance on the 1,450-mile long river.
In response to the news that the seven Colorado River states have not met the Bureau of Reclamation’s deadline to reach agreement on a post-2026 operating framework for the river, conservation and sportsmen groups such as American Rivers, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Trout Unlimited and Western Resource Advocates released the following joint statement:
“After more than two years of negotiation, we are deeply disappointed that the basin states have not been able to reach consensus yet on a framework to manage the Colorado River beyond 2026. We understand the extraordinary complexity of this challenge and the difficult tradeoffs the states are working hard to navigate — but the river isn’t going to wait for process or for politics. Drought, intensified by increasingly extreme conditions, is reshaping the basin, and the window to secure the river’s future and move beyond crisis-driven policymaking is closing fast."
The groups added that it is imperative an agreement be put in place.
“Across the Colorado River Basin, communities, tribes, farmers, ranchers, water managers, and conservation groups are anxiously awaiting greater clarity as they plan, conserve, and adjust to a hotter, drier reality. Without a clear operating framework, the basin remains exposed to escalating risks — from declining storage in lakes Powell and Mead to deepening uncertainty about how the system will respond to hydrologic extremes. Every month without alignment makes it harder to stabilize the river and protect the people, economies, and ecosystems that depend on it.”
The Bureau of Reclamation had given the states until Tuesday to design a framework for conserving water. The deadline passed with no such agreement, but the participating states agreed to continue to meet until they have a “framework solution” by mid-February 2026, said Gene Shawcroft, chairman of the Colorado River Authority of Utah.
“We were able to have enough of a framework put together that the federal government agrees with us that the framework can be continued to be refined in order for us to have a deal by the middle of February,” he told reporters in a negotiations update briefing on Wednesday as reported by KSL.com.
Cutbacks
In 2023, the Lower Basin states agreed to save 3 million acre-feet by 2026, which some critics said was a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
That same year, a series of complex water management steps led to the release of 1.6 million acre-feet of water from the Upper Basin reservoirs of Flaming Gorge and Blue Mesa to help struggling Lake Powell and to keep power generation operational.
But now it is back to the drawing board, with each of the states submitting conservation plans to stretch the river’s viability past 2026. And it is an important stretch, if you consider the river’s economic value is at $1.4 trillion.
It seems a lot of people have dipped their toe in the water, but solutions are complex.
As reported in a previous story, Shawcroft said he remains optimistic despite the tempest that continues to grow around the Colorado River.
“There are many moving parts and complex issues and I believe we will get closure on (them),” Shawcroft said.
Environmental groups stressed the need to come up with an agreement.
Communities, businesses, and landscapes will continue to struggle from one dry year to the next unless government gets ahead of the problem by:
- Grounding management decisions in the best available science and the realities of how much water the river can actually provide.
- Expanding conservation across the basin and developing flexible storage tools to protect river health and meet critical needs in dry years.
- Adopting policies that prioritize the health of the river as the foundation of any lasting water security in the basin
While it is a donnybrook when it comes to a fight over water, the federal government often gives state and county agencies a chance to navigate the rapids.
The Bureau of Reclamation was not available for comment, but the shutdown has made federal agencies more mum than they typically are.
But Shawcroft’s point underscored it. There is some optimism. Now it’s all about the negotiations vital for the river and the West.