Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 1999
ISSN
0028-0739
Publisher
University of New Mexico School of Law
Language
en-US
Abstract
Looking back at the drought of 1996 and at the efforts to protect endangered species in the midst of the drought, the most glaring fact remains that the water managers and users of the Rio Grande were in crisis management. In fact, despite some efforts, if the drought had manifested with equal or greater intensity in 1997, we would have remained in crisis management. Hence, as we move forward and examine lessons learned, the most vital premise we must return to is the imperative for balance as we undertake the precarious task of allocating water to protect endangered species, serve traditional uses, and provide for an ever increasing urban populace. This balance must be struck amidst the growing conflict between urban and agricultural water users and water use by the plants and wildlife of the natural environment. This is a conflict not just between users and uses but also between values. The danger in seeking this elusive balance, a danger exacerbated by crisis management, is to swing too far in one direction. We must be wary of this tendency.
Recommended Citation
Maria O'Brien,
Shortage and Tension on the Upper Rio Grande: Protecting Endangered Species during Times of Drought, Comments from the Perspective of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
,
in
39
Natural Resources Journal
145
(1999).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2127
Included in
Environmental Law Commons, Land Use Law Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons
