Register now for the sixth annual Rio Grande State of the Basin Symposium Saturday, March 30, 2024, on the Adams State University campus. This year’s theme, “Perspectives on Historical Challenges,” will include a keynote address by David Robbins. The event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Adams State Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center, the symposium will begin at 8 a.m. with registration and breakfast in Richardson Hall. The symposium begins with brief introductions and reports by Adams State President David Tandberg, Ph.D., and State Senator Cleave Simpson, general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservations District (RGWCD).
Aracely Chapa, University of New Mexico Center for Regional Studies, presentation and film clips “Acequias: The Legacy Lives On,” begins at 9 a.m. followed by Acequia Associations and Colorado Title 7, Art. 42, speaker TBD.
Following a short break, “History and Context: The Rio Grande Compact,” a panel discussion, will include Attorney David Robbins; Nathan Coombs, Colorado Water Conservation Board; and Colorado Senator Simpson.
Just before lunch, participants will be updated on the ongoing lawsuit between compact states as well as “Prior and Paramount Water Rights” and the position of the middle basin pueblos in the Rio Grande compact.
Participants will then move to the Student Union Building for lunch and keynote address by David Robbins who will discuss prior water grab schemes in the upper basin.
According to hillandrobbins.com, David Robbins is president and co-founder of Hill & Robbins, P.C., where his practice emphasizes the fields of water and natural-resources law, water quality, and environmental law. Since 1981, Mr. Robbins has served as general counsel to the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, where he led efforts to defeat speculative proposals to mine the ground water of the San Luis Valley, AWDI v. City of Alamosa. The actions ultimately resulted in Congressional action on a bill Mr. Robbins initially drafted to create the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
Visit Salazar Center for more information, or to register.
