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This week, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, announced the first hearing of their subcommittee since 2013.

The hearing, titled “The Western Water Crisis: Confronting persistent drought and building resilience on our forests and farmland,” will take place at 8:00 a.m. MT/10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 7. This will be the subcommittee’s first hearing since it was expanded in 2021 to focus on climate.

“I’m delighted to announce the first Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources hearing in almost a decade — and the first hearing since the subcommittee placed a focus on climate,” said Bennet. “This hearing has never been more important as climate change fuels persistent and severe drought across Colorado – driving increasingly catastrophic wildfires and causing unprecedented water shortages for our farmers and ranchers. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses to discuss how we can work together to support our communities in the face of this crisis.”

“As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, I am excited to partner with Senator Bennet to address the water crisis our farmers and ranchers are facing in the West. As drought and wildfires persist, we must come together to create common sense solutions with input from scientists, community members, farmers, and ranchers who intimately understand the challenges at hand. It is my hope that this hearing will serve as a turning point on the long path to drought resiliency,” said Marshall.

The subcommittee hearing will be held at 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

The entire hearing will be live-streamed here: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/the-western-water-crisis-confronting-persistent-drought-and-building-resilience-on-our-forests-and-farmland.

The witness list includes:

  • Mr. Andy Mueller, General Manager, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Glenwood Springs, CO
  • Mr. Tom Willis, Owner/Manager, T&O Farms LL, Kansas Farmer with the KSU Water Farm, Liberal, KS
  • Dr. Courtney Schultz, Associate Professor, Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
  • Mr. Earl Lewis, Chief Engineer, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, Western States Water Council, Manhattan, KS
  • Dr. Ellen Herbert, Senior Scientist, Ducks Unlimited, Memphis, TN

Bennet has served on the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee since first coming to the U.S. Senate in 2009. During that time, he has worked to pass two bipartisan Farm Bills — in 2014 and 2018. He has secured a number of priorities for Colorado, such as new tools to improve drought resilience and soil health, and expanded funding for collaborative forest restoration and wildlife habitat improvements. Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, he has been committed to ensuring key Colorado priorities in the bill are fully and effectively implemented.

Senator Marshall, M.D. is from a fifth-generation Kansas farm family. Agriculture is the largest economic driver of Kansas’ economy and the state has had a voice on the Senate Agricultural Committee for 48 of the past 50 years. As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources he ensures that the voices of the original conservationists — farmers and ranchers — are heard during the federal policy making process.

Featured image: Ranchers moving cattle between fields, along CR 270 in Chaffee County in fall, 2019. Photo by Jan Wondra