Western Slope taking a dim view of exports

By CHRIS WOODKATHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

BASALT - While the Arkansas River basin celebrates its supplementary supply of water now being imported in sheets, the basin where that water chiefly comes from is raising concerns about its own water supply.

Water users in the Roaring Fork basin staged a summit of sorts Tuesday to consider the state of their watershed, an aspen-leaf shaped area of 1,453 square miles that, coincidentally, has Aspen at its heart.

Those who spoke at the meeting emphasized that leaving water in the river for recreational purposes is an important benefit to the Western Slope.

“We have to change the mindset we have in Colorado that water left in the river is a waste,” said Ken Neubecker, president of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/05/13/news/local/doc4a0a598657d15540868905.txt