E-Newsletter

Preserving the Source
An e-newsletter from the Water Resources Archive
at Colorado State University

October 2009
Issue XVII

Highlighting the Importance of History

At the 20th Annual South Platte Forum held last week, conference participants took the opportunity to look back and learn about the past two decades.

A number of the speakers provided attendees the opportunity to reflect on how far things have (or have not) progressed since the Forum's creation in 1989. Not only was Colorado's response during the 1980s to President Carter's water project "hit list" mentioned, but several topics recurred among speakers. One was the Two Forks Dam veto process, which began in 1989, and the other was climate change--merely an academic subject back then, not something which concerned the public.

Many (but not all) of the subjects discussed at the Forum are documented in the Water Resources Archive. So, those who want to know more about Colorado's response to Carter's hit list can examine the Goslin collection. The Climate Data Collection captures data from local weather stations across Colorado, enabling tracking of changes. And several collections contain documents related to Two Forks.

This historical focus held educational benefits for everyone, and it helped to reinforce the mission of the Water Resources Archive. Preserving historical documentation enables people to learn from it and thus create a better future.

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Archive Update: Recent Donations

The Archive welcomed several donations recently. These include one new collection and additions to two others. The new one is the Records of the American Water Foundation, a national organization based in Colorado. Retired CSU engineering professor E. V. Richardson added several boxes to his existing collection. The new materials include slides of his 1969 research trip to Pakistan, and they are very well organized! The newest addition is five boxes from retired CU economics professor Chuck Howe to go with his existing collection. They concern water markets, urban water management and the Animas-La Plata project.

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Support the Archive: Save the Date!

Water Tables 2010 is February 20th! We are ramping up plans to celebrate the fifth year of Water Tables, the annual fundraiser supporting the Water Resources Archive. You won't want to miss this evening of dinner and conversation with Western water experts. This year's theme, "Across State Lines: Sharing the Resource," promises to be livelier than ever. Invitations will go out in January and more information will be online then as well. In the meantime, mark February 20 on your calendar now and plan to attend!

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Virtual Visit: The Newest Finding Aid

Visit the Archive's website to read our newest finding aid, the Guide to the Papers of John R. Fetcher. Though a small collection, the Fetcher papers contain important documentation of the early stages of planning for Steamboat Lake. Find a complete listing of these and more materials online.

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Looking Forward: Forthcoming Finding Aids

Archive staff have been hard at work finishing finding aids for two collections. One is the Climate Data Collection, which contains data collected by weather stations across Colorado for more than 100 years. The finding aid will list the materials by location and date, making it easy to access the documents. The other finding aid coming soon is for the Local Water Resources History Collection. This is an aggregation of materials that would otherwise be "homeless." It contains such miscellany as photographs of the Bellevue Hydraulic Laboratory and a binder of ditch data. Check the website in the coming month to read these finding aids online.

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This quarterly electronic newsletter is designed to keep you informed on the developments with the Water Resources Archive. If you would prefer not to receive further updates, or if you know someone else who would like to receive this, just drop a line to us at development@library.colostate.edu.

This e-newsletter is created by Patty Rettig and Jane Barber.