ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the environmental conflict as one consequence of the interaction of several populations that survive and often prosper by using resources of one kind or another and in turn provide resources for each other's survival. The deforestation and cultivation of the European and North American continents and the elimination of the Great Plains bison have had immeasurable environmental impacts. The state's natural wealth has made it a focal point for environmental tension in a time of expanding national demands and contracting resources. In energy, water, and recreation development, federal control of large areas in Colorado complicates environmental policymaking. The increase in downstream salinity and the decrease in quantity of Colorado River water resulting from impoundment and appropriation within Colorado illustrate the region-wide impact of localized development. The Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado Water Conservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources allocate and adjudicate water use.
