Taylor Hawes - Innovative Conservation in the Colorado River Basin
Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson
The Colorado River Crisis
"We are in a crisis right now, but it didn't happen overnight. This has been building for many years," he says. "It's hotter here in western Colorado and in eastern Utah than anywhere else in the lower 48." The laws that we passed back in 1922 have not adapted quickly enough to adapt to these changes We're seeing in our climate,. But we haven’t made the changes in our laws to increase the flexibility to allow us to adapt to our new situation".
Taylor Hawes is the Director of the Colorado River Program for the Nature Conservancy. As the leader of the program, she guides TNC’s efforts to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of the Colorado River Basin while also meeting human demands for water– challenging objectives given the wide-ranging stresses facing the river today. But despite the challenges brought about by climate change, overallocation, and increasing demand, Taylor and her team are making great strides toward finding long-term solutions to create a sustainable future for the Colorado River and the people, plants, and animals that depend on it.
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Taylor grew up on the east coast, and, from a young age, she felt a deep connection to land, water, and natural resources. She fell in love with wide-open spaces while on a course with the National Outdoor Leadership School, and she’s devoted her career to protecting land and water in the West. Prior to joining the team at TNC, she served as Associate Counsel to the Colorado River Water Conservation District on Colorado’s Western Slope, working on water quality, water policy, environmental permitting, and water rights litigation.
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If you pay attention to the news, then you’ll know that the Colorado River has been receiving tons of media attention for the dire conditions and projections facing the entire region. Reservoirs are at historic lows, temperatures are rising, and the need for more water is increasing. In the first part of this conversation, I ask Taylor to decipher many of the surface-level sound bytes that I’ve heard in the news, and she provides some much-needed context and background regarding the river basin’s current challenges. We then talk about how TNC is working to solve these problems, by building community support, working collaboratively with Tribal nations, and helping agricultural producers become more efficient. And we spend the last part of the conversation talking about Taylor’s professional journey– why she chooses to do this work, what gives her hope, and her goals for her work on the Colorado River.
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This was a timely conversation, and I hope it sheds some light on the challenges facing the Colorado River today– and provides some optimism about the river’s future. Thanks to Taylor for taking the time to chat, and thank you for listening.
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- Taylor Hawes
- TNC's Colorado River work
- Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/taylor-hawes/
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This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.
On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West.
To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- 3:15 - An overview of the situation regarding Colorado River water
- 8:00 - Discussing the “bandaid” solutions for the overallocated Colorado River implemented over the years
- 10:45 - Who is making the water allocation decisions for the Colorado River
- 12:00 - The breakdown of water use in the West
- 16:45 - Why has this situation has become an emergency right now, meriting the involvement of the federal government
- 19:30 - The timeline of Colorado river use reduction mandates
- 21:30 - The potential impacts of shrinking Colorado River on the Grand Canyon
- 23:00 - What will happen if the Colorado River Basin states do not agree on a plan to reduce water use in accordance with federal mandates
- 24:45 - How Taylor focuses on solutions regarding such a complex, difficult-to-model problem
- 28:30 - Some strategies TNC is employing to support and work with producers in reducing their water use
- 35:00 - Discussing the difficulties and importance of relationship building in this work
- 40:15 - TNC’s work supporting Tribal water challenges
- 44:45 - What drives Taylor’s work and what are her goals
- 47:00 - How Taylor ended up doing this work
- 53:45 - How law school helped Taylor
- 55:45 - What keeps Taylor energized about her work and TNC
- 58:15 - How anybody can get involved in this work
- 1:02:00 - Taylor’s book recommendations
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