Water in the West

The annual Water in the West Symposium r brought together experts in water policy, science, and politics for its 2020 edition.

While well-known names such as former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and political advisor David Axelrod headlined the 2-day event, ag producers in Colorado watched how discussions considered their needs.

The Symposium is hosted by Colorado State University and sponsored in part by the Colorado Dairy Farmers.

It’s the farmers like Chris Kraft of Kraft Family Dairies near Fort Morgan whose livelihoods depend on the increasingly scarce resource.

Kraft: “Without that, we don’t do what we do. So this is critically important for us.”

Kraft says times have changed with more people living in Colorado and a growing dairy industry making water issues more severe.

Kraft:” We’re interested in all the ways water is being discussed. A lot of the water that we use in on dairy farms in Colorado is historically old water rights, some of them going back to before statehood. Our industry doesn’t exist without that water. We have to have that water and we’re interested in making sure that we’re at the table when these kinds of discussions are going on.

Gary Knell, chairman of National Geographic Partners was asked for his focus on the power of storytelling. A panel discussion focused on how social movements, campaigns, and storytelling shape public sentiment.

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A dialogue between Vilsack and Axelrod concluded the symposium.