The Arkansas River flows past the Salida SteamPlant Event Center, host of the 2016 Arkansas River Basin Water Forum slated for April 27-28. Registration and sponsorship information for the 22nd annual water forum is at http://www.arbwf.org.
Arkansas River Basin Water Forum sponsors support water education
Colorado poet Thomas Ferril wrote, “Here is a land where life is written in water.” Nowhere in Colorado are Ferril’s words truer than the Arkansas River Basin.
From mountain towns to Front Range businesses and Great Plains farms, life in the Arkansas Basin hangs by a blue ribbon of water in an arid climate, and a confluence of water issues creates a complexity that breeds bewilderment.
The Arkansas River Basin Water Forum will help alleviate that bewilderment April 27-28 in Salida with a wide range of educational presentations, discussions and speakers, including retired Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs.
Now in its 22nd year, the forum has established itself as the signature water education event in the Arkansas Basin. With an expected attendance of 200 people representing agriculture, municipalities, industry, government agencies, and environmental and recreational organizations, the forum offers an educational opportunity ripe with knowledge and diverse perspectives.
Just as important, sponsors contribute to the event’s educational offerings as well as providing financial support for the water forum and its year-round educational efforts.
Water education motivated the San Isabel Land Protection Trust to sponsor the event, as Kristie Nackord, director of development with the land trust, makes clear.
“We believe the water forum is one of the most important annual water education opportunities in our basin…. We’re thrilled to know that money raised through sponsorships goes toward the education of our next generation of water leaders.”
Here in the Arkansas Basin, “where life is written in water,” we know the importance of water, but we may not always understand the complex spectrum of water-related issues.
With its dedication to water education, the water forum and its sponsors serve the citizens of the basin by providing them with the information they need to understand the various colors in the Arkansas Basin’s spectrum of water dilemmas.
This year’s premier $5,000 “Headwaters” sponsor is the Arkansas River Outfitters Association, and AROA representative Bob Hamel offered his take on the event:
“The Forum provides an opportunity for outfitters to personally thank the water community for their support of water’s recreational uses…. The Voluntary Flow Management Plan is a great example of this relationship and is a model that is recognized across the West.”
Through the Voluntary Flow Management Program, various water entities collaborate to sustain upper Arkansas River flows through August 15 each year, significantly extending the rafting and kayaking season on the nation’s most popular stretch of whitewater.
As the land trust and AROA exemplify, the water forum serves a vital function among wide-ranging interests in Arkansas Basin communities, and both Nackord and Hamel agree, financial support for the water forum’s mission is a crucial investment in the future of the Arkansas Basin.
Sponsorship and registration information for the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum is at http://www.arbwf.org.