Marble Canyon
Camilo Salcedo
As the Bureau of Reclamation looks to prepare new rules for the Colorado River, states across the West and other interested stakeholders have proposed plans for the river’s future. These alternative plans aim to shape the operation of the Colorado River after many of the current rules expire in 2026.
In April, a coalition of conservation groups including Audubon, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and others submitted a plan for managing the Colorado River. Known as the Cooperative Conservation Alternative, the proposal seeks to broaden management efforts on the Colorado River to be more inclusive of various interests, Tribes, and the environment. Its top priorities include stabilizing water storage and avoiding crisis-to-crisis management, making mitigation and environmental stewardship part of future operations, and creating a Conservation Reserve, which would replace an existing conservation program known as Intentionally Created Surplus.