Water in the 21st-Century West: A High Country News Reader

After living in the West for four years there were two things I could count on above all else. First, the issue of water in the West. It is a given that everyone, and I mean everyone, has a strong opinion on water, or more aptly, the lack thereof, and what to do about it. Second, the consistently high quality of a publication known as the High Country News which is published in Paonia, Colorado. Thus, you can imagine my delight in receiving a copy of this book dealing with Water in the West and containing articles written by contributors to High Country News over the past fifteen years. It's kind of like getting a two-for-one deal. And what a deal it is. For anyone remotely interested in the history and current status of what editor Char Miller rightly calls the West's most precious resource, water, this book is indispensable reading. The list of contributing scholars and journalist is impressive and provides the reader with insightful analysis and historical context that is rare in this age of mass-produced trivia. My favorite chapter is titled "Taming Glen Canyon Dam" and contains an article on how, in 1993, the Colorado river almost reclaimed Glen Canyon Dam and accomplished what Edward Abbey and a host of activists have struggled to do since 1963. The entire contentious issue of Glen Canyon Dam is covered in a balanced manner and worthy of the reader's time. Ah, but there is more, much more. Come go with me to visit the Northwest and read of the Salmon Crisis; the proposal to tear down eighteen dams; and a plan to unleash the Snake River. From there we will travel to Arizona and Utah to learn of the follies and successes of the Central Arizona and Central Utah Projects. These Federal water projects are your tax dollars at work. From the deserts of Arizona and Utah we will go to Denver and Las Vegas and see what the urban areas of the west have in mind for the limited amount of water available. The chapter on Native American Water Issues is refreshing in that, for once, we learn that the Indians have won some court battles that have the effect of giving them back that which was, you guessed it, taken from them in the first place. Take all of this and wrap it up with chapters on Watershed Restoration and Water Allocation and Management, plus a comprehensive introductorly overview, and you have a wonderful primer on Water in the West. This book is one tall drink of water. Oregon State University Press and High Country News are to be commended for making it available to all of those that care about this precious resource.