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Seeking a Resilient Future

Grand Junction, CO November 5-6, 2014

Wednesday, November 5

7:30 - BREAKFAST & REGISTRATION

8:00 - Welcome

8:10 - Seeking Resilience in the Face of Climate Change (80 min)

Moderator: Dr. Gigi Richard, Colorado Mesa University

Nolan Doesken and Wendy Ryan, Colorado Climate Center

Jeff Lukas, Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Water Manager Perspectives - How can we best use climate information to work towards a resilient water future?

9:45 - Panel: State Water Plans across the Upper Colorado Basin (100 min)

Moderator: George Sibley

George Sibley

  • Colorado's Water Plan

James Eklund, Colorado Water Conservation Board

Amy Haas, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission

Jodie Pavlica, Wyoming Water Development Office

Todd Adams, Utah Division of Water Resources

11:25 - Tribal Water Rights Claims & Settlements (40 min)

Moderator: Jeffrey Sellen, Western State Colorado University

Scott McElroy, McElroy, Meyer, Walker & Condon, P.C.

Stanley Pollack, Navajo Nation Department of Justice

12:05 - POSTERS/ LUNCH (list of posters below)

  • Water Fluency - Promoting water knowledge for community leaders

Kristin Maharg, CO Foundation for Water Education

  • Historical Ethnobotany of Celtis reticulata (Netleaf Hackberry)

Lynn Albers, CMU

  • "Act of Congress: Good Samaritans & Draining Mines 2014", 12.5 minute video

Tom Schillaci

  • THE ALPHABET SHOW -A traveling exhibition of the world's endangered species list

Stinne Storm, University of Utah

  • Impacts of vegetation removal on the channel morphology of the Colorado River

Gigi Richard, Colorado Mesa University

  • Upper Colorado River Basin Resource Guide

Water Center at CMU

  • West Salt Creek Landslide

Colorado Mesa University Geology Faculty

1:15 - Policy Tools for Meeting Future Demands & Limiting Ag Buy & Dry (70 min)

Moderator: Jim Pokrandt, Colorado River District

Drew Beckwith, Western Resource Advocates

  • Water Banking Initiatives - Overview

Aaron Derwingson, The Nature Conservancy

Paul Keihmeier, Farmer

2:40- Concurrent Sessions (70 min)

A) Innovations in Agriculture and Watershed & Stream Restoration (North Ballroom)

Moderator: Perry Cabot, Colorado State University

John Harold and Tom Kay, No Chico Brush

Ken Ransford, Colorado Basin Roundtable

B) Historical Perspectives (South Ballroom)

Moderator: Richard Grubbs, Chevron

Steve Schulte, Colorado Mesa University

Greg Trainor, Retired Director of Public Works & Utilities, City of Grand Junction

3:50 - Concurrent Sessions (80 min)

A) Technical Tools for Adapting to Change and Uncertainty in Water Supplies (North Ballroom)

Moderator: Bruce Smith, Western Water and Land

Lucas Bair, Economist, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center

  • Climate Science Centers: Developing Tools and Resources for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Supporting Adaptation

Brian W. Miller, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University

Dave Colvin and William Loopesko, Leonard Rice Engineers

Thomas J. Ryan, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

B) Regulation 85: Nutrient Monitoring and Data Management Lessons from the First Year (South Ballroom)

Moderator: Linda Chynoweth, Colorado Water Quality Monitoring Council

  • Arne Sjodin, CO Department of Public Health and Environment
  • Kristy Richardson, CO Department of Public Health and Environment
  • Lynn Padgett, CO Data Sharing Network
  • Matt Smith, Frisco Sanitation District

5:10 - Reception

6:15 - DINNER/ KEYNOTE SPEAKER: PATRICIA MULROY

Senior Fellow for Climate Adaptation and Environmental Policy, Brookings Mountain West

University of Nevada Las Vegas

Thursday, November 6

7:30 - BREAKFAST & WELCOME

8:30 - Grand County Enhancement & Mitigation Plan (60 min)

Moderator: David Graf, Colorado Parks & Wildlife

  • Lurline Curran, Grand County
  • Mely Whiting, Trout Unlimited
  • David Little, Denver Water

9:45 - Colorado Delta Pulse Flow - Negotiating the Deal (60 min)

Moderator: Ted Kowalski, Colorado Water Conservation Board

  • Jennifer Pitt, Environmental Defense
  • Karen Kwon, Colorado Assistant Attorney General
  • Colby Pellegrino, Southern Nevada Water Authority

10:45 - Colorado Delta Pulse Flow - Environmental Science (50 min)

Moderator: Aaron Derwingson, The Nature Conservancy

  • Scientific impetus for flow & overview of monitoring efforts

Eloise Kendy, The Nature Conservancy

  • Channel morphology impacts

Erich Muller, USGS, Flagstaff

12:00 - LUNCH/ KEYNOTE SPEAKER: WILLIAM HASENCAMP

Manager, Colorado River Resources, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

1:00 - The Science Behind the Decisions - Managing Lakes Powell and Mead (60 min)

Moderator: Jeff Lukas, Western Water Assessment

Stacie Bender, Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, Salt Lake City, UT

W. Paul Miller, Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, Salt Lake City, UT

  • Quantifying Groundwater Discharge to Streams and Rivers in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Matthew P. Miller, U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center, Salt Lake City, UT

2:00- Using Science for Decision-making - Managing Lakes Powell and Mead (80 min)

Moderator: Hannah Holm, Water Center at Colorado Mesa University

Katrina Grantz and Shana Tighi, US Bureau of Reclamation

Joe Kasprzyk, University of Colorado Boulder

Ken Nowak, US Bureau of Reclamation and CADSWES

  • Policy Perspectives:
    • John McClow, Upper Colorado River Basin Commission
    • Colby Pellegrino, Southern Nevada Water Authority

3:20 - Concluding Remarks