Robbins was honored for his longtime service to water interests in the state, including his yeoman work on Kansas v. Colorado. Click on the thumbnail graphic for my photo of Robbins and some of the past recipients.
When accepting the award Robbins underscored the need to keep all of Colorado’s entitlements under the various compacts in Colorado for future generations of Coloradans to be put to use as they see fit.
Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
David Robbins, president and co-founder of the Denver law firm of Hill & Robbins, was awarded the Wayne N. Aspinall water leader of the year award at the 54th annual CWC convention…
“We should not give away a drop of water that this state needs,” Robbins said, upon receiving the award. “We owe it to future generations.”[…]
In the Arkansas River basin, he was the attorney for the state of Colorado during the 24-year Kansas v. Colorado U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Arkansas River Compact. He also represented Colorado Springs through a contentious permitting process for the Southern Delivery System…
While with the attorney general’s office, he defended the state’s in-stream flow program that protects water for the environment.
More Colorado Water Congress coverage here and here (Twitter).