As the Lee Fire tears through more than 137,000 drought-parched acres in northwest Colorado — now the fifth largest wildfire in state history — hundreds of water experts and policymakers gathered just miles away in Steamboat Springs for the 2025 Summer Colorado Water Congress Conference

“It’s a great turnout this year,” said the Water Congress’s membership director, AnnaLee Taylor. “We have a record attendance with over 500 attendees joining us for it this year.”

The Colorado Water Congress provides an avenue for experts to meet and share, as the state confronts water issues.

Kicking off the conference was “Pathways to a Pool: How to Make Voluntary Conservation Add Up,” which, moderated by former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, included hydrologists, tribal consultants, western agriculture r

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