Annual Report 2024
WRA has spent decades developing innovative policy solutions and advocating for the Colorado River and the communities, fish, and wildlife that depend on it. Today, we’re at a critical moment in history. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is creating new guidelines for managing the river’s dwindling water. Determined to find deployable solutions, WRA joined forces with six other conservation groups to draw on the latest science, computer modeling, and real-world insights to develop the Cooperative Conservation Alternative. This proposal offers a roadmap for protecting the river and all that depends on it.
The river is a living system with seasonal flows, fragile habitats, fish and wildlife that depend on adequate water — and real limits. That’s why WRA isn’t just addressing what’s happening now, we’re looking decades into the future.
This year, the stakes for the Colorado River couldn’t be higher.
The current rules governing how water shortages are handled expire at the end of the year, forcing a reevaluation of how the river is managed. The Bureau of Reclamation is sifting through alternative proposals, including the Cooperative Conservation Alternative, with the intent to develop new guidelines that address water shortages, manage releases from the nation’s two largest reservoirs, and build resilience to drought and climate change.
WRA is focused on a suite of strategies to protect river health, prioritize reservoir operations that anticipate drought conditions, and encourage innovative conservation methods. Our team of experts transformed years of research and findings into actionable policy recommendations that could stabilize the river for years to come.
Early agreements doled out the river’s water without considering the health of the environment, and without a plan to deal with inevitable and increasingly frequent shortages. Short-term deals to address the water crisis didn’t hold up for long. Under the strain of a hotter, drier climate, even less water will be available in coming decades. We need to reduce water use by at least 25% across the basin to bring the river back into balance. Without bold, cohesive management strategies, the Colorado River risks continued reservoir declines, significant economic and community impacts, and ecological collapse.
The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Interior West, supporting the daily lives of 35 million people, irrigating farms that feed the nation, and fueling a robust recreation economy. Its future depends on our ability to implement equitable and forward-thinking strategies to conserve water and keep the river healthy and flowing.
Building upon years of research, rigorous data analysis, and policy expertise, WRA is a leader in rethinking how to manage the Colorado River — in a way that benefits both people and ecosystems. WRA is focused on three strategies for river management: protecting wildlife habitat, proactively managing reservoirs, and adopting innovative water savings programs.
First, the West depends on a healthy Colorado River. At WRA, we’re advocating for policies that protect the ecosystems we, and other species, all rely on. This includes timing reservoir releases to maximize ecological benefits, including meeting recommended flows for endangered fish, which also has benefits for recreational boating.
Second, instead of waiting for the river’s major reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — to reach emergency levels, WRA proposes adjusting water deliveries based on the best available data like basin-wide reservoir storage and actual river flows. This proactive approach helps stabilize reservoir levels and limit drastic last-minute cuts, while supporting habitat management for endangered fish and wildlife.
The Colorado River is the lifeline of the Interior West, supporting the daily lives of 35 million people, irrigating farms that feed the nation, and fueling a robust recreation economy.
And finally, establishing a water savings account to set aside conserved water and allow it to be moved between the reservoirs could buffer reservoir levels against drought and help maintain healthy river flows throughout the West for endangered fish, for wildlife habitat, and to mimic historic flooding events that rebuild sandbars and beaches.
WRA is advocating for key elements of these strategies to be included in the new guidelines because they have the power to transform the future of the Colorado River.
This is a rare opportunity to guide a thoughtful, data-driven approach that looks beyond the immediate crises and sets the river on a path of resilience for decades to come. The Colorado River deserves a future shaped by cooperation, innovation, and stewardship — a future WRA is working tirelessly to achieve.
Without decisive action today, the river that defines the West faces an uncertain fate. Your support allows WRA to continue the research, policy development, and advocacy needed to protect it — ensuring a sustainable future for the river and the communities that depend on it.
Under Threat: The Humpback Chub
The Colorado River Basin is home to several species of fish that are found nowhere else on earth.
One of these, the humpback chub, lives in just a handful of places on the river and its tributaries. The largest population is in Grand Canyon National Park —sandwiched between Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam. Like many native fish in the river, the humpback chub requires specific water temperatures and river flows to spawn, but dams have dramatically altered these conditions.
WRA is advocating for new management guidelines that coordinate releases from Glen Canyon Dam so that water temperatures and flows through the Grand Canyon are sufficient to protect the humpback chub and other species that call it home.
