Mark Twain purportedly said that in the West, “Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over.”
But Canyonlands Watershed Council (CWC) believes that water doesn’t have to be a point of contention, and can instead be seen as an opportunity for collaboration and common benefit. In an arid region forecast to have less moisture but more people in the coming years, CWC believes it is especially important for desert communities like Moab to examine how they steward their water resources.
CWC is hosting monthly roundtable discussions for anyone interested or involved in water-related issues to meet one another, keep each other apprised of important news and discuss a broad range of water topics.
Held on the third Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the Grand County Public Library, 257 E. Center St., the first roundtable will take place on April 18.
CWC staff and board members will be speaking about the organization’s work, and members of the Moab Bee Inspired Garden group will discuss what they do. However, the roundtables are not a lecture series, but rather an open conversation about water issues in which anyone is welcome to participate.
CWC is a Grand County-based nonprofit organization whose mission emphasizes the protection and wise management of southeastern Utah’s riparian areas, streams, drinking water, aquifers and surface water resources. The organization aims to accomplish its mission through outreach and education, policy advocacy, and collaboration with diverse stakeholders on projects that benefit watershed health. CWC was founded in 2009 by Dave Erley, John Weisheit and Laurel Hagan; Hagan was also the first director.
Heila Ershadi is CWC’s current executive director, and Jeff Adams was recently hired as project manager of CWC’S new Watershed Resiliency Stewards (WRS) program, which engages people in restoring and regenerating the places they work, play, live and visit.
First public meeting set for April 18 at library
For more information about Canyonlands Watershed Council, go to: www.farcountry.org, or email heila@farcountry.org. CWC is also on Facebook.
