Water negotiators, river enthusiasts, Native tribes and lots of lawyers convened at the University of Colorado Law School on Thursday to take stock of the future of the dwindling Colorado River.
Here are five things KUNC's water and environment reporter learned on the first day of the gathering.
There's a thirst for treating the river as more than something to be consumed, and monetized and stretched out
Dale Sinquah, a tribal council member for Arizona's Hopi tribe, is among a growing number of people who view the Colorado as a living being that should have the same rights as a person.
"If you look at it at that level and you allow it to, then it starts changing the ways in which you think about it, and maybe your actions," he said.
Late last year, the Colorado River Indian Tribes of Arizona and California voted to give their namesake waterway the same legal rights as a person, saying the 'living being' deserves more protection while it's being threatened by overuse and drought.
Sinquah said he had mixed reviews of the discussions at the water conference halfway through the first day.
"I'm kind of wondering if we're stuck in that mode where you know personal interest (is winning) instead of how do we fix this as a whole, as a group," he said. "It works better when you work together as a group."
There's still no finalized federal plan for the river yet, and the White House could have the final say…
Scott Cameron, the acting commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation overseeing the operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, said the Interior Department is expecting to publish a short term operating plan for the reservoirs by "mid-summer."
He said the plan would have to be renegotiated every two years and could be replaced at any time with one that the seven states can agree on.
"The good news is that the White House is very interested in what's going on with the Colorado, so we'll probably have to brief the White House on the (Secretary of the Interior's) decision before it's final," Cameron said.
River negotiations are ongoing, but details are scarce...
First governors from all seven states in the river basin were summoned to Washington, DC, ahead of the Feb. 14 deal deadline they missed.
Then, after that didn't work, came the Microsoft Teams meeting.
Scott Cameron, the acting commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently talked with the seven governors again on the virtual meeting platform.
"The fact that he is trying to wrangle his gubernatorial colleagues twice, I think, indicates how seriously Secretary Burgum takes what's happening in the Colorado River," Cameron said.
However, no deal has yet to materialize as the states remain at an impasse, and some in the upper basin have called for a different mediator to intervene.
One thing is clear.
Forecasts for the river have gotten worse in recent months. And there was an acknowledgement that the status quo is not sustainable.
Could the feds get more involved in the management of upper basin reservoirs like Flaming Gorge? The answer is murky…
The audience asked Cameron, the Bureau of Reclamation official, about his thinking on how Interior should manage four large reservoirs in the upper basin that are collectively known as the upper initial units (they include Flaming Gorge on the Wyoming-Utah border).
Flaming Gorge is currently being partially drained so water can be sent down to Lake Powell so it doesn't get so low that it stops producing hydropower.
Cameron said the Interior Secretary could exert more control over the reservoirs in the future in the event of an "emergency."
"And what an emergency is, I think, is probably in the eyes of the beholder," he said. "Now, you put four or five lawyers in a room. You'll probably get nine answers on how much discretion the secretary has or doesn't have in the upper initial units."
It's not all doom and gloom…
Author Zak Podmore, known for his recent book Life After Deadpool, wowed the audience with a photo slideshow of what's happening in Glen Canyon as drought takes water levels lower and lower in Lake Powell.
Parts of the lake that have only recently been uncovered are full of old beer cans and other relics of boating escapades, including sunken boats.
But deeper down, Podmore shared photos of Native artifacts that have survived decades of being submerged.
New ecosystems are also taking shape.
This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
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