Kenney, Douglas S.聽 2020. The Changing Fate of Western Rivers: The Case of the Colorado. IN: The聽Environmental Politics and Policy of Western Public Lands (edited by Erika Allen Wolters and Brent S. Steel).聽 Corvallis: Oregon State University Press.聽
鈥傗�傗�傗�傗�傗�侷n a volume primarily devoted to western lands, this chapter explores the central role聽played by water resources聽development聽in guiding the development of the region, where John Wesley Powell unsuccessfully lobbied for the organization of western states around watershed boundaries, and where Wallace Stegner famously remarked that聽鈥淲ater is the true wealth in a dry land.鈥澛� Despite聽many laws and policies that largely ignore聽this special connection of land and water, the fate of both is increasingly intertwined by the phenomenon of climate change, something explored herein聽with a case study of the Colorado River.聽In pondering a future driven by water scarcity, Kenney concludes: 鈥淭he traditional notion that water聽development is a necessary precursor to land development and economic expansion is not necessarily invalid, but聽is now much too simplistic. Today, a failure to innovate in the water sector may not merely close the door to future expansion, but聽may threaten the viability of existing economies and communities. Just maintaining聽the status quo is, in many cases, a formidable achievement.鈥澛�