In the wake of the drought, water policy-makers in the West are looking to make sure there will be enough water to meet future demands.
Exploring ways to meet this challenge is the focus of the 24th annual University of Colorado at Boulder Natural Resources Law Center's summer conference. Called "Water, Climate and Uncertainty," the conference will be held June 11-13 at the Fleming Law Building on the Boulder campus.
Bennett W. Raley, assistant secretary of the interior for water and science, will deliver the keynote lecture on June 12 at 7 p.m. in the Lindsley Memorial Courtroom. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Leading political, legal, academic, scientific and resource management professionals will share information and ideas and look to find solutions to water supply problems," said Doug Kenney, research associate at the center and conference organizer.
An area of major concern, said Kenney, is the impact of climate variability and climate change on water supplies.
"One of the keys to getting through a drought with a minimum amount of harm is to have an idea of when the drought is starting," said Kenney. "With a little more cooperation between the research community and the management community that sort of problem can be addressed."
Both short-term climate variability and long-term climate change impact natural resources in a variety of significant ways, said Kenney, and advances in climate science and forecasting offer increasingly valuable insights into what the future may hold.
According to Kenney, goals for the participants are to:
- Learn how current conditions compare to past climatic eras and to projected regimes of temperature, precipitation and water runoff.
- Explore how future climatic variability might influence a variety of western water challenges, including endangered species, the management of interstate and international transboundary conflicts and long-range planning.
- Identify emerging legal issues and likely areas of litigation and legislative activity.
- Review ongoing experiments and partnerships in the West linking climate research to water management.
- Understand how water managers and decision makers can make better use of climate information.
- Contemplate changing needs for development and operation of water facilities.
- Learn how climate variability and change could affect tribal interests.
- Explore legal, administrative and market-based mechanisms for dealing with climatic uncertainty.
- Understand ways in which climate science and climatic uncertainty influences the shape of western water law, policy and management.
The event is open to the public and faculty, staff and students at CU-Boulder. There is a registration fee for participants and continuing legal education credits are available for practicing lawyers. A complete conference schedule and costs are posted at or call (303) 492-1288 for information.
Note to Editors: Members of the press are welcome to attend without charge. To arrange, call Doug Kenney at (303) 492-1296. An accompanying news release provides more information on Bennett Raley's keynote lecture.