Even in the arid West, water wars aren’t inevitable,
according to a new study by Reason Public Policy Institute in Los
Angeles. Collaborative local planning efforts are an effective
method of balancing water needs while protecting the environment,
according to the 35-page study Rivers Among Us: Local Watershed
Preservation and Resource Management in the Western United States,
by Christopher Hartwell and Michael Harrington. RPPI is a division
of the Reason Foundation, a national research and educational
organization that explores and promotes a libertarian perspective
of limited government and “free minds and free markets.” RPPI’s
report highlights four watersheds: California’s Feather River
basin, Idaho’s Henry Fork basin, and Montana’s Blackfoot River and
Upper Clark Fork River basins. Lynn Scarlett of the institute says,
more than ever, locals want to solve local environmental problems.
“Increasingly, the political dynamic is just “by golly, let’s get
the job done,” and just sitting down with people we don’t normally
sit down with,” she says.
The study is $15 from
the Reason Public Policy Institute, 3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite
400, Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310/391-2245), or on the Web at
http://www.rppi.org/ps259central.html.
* Karen
Mockler
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rivers among us.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
