Lorelei Cloud and John Berggren had a really important piece on Colorado River governance in the Colorado Sun last month that has not received sufficient attention. The challenge, they argue, is the lack of the institutional framework we need to address evolving societal values around the river’s management in a changing world. Cloud is Vice-Chairman of the Southern Ute Tribe and has become a major voice in the effort to rethink the role of indigenous people in management of the Colorado River. Berggren, now at Western Resource Advocates, is the author of one of the most insightful analyses of Colorado River governance we’ve had in recent years. (I hope that link works for folks, this might also.) They catalog the remarkable efforts within the last decade or more to create new frameworks for Tribal involvement in Colorado River governance, notably the Ten Tribes Partnership and the Water and Tribes Initiative.

Other Colorado River articles:

• U.S. Bureau for Reclamation: Glen Canyon Dam begins relining project as part of the President’s Investing in America agenda
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas: A Hidden Sea of Opportunity: A newly launched UNLV startup advances the search for water sustainability solutions to the Southwest climate crisis
• Arizona State University: Navigating uncharted waters: ASU drives solutions for water resilience
• Arizona Daily Star: Opinion: We must solve the long-term Colorado River crisis
• Pew Charitable Trusts news release: Colorado designates 15 rivers as outstanding waters—the nation’s strongest water quality protections