Western Slope Lawmakers Celebrate $40M Award for Shoshone Water Rights Preservation

DENVER, CO – Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, and Senator Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, released the following statement today after the federal government released $40 million to the Colorado River District for the purchase and protection of Shoshone Water Rights:

“Acquiring the Shoshone Water Rights has been a long-term, bipartisan priority for Western Slope lawmakers, and we are ecstatic that the federal government has finally released the $40 million in funding to the Colorado River District to complete this purchase. Securing this water right is not only crucial for preserving the future of water security on the Western Slope, but also supporting Colorado farms, ranches, local economies, outdoor recreation and Western Slope communities.

We are grateful for the advocacy of Congressman Jeff Hurd, Senator Michael Bennet, Congressman Joe Neguse and the rest of the Colorado federal delegation, local leaders, and especially Western Slope communities who have never stopped fighting to secure this funding and protect Colorado’s waterways.”

In 2024, a bipartisan group of Western Slope lawmakers allocated $20 million in state funding toward the purchase of the Shoshone Water Rights. This was in addition to the nearly $56 million already secured by the Shoshone Water Rights Preservation Coalition, a combination of local leaders and governments. In August 2025, state legislators sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, urging them to release the $40 million in funding that the federal government committed to in January 2025.