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Save the date for the 2018 Forum: November 7-8, 2018!

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Keynote Speakers:

John Fleck, Director of the University of New Mexico's Water Resources Program and author of Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West
The Colorado River: what we knew, when we knew it, and how we used it - and lessons for today

Brian RichterPresident, Sustainable Waters
Chasing Water in a Rapidly Changing World 

Final Program     Sponsors & Exhibitors      Compilation of Presenter Abstracts & Bios 

Program with abstracts, biographies and presentations linked 

November 1

8:00  Welcome - Cynthia Pemberton, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Colorado Mesa University

8:15  Keynote – Brian Richter, President, Sustainable Waters
          Presentation    Abstract     Biography

9:15  Building a Better Understanding of Snow and Water Supply
Moderator: Aldis Strautins, National Weather Service - Biography

  • Assessing the robustness of spring snowpack as a drought indicator in the Upper Colorado River Basin under future climate change
    Ben Livneh, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography

10:00  Historical Perspective: How did first generation Colorado River negotiators understand hydrology?
           Eric Kuhn, Colorado River District
         
  Presentation    Biography

10:30     Break

10:45 Bridging Science and Decision Making on Water Supply: Managing for Drought
Moderator: Steve Fletcher, Fire Mountain Canal and Reservoir Company - Biography

  • How and why Upper Colorado River Basin water, land and fire managers choose to use drought tools (or not)
    Amanda E. Cravens, US Geological Survey  
    Abstract    Biography     

  • What decision context tells us about advancing drought information use: insights from the Western Slope
    Rebecca Page, Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado Boulder
    Presentation    Abstract     Biography

11:30 Water Supply Vulnerabilities to Climate Change
Moderator: Kirsten Kurath, Williams, Turner & Holmes, PC -Biography
  • Central Utah Water Conservancy District Climate Study
    Cort Lambson, Central Utah Water Conservancy District
    Presentation

12:10     Lunch/ Poster Session

Posters

  • Adapting a Natural-Flow Regime Paradigm on the Lower Dolores River: A call for a nonconsumptive needs quantification study and stakeholder cooperation to create a more dynamic flow regime
    Rica Fulton, University of Wyoming - Poster   Abstract & Biography

  • Assessing the Impacts of Drought and Wildfire on the Colorado Front Range
    Aaron Heldmyer, Ben Livneh, and Balaji Rajagopalan, University of Colorado Boulder - Poster  Abstract & Biography

  • Colorado Flood Magnitude and Timing: An exploration of possible climate change impacts
    Christopher Pack and Gigi Richard, Colorado Mesa University - Poster  Abstract & Biography

  • Watershed monitoring across the snow transition zone: An east slope-west slope comparison
    Gigi Richard, Craig Moore and Ross Fischer, Colorado Mesa University;
    Stephanie Kampf, John Hammond and Abby Eurich, Colorado State University - Poster  Abstract & Biography

  • COlorado AGricultural Meteorological nETwork — COAGMET: Recent Updates and Future Plans
    Zach Schwalbe, Colorado Climate Center - Poster   Abstract & Biography

  • Applying remotely-sensed cottonwood cover data to evaluate groundwater fluctuations in riparian floodplain aquifers in Southwest Colorado
    Zach Sforzo, Gary L. Gianniny, Cynthia E. Dott, and William Scott White, Fort Lewis College - Abstract & Biography

  • Earlier snowmelt may alter mountain water resources through the timing of plant growth
    Chelsea Wilmer & Heidi Steltzer, Fort Lewis College - Abstract & Biography

1:40 Beyond Snow: Vegetation Interactions with Water Supply
Moderator: Bruce Smith, Western Water and Land - Biography

  • River-connected mountain meadows: Assessing resilience and ecosystem services of headwater wetlands across a disturbance gradient
    Tristan Weiss, Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography
  • Assessing the potential impacts of invasive species water use on the Lower Colorado River
    Tom Ryan, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography
  • Riparian plant guilds along the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers
    Erin Cubley, Department of Ecology, Colorado State University
    Abstract    Biography

2:45  Panel: Orchard Mesa Ditch Improvements to Benefit Endangered Fish and Water Users
         Panel Presentation    Panel Abstract

Moderator: Chris Treese, Colorado River District - Biography

  • Tom Chart, Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
    Biography

  • Brett Uilenburg, US Bureau of Reclamation
    Biography

  • Max Schmidt, Orchard Mesa Irrigation District
    Biography

3:30        Break

3:45  Panel: Revitalizing and Reconnecting Riverside Communities through Art, Civic Engagement and Commerce
         
Panel Presentation    Panel Abstract    Biographies

  • Stacy Beaugh, Tamarisk Coalition (moderator)
  • Brian Mahoney, Colorado Riverfront Commission and Foundation
  • Cindy Enos-Martinez, Rio Initiative and Riverside Community Center
  • Traci Wieland, City of Grand Junction
  • Thaddeus Shrader, Bonsai Design
  • Jen Taylor, Mountain Khakis

4:45 Reception in the University Center Lounge, adjacent to the Forum venu

November 2

8:00  Keynote: John Fleck, Director of the University of New Mexico's Water Resources Program and author of Water is for Fighting Over and Other Myths about Water in the West
       
Presentation    Abstract     Biography

9:00 Panel: State of the Colorado River and Implications for Upper Basin States
Moderator: Eric Kuhn, Colorado River District - Biography

  • John Stulp, Special Advisory to the Colorado Governor for Water
    Presentation   

  • Steve Wolff, Administrator, Interstate Streams Division, Wyoming State Engineer's Office
    Presentation   Biography

  • Eric Millis, Director, Utah Division of Water Resources
    Presentation   Biography

  • Rolf Schmidt Petersen, Acting Colorado Bureau Chief, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
    Presentation   Biography

10:20  Drought Contingency Planning: Connections between the Upper and Lower Basins and Mexico
           Amy Haas, Deputy Executive Director and General Council, Upper Colorado River Commission
           
Presentation    Abstract     Biography


10:45 Break


11:00 Innovations in Agricultural Water Use
Moderator: Aaron Derwingson, The Nature Conservancy - Biography

  • Efficient Irrigation and the Myth of Water Conservation: Misconceptions from the Field
    Paul Kehmeier, Farmer and Field Trial Cooperator
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography

  • Eagle County Conservation District’s Irrigation Asset Inventory Program: an innovative approach for engaging the agricultural community
    Brendon Langenhuizen, SGM and Scott Jones, Eagle County Conservation District
    Presentation   Abstract    Biographies

  • Grand Valley Pilot Project
    Luke Gingerich, J-U-B Engineers
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography

  • System Conservation Projects on the Price River
    Jordan Nielson, Trout Unlimited
    Presentation   Abstract     Biography

12:20     Lunch

1:30  How experiences on rivers can influence water policy
Moderator: Ken Neubecker, American Rivers - Biography


2:15 Having it all: trying to meet diverse needs on shared streams
Moderator: Corey Beaugh, Colorado Division of Water Resources -  Biography

  • A Rancher, a Scientist, and Angler and a Conservationist Walk into a Room…. How the Crystal River Management Plan is moving from paper to project
    Heather Lewin, Roaring Fork Conservancy
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography

  • Watershed Management Planning in the Upper Gunnison Basin
    Frank Kugel, Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District
    Presentation   Abstract    Biography

  • Assessing the results of a planned spill on the Dolores River
    David Graf, Colorado Parks & Wildlife
    Presentation   Abstract   Biography

  • "Learning by Doing" on the Upper Colorado
    Jason Turner, Colorado River Water Conservation District and Kristina Wynne, Bishop-Brodgen Associates for the Middle Park Water Conservancy District  
    Presentation   Abstract   Kristina Wynee Biography    Jason Turner Biography

3:35 Closing Remarks