Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado
A 20-piece visual journey by photographer Dave Showalter encapsulating the resilience of the Colorado River and its keepers. This exhibit is free and open to the public!
12 items (select below to browse)
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Peeking Out Of The Bubbles!
A razorback sucker emerges from a bag full of bubbles. CMU's Fish And Wildlife club installed a fish tank of razorback suckers to celebrate the Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado exhibit by conservation photographer Dave Showalter. The Water Center and Tomlinson Library celebrated Showalter's work at the Summer Social on July 9th, 2026. You can learn more about the exhibit by clicking this link! -
Viewing Beautiful Conservation Photography!
Two attendees observe photography from Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado by conservation photographer Dave Showalter. The Water Center and Tomlinson Library celebrated Showalter's work at the Summer Social on July 9th, 2026. You can learn more about the exhibit by clicking this link! -
Taking A Break Near Tracing The Flow!
The Confluence Center of Colorado is flooded by a crowd of excited, chatting attendees. The Water Center partnered with the EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum for the Common Ground Speaker Series, a three-night educational opportunity discussing water, land, climate, and resilience in the West. Gigi Richard and Dr. Deb Kennard gave presentations about the hydrology of the Colorado River and water-wise landscaping to the pictured attendees on August 4th, 2026. -
Answering A Question From The Panel Moderator!
Director of Interstate and Regional Water Resources for the Colorado River District, Raquel Flinker, speaks about how the Colorado River District is navigating uncertainty and adapting to change amidst Colorado's drought conditions during a panel discussion called Confronting Scarcity On The Colorado River with Aspen Journalism on May 6th, 2026. You can watch this discussion by clicking this link! -
Posing For A Picture!
Executive Director of the Water Center, Shannon Wadas (pictured on the far left), smiles for the camera with Heather Sackett, Raquel Flinker, Tina Bergonzini, Ben Hoffman, and Matt Rice (pictured left to right) from various organizations during a panel discussion called Confronting Scarcity On The Colorado River with Aspen Journalism on May 6th, 2026. You can watch this discussion by clicking this link!
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USGS Connects With The Crowd!
Associate Director of the Colorado Water Science Center for USGS, Brandon Forbes, presents to attendees about water management during the second night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 23rd, 2026. -
Post-Presentation Conversation!
Audience members use the 10 minute intermission to chat about Dr. Eliot Jennings' presentation during the second night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 23rd, 2026. -
Eliot Jennings Informs The Audience!
CMU Associate Professor Of Political Science, Dr. Eliot Jennings, speaks in front of a presentation detailing emergency management in relation to climate change during the second night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 23rd, 2026. -
Peter Goble Speaks Into The Microphone!
The Assistant State Climatologist for the Colorado Climate Center, Peter Goble, presents on climate change and how it relates to water during the first night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 16th, 2026. -
Focusing On Fire Regimes!
Audience members and a CMU environmental science student watch Dr. Deb Kennard's presentation on fire regimes in Colorado intently during the first night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 16th, 2026. -
Dr. Kennard Sparks Excitement Within The Audience!
CMU Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, Dr. Deb Kennard, points to a slideshow illustrating burn severity from the Colorado Hayman Fire of June 8th, 2002 during the first night of the Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series on April 16th, 2026. -
In Partnership With The Colorado River District!
Executive Director of the Water Center, Shannon Wadas (pictured in the center), strikes a "MAV Up!" with Andy Mueller, Raquel Flinker, Amy Moyer, and Bruce Walters (pictured left to right) from the Colorado River District during the Grand Valley State Of The River Meeting on April 7th, 2026.
Past Events
Check out all the events we have previously sponsored! We hope you look forward to our future programming and support our ongoing educational efforts.-
August 4th, 12th, And 24th, 2026Common Ground Speaker Series: Exploring Water, Land, Climate, And Resilience In The West In partnership with the EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum, these three nights of free water education included discussions exploring water, land, climate, and resilience in the West. Each night had a different subject, which included: “The Current State of the Colorado: Hydrology and Home Conservation,” “The History of Water Development in the Grand Valley and the Timeless Role of Collaboration,” and “Celebrating Wide-Open Spaces: Rangelands Here and Around the World.” Presenters included Gigi Richard, Dr. Deb Kennard, Zebulon Miracle, Retta Bruegger, and Janie VanWinkle, who spoke about water-wise landscaping techniques, the history of water development in the Grand Valley, and local rangelands. These installments were sponsored by the Western Colorado Community Foundation.
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July 9th, 2026Living River Exhibit Summer Social You can learn more about the Living River Exhibit by clicking this link! This evening was a celebration of conservation photographer Dave Showalter's exhibit, Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado. In partnership with the Tomlinson Library, Showalter's 20-piece visual journey is on display on the library's second floor until December 2026. Showalter's beautiful work encapsulates the resilience of the Colorado River and its keepers, illustrating how we can create an enduring watershed. This event was free, included light refreshments, and concluded with a razorback sucker fish tank installation, courtesy of CMU's Fish And Wildlife Club!
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May 6th, 2026Panel Discussion: Confronting Scarcity On The Colorado River With Aspen Journalism You can watch this discussion by clicking the link! This discussion was presented by Aspen Journalism in collaboration with the Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center. This panel brought together local voices from across key water-use sectors, including agriculture, municipal, and environmental stewardship, to explore how each was navigating uncertainty and adapting to change. The panel was followed by an audience question and answer. The panel was moderated by Heather Sackett from Aspen Journalism. The panelists included Tina Bergonzini from the Grand Valley Water Users Association, Ben Hoffman from Ute Water, Matt Rice from American Rivers, and Raquel Flinker from the Colorado River District. Attendance and dinner were free for all attendees.
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April 16th And 23rd, 2026Water Course 101 Evening Seminar Series These two nights included presentations from professionals in the water world and a free dinner for all attendees. Presenters included Dr. Deb Kennard, Peter Goble, Eliot Jennings, Cory Williams, and Brandon Forbes, who spoke about fire regimes in Western Colorado, climate change and water in Colorado, emergency management in relation to climate change, and water management. These evenings were sponsored by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Western Colorado Community Foundation.
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April 7th, 2026Grand Valley State Of The River Meeting Presented in partnership with the Colorado River District, this event brought together neighbors and local experts for a casual, public-information evening including a look at upcoming hydrology, a summary of major western water issues, and a spotlight for the projects and priorities of the Mesa County community This meeting was designed to welcome anyone with an interest in critical water issues. Attendance and dinner were free for all attendees.
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Spring 2026Spring Seminar Series Our annual spring seminar series brought speakers across Grand Junction, the wider Colorado community, and Colorado Mesa University to teach about various environmental and water issues, including zebra mussels, arsenic contaminated soils, riparian restoration, the operation of dams/reservoirs, the state of wetlands for waterfowl and endangered fish, wildfire resilience on the Grand Mesa, land conservation, water security, place-based ecology, northern tamarisk beetle environmental expansion and more.
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October 23rd, 2025Ripples of Change: Empowering Educators in Eco-Justice and Water Fairness Workshop This workshop was hosted with a goal is to raise awareness and understanding, provide practical tools and resources, and develop strategies for attendees to create a positive and supportive learning environment that fosters engagement and meaningful interaction around water equity and environmental justice topics. All educators who attended received a certificate for Professional Development Continuing Education hours.
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Spring 2025Spring Seminar Series Our annual spring seminar series highlighted various perspectives across the Grand Junction and wider Colorado community to teach about various water issues. Multiple faculty members from the Environmental Science department and other universities presented during this series.
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April 10th And 17th, 2025Water 101 Evening Seminar Series These events included several presentations from professionals in the water world and a free dinner for all attendees. These evenings were sponsored by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Western Colorado Community Foundation.
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October 30th - 31st, 2023Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum Our 12th annual forum theme was Reshaping the River: Reimagining Water Use & Management in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The forum had a diverse array of speakers from across the Colorado River Basin. Agenda topics included innovative agricultural water management practices, resilient riverscapes, updates from state agencies, unpacking and understanding diminishing water supplies, reauthorization of recovery programs, and networking events.
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Spring 2023Natural Resources Seminar Course Teaming up with the Environmental Science and Technology department, we covered topics relating to natural resources in the Western United States, including water, soil, land, minerals, and energy. Guest speakers were invited from industry, government agencies, and the academic community to give formal oral presentations followed by informal discussion with students, the community, and faculty. This seminar series was free and open to students and the community.
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April 13th, 2023Mesa County State Of The River Meeting
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February 15th, 2023Natural Resources Job Fair And Networking Fair This important student networking event was held in collaboration with Career Services and the Fish & Wildlife Club!
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November 3rd - 4th, 2021Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum This was our 11th annual session!
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April 13th, 2021Introduction To Colorado Water Law Presentation
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March 16th, 2021Water Law In A Nutshell Presentation With Aaron Clay
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February 10th, 2021Rio Rica Film Screening And Discussion This event was held virtually.
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November 4th - 5th, 2020Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum This event was held virtually.
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February 11th, 18th, And 25th, 2020Water Course
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February 5th - 6th, 2020Riparian Restoration Conference Organized in collaboration with RiversEdge West
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January 15th, 2020A Big Year For Colorado's Rivers: An Evening Of Community Discussion About Colorado's Water Future Organized by Audubon Rockies, co-sponsored by the Colorado River District, and Business for Water Stewardship and Trout Unlimited.
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November 13th - 14th, 2019Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum
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May 14th, 2019Mesa County State Of The Rivers Meeting This meeting provided attendees with an update on 2019’s snowpack, expected river flows and reservoir operations, as well as drought planning and information on an innovative project to help endangered fish in the Grand Valley. This event was co-sponsored by the Colorado River District.
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April 24th, 2019An Evening With Jonathan Thompson Our speaker, Jonathan Thompson, came to speak about their book, River of Lost Souls, which tells the story behind the 2015 Gold King Mine disaster that turned the Animas River in southwestern Colorado orange with sludge.
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February 11th, 18th, And 25th, 2019Water Course
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October 23rd, 2018Planning For An Uncertain Future: Drought Contingency Planning, Demand Management And The West Slope
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September 21st - 23rd, 2018Student Water Field Conference This weekend was spent in the Grand Mesa and allowed students to learn about water with other students from across Colorado.
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May 8th, 2018Mesa County State Of The River Meeting This event was co-sponsored by the Colorado River District.
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April 16th, 2018An Evening With River Photographer Tim Palmer
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February 13th, 20th, And 27th, 2018Water Course The course covered Hydrology and Water Law in Colorado; Preparing for a Drier Future; and Grand Valley Initiatives to Improve Habitat and River Access.
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February 8th - 9th, 2018Water Workshop: Setting Watershed-Scale Priorities In Riparian Restoration This workshop was organized by the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
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February 6th - 8th, 2018Riparian Restoration Conference This conference was co-organized by the Tamarisk Coalition.