WRA. Water Resources

Abstract Four States Irrigation Council (FSIC), established in 1952, serves as a resource for those interested or involved in irrigation and water delivery issues in the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska. FSIC hosts annual meetings and summer tours within the four states to explore how to better understand and resolve water issues facing farmers and citizens. The collection consists of documents created in relation to annual meetings, board meetings, and summer tours. Materials mainly...

Abstract Kurt D. Fausch retired in spring 2017 from his position as professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University, where he worked since 1982. His research has focused on stream ecology and human impacts on rivers and has included collaborations throughout western North America as well as in Japan and New Zealand. The collection consists of his teaching materials, related mainly to fish ecology and fishery science, as well as sets of research...

Abstract A civil engineer, Harold G. Evans (b. 1944) served on many Colorado water-related committees, largely focused on policy and planning for Greeley Water and Sewer or the South Platte Basin. Evans' papers pertain to this service, largely on the South Platte Basin Roundtable. Beyond the meetings themselves, the files document water conservation strategies, urban and agricultural water issues, groundwater challenges, and recreational and environmental concerns. Materials include correspondence,...

Abstract Jerry F. Kenny (1955-2018) was a civil engineer who consulted on water and natural resources projects, with a particular focus on the western United States. He worked for Boyle Engineering and later HDR Engineering until he formed Headwaters Corporation and began serving as the executive director of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program. Materials in the collection focus on Kenny's consulting work across the West and include manuals, reports, correspondence, legal documents,...

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Diane Hoppe (1947-2016) served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1999 to 2006. Her service also included the Colorado Foundation for Water Education, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the South Platte Basin Roundtable. The collection consists of Hoppe's files related to these organizations, her political life, and personal artifacts, including a number of the awards she received.

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Roy and Ardyce Johnson owned and operated a family farm near Wiggins, Colorado, between 1960 and 1986. The collection documents the struggles to keep the irrigated farm afloat, including financing with the Federal Land Bank and legal issues related to the use of groundwater. Additionally, the collection covers irrigation systems, the 1980s Farmers' Crisis, and the proposed Narrows Dam. Materials include financial reports, legal documents, letters, maps, and clippings.

Abstract John R. Eckhardt, a civil engineer who holds three degrees from CSU, spent 20 years directing the development and implementation of the Imperial Irrigation District - San Diego County Water Authority Efficiency Conservation and Water Transfer. He previously was the assistant state engineer for Colorado and also worked for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. His collection documents these three areas of work, with the IID activities being most prominent. The collection contains...

Abstract Loretta Lohman served as Colorado's Nonpoint Source Outreach Coordinator from 1999 to 2014. Her nearly 50-year career also included teaching, researching, and consulting for water-related projects primarily in Colorado and the U.S. West. Her research focused on the economic effects of water reuse, salinity, federal reclamation projects, and energy use. The collection contains some of her publications as well as her research files. Material types include reports, articles, proposals, notes,...

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John Porter (1933-2020) was the general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District (Colorado) from 1981 through his retirement in 2002. This collection is entirely digital, comprised of articles, data, and reports, many by Porter, and most concerning the District and its Dolores River Reclamation Project, constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation beginning in 1978.

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The mission of this non-profit organization is to 'protect and restore the Cache la Poudre River.' The group comments on proposed water development projects, sponsors river clean ups, and interacts with the media and citizens. The collection consists of downloads of their website and emails. It is entirely digital.

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The South Platte Forum began in 1989 with a mission focused on promoting a multi-disciplinary exhange of ideas related to improving the management of natural resources in the basin. The group typically holds annual conferences. The collection contains files related to the conferences, including planning and financial documents, presentations, and proceedings, though they are not comprehensive.

Abstract After working as an engineer for private firms in Delta, Colorado, for four years, William P. Stanton joined the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in 1976 where he worked for the next 24 years. The collection focuses on documents Stanton collected and produced throughout his career, with emphasis on floodplain management, flood mitigation and analysis, and weather modification. The collection also includes travel notes and itineraries from a professional trip to Australia and New...

Abstract Hal D. Simpson (b. 1945) worked in the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR) for 34 years, serving as State Engineer from 1992 to 2007. This collection includes materials from Simpson’s time with the Division of Water Resources; meeting agendas, notes, and other materials from his time on the Western States Water Council, particularly from his time as Council Chairman from 2004 to 2006; papers and presentations authored by Simpson; his calendars; and reference materials, comprised...

Abstract A civil engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Colorado State University, Robert Glover (1896-1984) conducted significant research on concrete cooling, dam construction, groundwater flow, and more. The focus of the collection is on the extensive work he did on these subjects. A smaller portion of the collection reflects Glover's personal life in terms of family activities and hobbies, including birding, photography, and environmentalism. Predominant...

Abstract After retiring as an engineer, Charles Fisk researched and wrote a book about Denver's water. The materials in the collection mostly relate to the book Fisk was completing at the end of his life, The Metro Denver Water Story: A Memoir. Subjects primarily relate to the history of Denver and its water, including focus on the South Platte River and the Two Forks project. Predominant material types are photocopies, clippings, drafts, and books as well as two...

Abstract The Climate Data Collection contains more than 140 years, starting in 1872, of climate data which was primarily collected by local weather stations as part of the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program and also by the Mountain States Weather Services and Colorado Amateur Radio Weather Net. The collection consists primarily of weather data from Colorado as well as the Rocky Mountain region and some eastern states. There are also voluminous sets of Denver and Fort Collins,...

Abstract Formed in 1901 to take over several earlier companies, the Arkansas Valley Sugar Beet and Irrigated Land Company operated the Amity Canal System in southeastern Colorado. The company became a subsidiary of the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1910, went through several lawsuits that mutualized the system, and dissolved in 1966. The collection documents the company through materials accumulated in the New York office, including meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, legal and financial...

Abstract Colorado State University's strength in groundwater research evolved naturally from the state's early residents needing information on irrigated agriculture. The data, maps, charts, drafts, correspondence, photographs, final reports, and reference materials that were produced by or collected for these groundwater studies over the years are what comprise the Groundwater Data Collection. Materials relate to the groundwater studies that CSU researchers conducted primarily in eastern Colorado...

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Roland C. "Rolly" Fischer (1928-2016) worked for the Colorado River Water Conservation District for nearly three decades, as secretary-engineer and general manager, retiring in 1996. His collection documents some aspects of the district as well as Colorado water law. It contains reports, letters, publications, photographs, and artifacts.

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Ralph E. "Butch" Clark, III, has lived in Gunnison, Colorado, since 1970 and has long advocated for social justice. The documents here were collected by Clark in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Strategies Group. They document the Gunnison Basin, the Colorado River, and other tributary watersheds through court documents, letters, publications, and reports.