Wyoming Water Law and Management In Drought:
A Close-Up on the Laramie River
Laramie, Wyoming
April 4-6, 2003

Friday, April 4

Morning Sessions: Water Resources and Water Users on the Laramie

7:30-8:10 am Registration and coffee

8:00-8:10 am WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Anne MacKinnon, program coordinator

8:10 – 9 am THE LARAMIE RIVER: A WINDOW ON WYOMING WATER
Floyd Bishop, former Wyoming State Engineer, Floyd A Bishop Consulting Engineer, Cheyenne

9 am – 9:35 am GROUNDWATER: PROSPECTS FOR USE
Ben Jordan, Weston Engineering, Laramie

9:35- 9:50 am Break

9:50- 10:30 am AGRICULTURAL USERS: COMPETING IRRIGATION DEMANDS
Spokesman, Pioneer Canal Co.
Don Britton, Manager, Wheatland Irrigation District

10:30 – 11 am INDUSTRIAL USER: POWER GENERATION
Spokesman, Basin Electric Power Co.

11 am –11: 15 am FISH AND WILDLIFE AS LARAMIE RIVER WATER USERS
Mike Snigg, Acting Laramie Regional Fish Supervisor, Wyoming Game & Fish Dept

11:15 – 11:30 am WILDLIFE AND IRRIGATION: THE WETLANDS CONNECTION ON THE LARAMIE PLAINS
Andy Hart, 2001 PhD UW Dept. of Zoology and Physiology, Laramie

11:30 – 1 pm Lunch, on your own

Afternoon Sessions: Wyoming Water Law Basics and Current Issues

1 – 2 pm WYOMING WATER LAW: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Part 1 - Prior Appropriation Doctrine, Beneficial Use, etc.
Harriet Hageman, Hageman & Brighton Law Office, Cheyenne

2- 2:10 pm Break

2:10 – 3 pm WYOMING WATER LAW: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Part 2 – Administration, Changes of Use and Place of Use, etc.
Harriet Hageman

3- 3:45 pm WYOMING WATER LAW:
ORIGINS AND CURRENT CHALLENGES
Anne MacKinnon, journalist, Wyoming Bar member
Reed Benson, University of Wyoming College of Law

3:45 - 4 pm Break

4 - 5:15 pm WATER LAW ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR THE CITY OF LARAMIE
Jeff Fassett, former Wyoming State Engineer, Fassett Consulting, Cheyenne

Saturday, April 5

Morning sessions: Drought and water use decisions

8:30– 9:30 am THINKING ABOUT DROUGHT:
THE SHORT TERM AND THE LONG-TERM
Tom Thurow, Department Head, UW Department of Renewable Resources

9:30 - 9:45 am Break

9:45 - 11 am THE CITY OF LARAMIE AND DROUGHT IN 2002:
PRELUDE TO 2003
Wes Bressler, City of Laramie Utility Director

11 am – 11:30 am SPOTLIGHT ON A MAJOR URBAN CONSUMER: THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
Spokesperson, UW Physical Plant

11:30-1 pm Lunch, with special guest speaker, noon-1 pm:

Justice Gregory Hobbs, Colorado Supreme Court
WESTERN WATER LAW:
CHANGE AND CHALLENGE, REFLECTIONS IN DROUGHT YEARS

Afternoon sessions: Urban conservation strategies

1 –2:30 pm WATER CONSERVATION AND PRICING:
ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR CITIES
John Gallagher, Black & Veatch, Denver

2:30-2:45 pm Break

2:45-3:45 pm PROPOSAL FOR 2003: THE CITY OF LARAMIE’S DRAFT PLAN
Wes Bressler

3:45 – 4 pm Break

4 – 5:15 pm Special guest lecture: Open and Free to the Public

Panayoti Kelaidis, Curator of Plant Collections, Denver Botanic Gardens
LIVING IN THE WYOMING LANDSCAPE:
GARDENING IN THE DROUGHT AND BEYOND

Sunday, April 6

Afternoon Field Trip: Water Issues on the Laramie

Starting point: X parking lot – in front of old Depot

1-3:30 pm DIVERSIONS AND DIVERSE USES ON THE LARAMIE
Spokesperson, City of Laramie Water Dept.
Spokesperson, Pioneer Canal Co.
Jim Lovvorn, UW Dept. of Zoology and Physiology
Curt Meyer, Laramie Regional Aquatic Habitat Biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish Dept.

4 – 6 pm For-credit students only: (Location TBA)
Discussion of paper topics with instructor, Anne MacKinnon