As the Central Arizona Project celebrates the 50th anniversary of the federal act that authorized the massive water project, Arizona is still locked in complicated conversations about how the state will move forward on water issues.

The Arizona Sustainable Water Workgroup (SWWg) advocates for more transparency, expanded stakeholder participation, and more sustainable solutions in Arizona water policy. At this crucial time for water policy decisions, our group has stepped forward to advocate for a fundamental concept that is often lost in the current water debate – the critical need to save Arizona’s rivers, streams, and springs.

Back in the mid-1990s, Republican Sen. Sylvia Allen was a rebel. A Sagebrush Rebel. Long before she was a state lawmaker, Allen was pushing back against environmentalists and the federal government as part of a long-standing movement to force the federal government to turn over federally-managed lands to the Western states.

The governors of 10 Western states began a three-day meeting Wednesday in Lake Tahoe to tackle drought and other problems that don't respect state boundaries.