From high atop the spine of the Rockies, the Colorado River begins its long run to the Pacific Ocean. Lifeblood to our state and to 40 Million downstream Americans in seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico, this river is the key to our future prosperity on the western slope and beyond. And now is the time Colorado’s water users, irrigators, river enthusiasts and conservationists need to roll up our sleeves and work together to solve the challenge we now face with dwindling flows, increasing demands and a heating world.

Luckily the Colorado River Drought Task Force has convened and has been meeting since this summer to propose solutions to address drought, climate resilience and the Colorado River system next year at the Colorado state legislature. And we have to get this right.

This past February, my organization, the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance, released a detailed report looking at the climate emergency slamming into the Gunnison River watershed. The Gunnison River is the one of the largest tributaries in the Colorado River system, and the region is warming more quickly than most other places around the world.

Stay up to speed: Sign-up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

For Colorado agriculture the risk posed by drought, climate change and increasing demands is foundational. Unless the task force and Colorado legislature find solutions, we will at best be playing catch up at a higher cost and, at worst, find our ability to prosper here greatly diminished.

Here are four things we hope the task force prioritizes.

1) Providing tools for agricultural producers and rural communities that are proactive, adaptable and can be applied quickly, allowing for greater flexibility to manage water supplies to address threats of drought.

2) Offering strong incentives for conservation without putting users at risk of abandoning water rights.

3) Bringing all voices to the table. Farmers and rural Coloradans cannot be expected to solve the issues plaguing the Colorado River system alone. Voices on the western slope, though scattered in many small communities, should not be overlooked. Meanwhile Front Range cities and suburbs pump water over the Continental Divide out of the Colorado River basin. They must increase conservation efforts to decrease any need for more diversions.

4) Working with Colorado communities to secure historic levels of federal funding available through legislation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to improve irrigation and other water infrastructure, restore watershed health and take other beneficial and proactive measures that improve drought resilience.

For Colorado agriculture, some strategies could include aiding in the transition to more drought tolerant crops, efficiency upgrades to irrigation systems and improving soil health. There should then be opportunities for conserved water to be leased or loaned at a fair market value to benefit streams and rivers in need of enhanced flows.These flows boost the watershed health and improve aquifer recharge, promoting the natural structure, connectivity and function that benefits overall drought resilience. Our water supply is dependent upon healthy rivers.

The task force should identify and remove any barriers for unlocking these federal funds for rural, agricultural and headwaters communities. These more sparsely populated places are each critical to solving Colorado’s water challenges, and they must also be at the table and made central to the solutions.

The risks posed to Colorado’s agriculture from climate change and persistent drought are existential. Conservation and watershed health are two critical strategies for centering impactful action here in the Colorado River’s headwaters. And the Colorado River Drought Task Force offers an opportunity for this region, our state and for all those who live and farm here, that must not be squandered.

Pete Kolbenschlag is a rural advocate, longtime climate activist and director of the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance, which works to provide a platform for rural leadership to support secure, equitable and resilient food systems, conservation and climate action. He lives in Delta County.