06/11/2026
Something you may not have heard about in mainstream news…
Big news for the Colorado River.
The Department of the Interior has released $40 million in federal funding to the Colorado River District for the Shoshone Water Rights Preservation Project, bringing the River District to $97 million of the $99 million needed to purchase and permanently protect these critical water rights.
The Shoshone water rights are some of the largest and most senior non-consumptive water rights on the Colorado River. They include senior 1902 and junior 1929 rights that have long helped maintain flows from the Colorado River headwaters through Glenwood Canyon and on to downstream communities.
That matters for agriculture, local economies, recreation, aquatic habitat, and the coldwater conditions wild and native trout need.
Colorado Trout Unlimited has long supported this effort because protecting Shoshone is about more than one stretch of river. It is about long-term water security for Colorado’s namesake river and the communities, ecosystems, and future generations that rely on it.
Every river needs a champion, and the Colorado River has many.
Photo courtesy of The Colorado River District
