… [M]ore than a century ago, states recognized that Native Americans had rights to Colorado River water and, even earlier in 1908, the U.S. Supreme Court said in Winters v. U.S., that when we dedicated land to reservations it included enough water to make them habitable. … All that history is becoming more important because we face a deadline. Political procrastination over decades has pushed nearly every aspect of Colorado River allocation into a series of 2026 federal deadlines. … If the states and other stakeholders, like the Indian Tribes, cannot agree, then the Trump Administration will likely decide for them. … And, remember, the Indian Tribes are still getting only about a third of their water.
–Written by Ken Ransford, member of the Colorado Basin Roundtable.

Other Colorado River Basin opinions:

• Cowboy State Daily (Jackson, Wyo.): Opinion: Leave our water alone