Upper Colorado River Basin Water Conference November 8-9, 2012

David Graf, Colorado Parks & Wildlife (Moderator)

David Graf currently works as Regional Water Specialist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Grand Junction. In this capacity he roughly splits time between overseeing a portfolio of CPW water rights used on State properties on the western slope, and integrating his hydrologic expertise with general knowledge in aquatic species conservation, riparian restoration, and fluvial geomorphology to promote water stewardship on behalf of aquatic species. He currently serves as CPW liaison to the four west slope Basin Roundtables, and serves as an Advisory Council member to the Water Center at CMU. He has prior experience in the private sector as a hydrologic consultant, and has taught high school math, built houses, and sold retail gear to sustain interests in a variety of outdoor activities.

Jayne Belnap, Research Ecologist, United States Geological Survey, Moab

Dr. Jayne Belnap has been a scientist with the Department of Interior in Moab, Utah since 1987. Her scientific work has focused on how different land uses (such as hiking, biking, military training, livestock grazing, and energy exploration/development) affects the stability and fertility of desert soils and how the interaction of climate change and land use will influence these landscapes. Most recently, her studies have focused on factors controlling dust production from low elevation lands. Dr. Belnap has published over 200 papers on this work.

Chris Landry, Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, Colorado Dust-on-Snow Program

Chris Landry has been the Executive Director for the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies since its founding in 2003, in Silverton, CO. In that role, Landry identified and then developed the CSAS’s Senator Beck Basin Study Area on Red Mountain Pass in the San Juan Mountains, at Red Mountain Pass. CSAS and its Senator Beck Basin have since become a venue for interdisciplinary American and international snow system research, long-term mountain system monitoring, field education, international dust-on-snow workshops, and the home base for the Colorado Dust-On-Snow program (CODOS), a state-wide dust-on-snow and mountain snowmelt monitoring program providing operational monitoring and analysis services to the Colorado water management community.

Eric Gordon, Western Water Assessment, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

As Managing Director, Eric is responsible for WWA's overall program administration and management, coordinating the research agenda, and other logistical and outreach activities. In addition, he helps WWA researchers engage in interdisciplinary work and collects lessons learned across the program to help inform WWA’s funding agency and others about the development of regional climate services.

Prior to joining WWA, Eric received his Master’s in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also possesses significant policy and political experience from six years spent serving as a legislative director and legislative aide on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, where he specialized in working on environmental and energy issues. Eric holds a Bachelor’s in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ben Livneh, Western Water Assessment, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Ben grew up in Canada, where he started his education. Later, he got his Ph.D. degree from the University of Washington, in Seattle. Most recently, he started working with Western Water Assessment in August of this year. His main research interests are in Hydrologic modeling, flood and drought prediction, and land-atmosphere interactions

10:15am – Meeting Environmental Water Needs in Cooperation with Other Uses

Amy W. Beatie, Esq.: Executive Director, Colorado Water Trust

Amy began her tenure at the Colorado Water Trust in 2007, after nearly six years practicing water litigation at two different Front Range water law firms. Prior to practicing water litigation, she clerked for the Honorable Gregory J. Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court. While in law school, she helped found the University of Denver Water Law Review, and eventually served as its Editor-in-Chief. She now sits on its Advisory Board, as well as the Advisory Board of Metro State University’s One World One Water Center. She has lived in Colorado since 1993 (with the exception of two detours took her for a year and half to Alaska and Wyoming). She's also a fourth generation kid to a farm in Maine that still uses her grandfather’s 1935 Ford Phaeton to get around.

George Moss Driscoll, Esq., for the Roaring Fork Conservancy

Moss is a water attorney who has been involved with the Roaring Fork Conservancy since 2006, assisting with the development and implementation of the Roaring Fork Watershed Plan. Moss received his B.A. from Rhodes College and his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law. Currently, Moss is working as a water contract specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

David Graf, Colorado Parks & Wildlife

David Graf currently works as Regional Water Specialist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Grand Junction. In this capacity he roughly splits time between overseeing a portfolio of CPW water rights used on State properties on the western slope, and integrating his hydrologic expertise with general knowledge in aquatic species conservation, riparian restoration, and fluvial geomorphology to promote water stewardship on behalf of aquatic species. He currently serves as CPW liaison to the four west slope Basin Roundtables, and serves as an Advisory Council member to the Water Center at CMU. He has prior experience in the private sector as a hydrologic consultant, and has taught high school math, built houses, and sold retail gear to sustain interests in a variety of outdoor activities.

11:00 - Colorado Basin Agriculture Being Creative with its Water- Moderator: Denis Reich, Colorado Water Institute

Denis Reich, Colorado Water Institute (Moderator)

Denis Reich has worked since 2008 as the Water Resources Specialist for Colorado State University in Western Colorado. A native of Sydney Australia, he not only talks funny but is no stranger to water scarcity, and other water resource issues. Having graduated from the University of Sydney in Chemical Engineering in 1996 he worked for a number of years around the world in Drinking and Waste Water treatment including a four year stint in North America. Suffering a premature mid-life crisis he attended Graduate School at Iowa State University in 2004 completing a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Economics before commencing his current role in Grand Junction. Denis’s work on the West Slope focuses mostly on agriculture’s role in water quality issues such as salinity, and its participation in Colorado’s water future both at the local level and as part of the state’s planning process. He writes articles and the occasional blog about water that show up periodically in local newspapers and newsletters. He also went to Afghanistan this year to work with some Afghani Extension folks and really enjoyed it.

Taylor Hawes, The Nature Conservancy

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Taylor received a B.A. in political science from University of North Carolina in 1991 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Vermont Law School in 1997. Taylor serves as the Colorado River Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. The Program’s goal is to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of the Colorado River Basin while also meeting human demands for water. Her responsibilities include coordinating TNC’s freshwater conservation efforts across the Colorado River Basin, synthesizing priority strategies, and working with key stakeholders who are critical to conservation success across the Colorado River Basin. Taylor has worked on Colorado River issues for more than 15 years. She practiced water, local government, water quality, and land use law on Colorado’s Western Slope before joining the Conservancy. She currently serves on the Colorado Water Trust board and is a Governor appointee to Colorado’s Inter-basin Compact Committee.

Jennifer Pitt, Environmental Defense Fund

Jennifer Pitt is the Colorado River Project Director for Environmental Defense Fund. She works with Colorado River water users throughout the Colorado River basin—including seven states in the United States and two in Mexico—to develop practical programs to restore river habitats and to provide water for environmental resources.  She has worked as a park ranger and a Congressional aide, and has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University.

Peter Taylor, Department of Sociology, Colorado State University

Peter Leigh Taylor is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University. His research interests lie in environmental governance and community-based natural resource governance, including how people organize formally and informally to manage their forest and water resources.

Paul Kehmeier, Irrigator & Farmer in Eckert, CO

Paul Kehmeier farms with his father in Eckert Colorado. His family has been raising crops in that location for about 120 years. He currently irrigates 150 acres of farmland. The Kehmeier family owns a reservoir on Grand Mesa and has some of the most senior water rights on Grand Mesa for both decree water and reservoir water. Mr. Kehmeier holds a Master’s of Science degree in the field of Natural Resources from Colorado State University. His current interests include soil health, responsible irrigation practices, and growing beautiful fields of alfalfa.

1:30 – Understanding and Managing Water Availability and Streamflows

Russell Walker, Professor of Environmental Restoration, Colorado Mesa University (Moderator)

Russ Walker has served as a professor of Environmental Science at Colorado Mesa University since 1993, and as the head of the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences since 2005. Among the courses he teaches are Pollution Control, Pollution Investigation and Monitoring, Environmental Risk Analysis, Water Quality, Restoration of Aquatic Systems, and Applied Atmospheric Science. His research efforts focus on applied projects that help solve local problems. Past examples include a risk assessment of the effects of natural gas development on the people of Garfield County, and a pilot-scale treatability study for removal of selenium from water using a passive bioreactor. Walker received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Additional experience includes work on the local uranium mill tailings remediation project (Rust Geotech, 1990-1993) and Superfund cleanups (Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, 1986-1990).

Fred Ogden, Cline Distinguished Chair of Engineering, Environment and Natural Resources,Department of Civil& Architectural Engineering and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming

Dr. Fred Ogden is the University of Wyoming's Cline Distinguished Chair of Engineering, Environment and Natural Resources. He helped develop the physics-based watershed model used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was a Principal Investigator on the Panama Canal Watershed Experiment through the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and is a Principle Investigator for CI-WATER.

Ryan McShane, Ph. D. student in Ecology, Colorado State University

Ryan is a PhD student in Ecology at Colorado State University. His current research focuses on applying hydro-geomorphic disturbance regimes in rivers to distribution models of aquatic and riparian species in the western US, with emphasis on the potential use of water infrastructure to manage the effects of climate change. Previously as a master’s student in New Mexico, he researched the effects of flow intermittency on competitive interactions of native and non-native fishes in streams. Before then, he had worked as a fishery biologist in Nevada, studying the ecological requirements of aquatic species of concern and the effects of hydrologic alteration.

Gary L. Gianniny, Professor of Geosciences, Fort Lewis College

Dr. Gary Gianniny is a Professor of Geosciences at Fort Lewis College in Durango Colorado where he collaborates with Dr. Cynthia Dott in the Biology Department on the interactions of fluvial sedimentation, floodplain aquifers, and riparian plant communities. Currently the team has research with their undergraduate students on the Animas, San Juan, and Dolores Rivers in southwestern Colorado and Southeastern Utah. Gianniny has also worked on the stratigraphic controls on aquifers associated with coal bed methane in southwest Colorado, the Snake River plain in southeast Idaho, and the karst aquifers of eastern Wisconsin. He currently teaches a very popular interdisciplinary course on global water issues entitled “Rivers of Thirst”.

2:15 – Strategies for engaging the public and specific constituencies on regional water issues

Jeff Sellen, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Western State Colorado University (Moderator)

Jeff Sellen is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Western State Colorado University, where he teaches classes in U.S. and global environmental politics and policy and water policy. He is also the Director of the Colorado Water Workshop, which is held annually in July in Gunnison.

Kristing Maharg, Program Manager, Colorado Foundation for Water Education

Kristin works within the Colorado Foundation for Water Education’s educational programs, informing Colorado citizens on water uses and values. Kristin realizes the power of a healthy water supply to improve a community's well-being. She has worked in various capacities to design and deliver watershed education programs, such as a community-driven wetland restoration project in New Orleans. Kristin received a BS in Wildlife Ecology and Spanish and an MS in Water Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her shenanigan time, she enjoys live music, climbing tall rocks and home-grown meals with her hubby and friends.Kristin also plays a mean cowbell when it's time to get people back on the bus.

Zak Podmore, Colorado College State of the Rockies Project

Zak grew up in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and came to appreciate the waters of the Rocky Mountains during childhood raft trips through the sandstone canyons of Colorado and Utah. Driven by a life-long fascination with desert rivers, he is currently working to gain a deeper understanding of the Colorado River basin by investigating water issues facing Southwestern communities and by paddling the rivers that fuel them. He graduated from Colorado College in 2011 with a degree in Philosophy.

Richard Van Gytenbeek, Colorado River Basin Outreach Coordinator, Trout Unlimited

As Trout Unlimited’s Colorado River Basin Outreach Coordinator, Richard is responsible for enlisting support for healthy rivers in the Colorado River Basin from local agricultural interests, sportsman groups and river dependant businesses. Richard is educated as a Fisheries Biologist (BS-Humboldt State Univ.) and as a Landscape Architect (MLA-Univ. Colorado at Denver). He recently relocated to Grand Junction, CO from Jackson, WY where he practiced as a licensed LA for 27 years specializing in rural planning, stream restoration and wetland design. While in Jackson he was a long time planning commissioner for Teton County and spent six years as a board member for the Jackson Hole Land Trust.

3:30 - Nuts & Bolts of Municipal Conservation: Promising Strategies

Greg Trainor, Director, Public Works, Utilities and Planning, City of Grand Junction (Moderator)

Currently the Public Works, Utility and Planning Director for the City of Grand Junction , Greg Trainor has been closely associated with water for most of his career in Colorado municipal government. Greg has held positions with the City of Colorado Springs as the assistant to the Utility Director, Town Manager for the Town of Rangely in Northwest Colorado, Job Site Coordinator with Atlantic Richfield Companyduring the planning and construction of the Battlement Mesa New Town, and as Project Manager for the Colorado River Water Conservation District’s Taylor Draw Dam near Rangely Colorado.

The City of Grand Junction’s Public Works Department provides water, wastewater and solid waste services to residents of the City of Grand Junction. In addition to engineering planning service, it is responsible for the City’s storm water and street maintenance programs.

Greg presently serves on the Colorado River Basin Roundtable, representing Mesa County municipalities, is the Past-president of United Way of Mesa County, and an officer in the Southwest Chapter of the River Management Society.

Greg graduated from Colorado State University in 1970 with a BA in Political Science and History. In 1972 he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Masters in Public Administration.

Dan Stellar, Water Division Director, Center for ReSource Conservation, Boulder, CO

Dan Stellar currently serves as the Water Division Director for the Center for ReSource Conservation.  In this capacity, he oversees water conservation projects across Colorado and works closely with most major water providers in the Front Range.  Prior to joining CRC, Dan was the Assistant Director of the Columbia Water Center, a program of the Earth Institute, Columbia University.  In this role he managed water projects around the world, with a particular focus on work in India.  He has written and spoken about water issues for a range of audiences, and he currently serves on the board of Colorado WaterWise.  Dan has a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts.  He is an avid runner and has completed 4 marathons and dozens of half-marathons.

Sybil Sharvelle, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University

Dr. Sybil Sharvelle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a member of the Environmental Engineering focus area. Her research interests include water reuse (graywater and reclaimed water), integrated urban water management, and waste conversion to energy. Sybil contributes to the CSU Institute for Livestock and Environment with the goal of finding practical, economical solutions to minimize environmental impacts from the livestock industry. Dr. Sharvelle received a Ph.D. from Purdue University, where her research involved design and optimization of a biotrickling filter for simultaneous treatment of graywater and waste gas. A major component of this research effort was to examine the fate of surfactants in the biotrickling filter. While pursuing a M.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado, Dr. Sharvelle optimized the nitrification and denitrification steps in a biological processor for treatment of wastewater highly concentrated with ammonia.
4:00 - Municipal Water Use – How Far Can/ Should we go with Conservation to Meet Future Needs?

Drew Beckwith, Western Resource Advocates

As Western Resource Advocates water policy manager, Drew works with water utilities, state officials, and partner organizations to find sustainable ways to meet human water needs. He is responsible for WRA’s efforts to advance water conservation and efficiency efforts across the Interior West. So far this year, his family’s water use is averaging 65 gpcd.

Ken Ransford, Colorado Basin Roundtable member

Ken Ransford is an attorney and CPA from Basalt who has been attending the Colorado Basin Roundtable meetings since they started in 2005 as a concerned citizen.  He is the secretary and recreational representative to the Colorado Basin Roundtable.  He has created a series of spreadsheets that allow the user to estimate future demand based on gallons used per day by Colorado inhabitants. 

November 9

8:00 – Colorado River Basin Study: Analysis and Conclusions

Gigi Richard, Associate Professor of Geology, Director of the Water Center, Colorado Mesa University (Moderator)

Gigi Richard is currently an Associate Professor of Geology at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in Grand Junction, CO in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty Director of the Water Center at CMU. She holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Colorado State University in hydraulic engineering and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gigi created the Watershed Science program at CMU and teaches water science and environmental geology classes. Her research on human impacts on rivers systems includes the study of downstream impacts of dams and levees on rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and New Zealand. Recent work has focused on better understanding the hydrology and morphology of intermittent streams in western Colorado and on the need for peak flows to maintain the channel form of the Yampa and Dolores Rivers in western Colorado. A resident of Colorado for 23 years, Gigi has experience in private engineering consulting and served on water quality and land use planning commissions in Summit County, Colorado from 1990 to 1996.

Carly Jerla, Water Resources Engineer, US Bureau of Reclamation

Carly Jerla is a Hydraulic Engineer for Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region in the Boulder Canyon Operations Office. She is currently on assignment to the University of Colorado’s Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water & Environmental Systems in Boulder, Colo. Carly obtained a BS Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a BS Degree in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in 2002. She also earned her MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado in 2005. Carly was an integral part of technical team that developed the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and leads the Region’s research and development of modeling

applications and decision support for water operations and planning. Carly has been with the Study since its inception and was named the Reclamation Co-Study Manager in November 2011.

9:45 - Colorado River Basin Study: Responses and Interpretations

Hannah Holm, Coordinator, Water Center at Colorado Mesa University (Moderator)

Hannah Holm is the coordinator of the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University, which promotes research, education and dialogue to address the water challenges facing the Upper Colorado River Basin. She previously worked on drinking water protection issues for Western Colorado Congress, served on her local watershed group board in Pennsylvania, and staffed natural resource committees for the North Carolina legislature. She has a joint Master's degree in Community & Regional Planning and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program Director, The Nature Conservancy

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Taylor received a B.A. in political science from University of North Carolina in 1991 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Vermont Law School in 1997. Taylor serves as the Colorado River Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. The Program’s goal is to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of the Colorado River Basin while also meeting human demands for water. Her responsibilities include coordinating TNC’s freshwater conservation efforts across the Colorado River Basin, synthesizing priority strategies, and working with key stakeholders who are critical to conservation success across the Colorado River Basin. Taylor has worked on Colorado River issues for more than 15 years. She practiced water, local government, water quality, and land use law on Colorado’s Western Slope before joining the Conservancy. She currently serves on the Colorado Water Trust board and is a Governor appointee to Colorado’s Inter-basin Compact Committee.

Marc Waage, Manager of Water Resources Planning, Denver Water

Marc Waage leads the water resources planning section of Denver Water which is responsible for long range water planning, watershed planning and planning for climate change adaptation. Marc also works on technical and policy issues through the Front Range Water Council, Metro Water Roundtable and the Water Utility Climate Alliance. Prior to working in water resources planning, Marc directed the operation of Denver Water’s extensive water collectionsystem for twenty years. Early in his career, Marc worked for the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on irrigation projects in Colorado and Montana. Marc has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and is a professional engineer. Marc likes to spend his free time recreating in Denver’s high mountain watersheds.

Dave Kanzer, Senior Water Resources Engineer, Colorado River Water Conservation District

Even though he grew up in the humid northeast, Kanzer was acutely aware of water resource issues well before he moved to the arid west in 1980 to pursue his dream to become a professional ski bum. However, since then, and specifically over the last 17 years, Kanzer has worked to further understand the hugely complex web of water quality and quantity issues facing the Colorado River Basin, now as a Senior Water Resources Engineer for the Colorado River District located in Glenwood Springs. As part of his diverse duties, Kanzer focuses on big picture issues of the Colorado River Basin and is a member of the Project Team of the Colorado River Basin Study along with numerous cooperating agencies and partners. Kanzer holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, lives in Glenwood Springs, and still aspires to be a ski bum.

Philip Lopez, Esq. White & Jankowski, LLP

Philip Lopez is a sixth-generation native of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, where he received a first-hand introduction to the complexities of Colorado water law while irrigating on the family cattle ranch.   He graduated from Adams State College in 2004, and the University of Colorado Law School in 2008.   During law school, Philip worked as a law clerk for the Natural Resources Division of the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and for Governor Ritter's Office of Legal Counsel.   From 2008 to 2010, he practiced with the law firm of Lester, Sigmond, Rooney & Schwiesow in Alamosa, Colorado, where he practiced in the areas of water law, municipal law, and general civil litigation.   Philip joined White & Jankowski as an associate in 2010, where his practice emphasizes water rights and natural resources law.  He has represented a wide variety of clients, both public and private, in litigation involving adjudication of new surface and ground water rights, changes of water rights, augmentation plans, diligence proceedings and abandonment proceedings.  Philip’s practice also includes transactional matters involving the purchase and sale of water rights, as well as title review and opinions.

Jared Hansen, Project Manager, Central Utah Water Conservancy District

Jared D. Hansen, P.E., Project Manager at Central Utah Water Conservancy District, has been with the District for the past nine years, working primarily with facility operation and maintenance, raw water supply, and water rights. Much of this work is directly affected by Colorado River issues. Jared graduated from Brigham Young University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining the District, he worked as a Hydraulic Engineer for 12 years in the Provo Area Office of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Jared is active in the community, currently serving as Commander of the Utah County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team.

Carroll Multz, Professor of Law and Ethics, Colorado Mesa University, and former US Commissioner and Chairman, Upper Colorado River Commission

Dr. Multz is an Adjunct Professor in both the Business and Mass Communications Departments at Colorado Mesa University teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. His specialized courses include Business Law I and II, Business Ethics, Advanced Business Law & Ethics, and Journalism Law & Ethics. A trial lawyer for over forty years, a former two-term District Attorney, Assistant Attorney General, and Judge, Dr. Multz has authored or coauthored over a dozen books and technical manuals including five novels. Over fifty of his articles have appeared in various legal publications. Early in his career, Dr. Multz was a water attorney and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as United States Commissioner and Chairman of the Upper Colorado River Commission, a position he held until 1995. In 1999, he was appointed by Colorado Governor Bill Owens to serve on the Colorado River Advisory Council where he served until 2003. He is a frequent speaker at various conferences, symposiums and seminars.

1:00 – State approaches to meeting future needs in the context of uncertain hydrology and obligations under the Colorado River Basin Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact

1Chris Treese, Manager of External Affairs, Colorado River District (Moderator)

Chris Treese is the Manager of External Affairs for the Colorado River Water Conservation District, more commonly known as the River District. Chris manages a department that is responsible for the River District’s legislative and regulatory governmental relations in Denver and D.C. as well as the District’s water education and public information efforts. In short, Chris describes his job responsibilities as everything you don’t want lawyers and engineers doing – including moderating upper basin state representatives on the future of the Colorado River. Chris moved from Denver to the wetter, better side of Colorado in 1982 to be the boomtown advisor for Union Oil’s oil shale project. He now lives in Glenwood Springs. He and his wife have a 20-year old daughter attending CU Colorado Springs. When not working, he pretends his knees can still bike, rock climb, ski, and play ice hockey. Chris has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Economics, which he finds largely irrelevant to his current work.

Jennifer Gimbel, Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board

As the director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Jennifer carries out the policies and directives of the Board relating to the conservation, development and utilization of the state’s water resources, and works closely with the State Engineer, General Assembly, the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources, and the Governor on water resource issues for the State of Colorado. She acts as the representative for the state on interstate and intrastate water issues, including issues relating to flood control, water conservation and drought planning, water information, river restoration and environmental aspects of water management. As Director, she is involved with federal and state legislation pertaining to water resources and represents the State of Colorado on commissions and entities such as the Arkansas River Compact Administration, the Upper Colorado River Commission, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, the Western States Water Council, and the Missouri Basin States Association.

Jennifer has over 20 years experience as a water attorney, working first for the Wyoming Attorney General and then for the Colorado Attorney General on water, natural resource, and environmental issues. Before accepting the Director position, Jennifer worked for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation on Indian water rights, collaborative efforts on the Middle Rio Grande In New Mexico, and state and federal water rights issues.

Dennis Strong, Director, Utah Division of Water Resources

Mr. Strong is a native of Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. degree in civil engineering, and is a registered professional engineer.

Dennis started working for the Utah Division of Water Resources in 1975 as a Water Resources engineer; and in March of 2006, he was appointed the Director of the Division. He manages a staff involved in the planning, conservation, development and protection of Utah's water resources. Mr. Strong is Utah's Interstate Streams Commissioner and serves on both the Bear River and Upper Colorado River Commissions. He is a member of the Western States Water Council and Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and is the Governor's representative on Colorado River issues.

Estevan Lopez, Director, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission

Estevan López was appointed as the Director of the Interstate Stream Commission by Governor Bill Richardson in January 2003. He also serves as the Deputy State Engineer. López is a registered professional engineer in New Mexico. He served as County Manager for Santa Fe County from 2001 to 2002. He was the Land Use and Utility Director for Santa Fe County from 1997 to 2000. A native New Mexican, he has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from New Mexico Tech, in Socorro.