It was with great sadness that I was informed of the passing of former state Sen. Jim Isgar. He was not only one of the great politicians of our time, but was also a successful rancher, business man and friend. I want to publicly convey to his wife, his children, his siblings and his multitude of friends my sadness for our great loss.
Although Jim was a devout Democrat, in his eyes, there were no Democrat or Republican issues when it came down to agriculture, natural resources, property rights and especially water issues. I was told by one of the lobbyists in Denver that he could go to the microphone in a committee or on the Senate floor and change the entire debate with one sentence. He even endorsed me when I ran for county commissioner primarily because of property rights erosion. I knew his mother and father well and spent time at their table when asking for permission to move the sheep across a portion of their property. Jim was truly an agricultural icon and will be missed greatly.
We also lost another agriculture and water expert recently – former state Rep. Diane Hoppe. She was from the opposite corner of the state as Isgar, the northeast corner. Diane was a Republican but she and Isgar worked on many agricultural issues together. I met Diane Hoppe when I served on the Colorado Farm Bureau board of directors. She also will be sorely missed.
It is ironic that we have lost these two legislators immediately before the hearing of House Bill 1256 – my South Platte water storage bill – in the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee. Both Isgar and Hoppe were serious proponents of water storage and I want to give them the credit for this bill.
Last year, it is estimated that 2 million acre feet of water escaped Colorado in the South Platte River, water that was above the compact requirements to Nebraska and water that could have been stored and used in Colorado. At the same time, more water is being demanded from the West Slope for Front Range growth. Lake Powell, the water bank for the West Slope, is at an all-time low and agricultural land is being dried up as water is bought and transferred to municipal use. HB 1256 asks the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the state water engineer to report on how much water has left the state that could have been stored and put to use in the last 20 years. The bill also requires that proposed water storage reservoirs, underground storage and possible dredging of existing reservoirs in the South Platte drainage be studied to determine the cost-benefit ratio. By doing this study we can begin to have the information needed to make good decisions for water storage. Water icons like Jim Isgar and Diane Hoppe have done their part. It is up to us to do ours.
J. Paul Brown represents House District 59 in Colorado’s General Assembly. The district encompasses La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Ouray and Hinsdale counties and part of Gunnison County. Reach him at jpaul.brown.house@state.co.us.
