The 13th annual REEL Environmental Film Experience will engage water experts and members of the audience in a dialogue after the screening tonight of “DamNation,” a documentary promoting the removal of obsolete dams to restore free flowing rivers.
The event is a fundraiser for the Environmental Center at Fort Lewis College.
“DamNation,” a documentary made by Ben Knight with Telluride-based Felt Soul Media, makes a case for the removal of deadbeat dams to allow rivers to flow freely and reverse the cumulative effects dammed waterways have on landscapes and wildlife.
Knight will discuss his film, and a panel of regional figures will address water issues in the West.
Rachel Landis, director of the Environmental Center and one of the speakers, said that removal of dams may not be the magic-bullet answer in the arid Southwest.
Landis said she hopes the post-film dialogue will cover such topics as transmountain diversions, the comprehensive Colorado Water Plan expected to be released in December and the use of agricultural water for the oil and gas industry.
Mely Whiting, legal counsel for Trout Unlimited, said she has been asked to discuss the impacts of transmountain diversions and the 1922 interstate agreement on the use of Colorado River water.
Kate Greenburg, the Western contact for the Young Farmers Coalition, will talk about saving water without reducing productive agriculture as well as the future of farming.
“We need to get more farmers in the field,” Greenburg said. “The average age of farmers is 60 and in the next 20 years, 70 percent of working land is going to change hands.”
The time is ripe to define the future of agriculture, Greenburg said.
Denise Rue-Pastin, director of the Water Information Program created by the Southwestern Water Conservation District, said the issue of supply and demand and the role of water in recreation and irrigation must be addressed.
In the face of a megadrought, dams would store water needed in upstream communities, she said.
daler@durangoherald.com
If you go
REEL Environmental Film Experience, 5 p.m. today, Smiley Building, 1309 East Third Ave. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the film “DamNation” will be shown at 6 p.m. A panel discussion will be held after the film.
Tickets are $12 and available at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave., and the Fort Lewis College Environmental Center. Tickets will be $15 at the door. For more information, visit www.fortlewis.edu/environmentalcenter.
