From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Jack Flobeck):
Years ago, Mary Lou Smith of Fort Collins gave presentations on “Collaboration,” as an alternative to compromise or capitulation. Most of the water folks who heard Mary Lou learned that most times a compromise ensured that one side of the question or even both sides, would be mad and feel cheated by the negotiated decision.
But, when they found some common ground and participated in discovery and equilibrium, they all felt like they had contributed to the decision.
To amplify the collaboration story, we should consider the advantages of working in groups with wide experiences and skills. Think of the pain that could have been avoided if there had been just a single scientist, economist, or a plain old rancher with horse sense; at Bishop’s Lodge, N.M.; in 1922 when a cadre of attorneys ‘guaranteed’ the lower basin states 7.5 million acre feet a year of Colorado River water, when we could have agreed to 50 percent of what was in the river at that time. Every water study group should have some bedrock advisers, as well as scientists, biologists, engineers, hydrologists, and yes, dam experts.
What does 2014 hold for us in the arid West? Part of the answer is certainly local, but a great part is definitely national, as the overall national economy will determine our ability to borrow, construct, or divert.