A dated snapshot of life observed across Homestake Valley, including records that predate the organized 2022 BioBlitz. Explore the observations to see what people have found.
The public record
Read the record. Challenge the project.
Court decisions, public records, technical documents, and reporting that explain the project and the case for denial.
Storm over the broader Homestake area. Campaign photograph.
01 / Research library
Research for resistance
Use the public record.
This library is built for opposition. It gives residents, experts, journalists, and advocates the public record needed to challenge Whitney Reservoir and organize for denial. It also challenges the premise that continued Front Range growth should be supplied through new interbasin diversions.
115unique linked records
7connected topics
Start here
The records that frame the fight.
Nine essential sources connect the prior Homestake defeat, the current Whitney concept, fen impacts, the regional water system, and the alternatives that must be examined first.
The denial survived appeal
The controlling appellate decision upheld Eagle County's Homestake II denial. It remains the clearest legal precedent for why water rights do not erase local land-use review.
Four Whitney footprints entered the record
This reporting documents the lower-creek drilling request, four investigated alternatives, reported storage ranges, the land purchase, and the first public fen questions.
Fen mitigation is not replacement
A close look at groundwater-connected wetlands and the limits of transplant experiments. It explains why preserving ecological function requires more than moving plants.
Six years later, no formal proposal
The latest Whitney-specific status report says drilling is complete, but no final design or formal reservoir proposal has been submitted. The campaign is organizing before that changes.
Wild Horse links back to Homestake
Current reporting identifies Homestake water as a possible Wild Horse source while Aurora has not disclosed a fixed amount. The planned reservoir belongs in the full system-wide accounting.
A warmer climate changes the water math
The Colorado Climate Assessment 2024 identifies mid-century scenarios with lower spring snowpack and annual streamflow, earlier runoff, and higher evaporative demand. New diversion planning must account for this changed hydrology.
Growth is not unavoidable demand
A multi-newsroom analysis shows that population and total water use do not have to rise together. It sharpens the case for testing conservation before sacrificing a valley.
Aurora's strategy reaches farm country
Recent Arkansas Valley reporting documents negotiations, lease-back claims, local skepticism, and the cumulative rural consequences of municipal water acquisition.
Efficiency requires full water accounting
This explainer separates diversion, consumptive use, and return flows, showing how efficiency changes water available across the basin.
Latest checked sources
What changed most recently.
A short current-reading list, separate from the complete historical archive below.
Homestake Valley BioBlitz on iNaturalist
iNaturalist opens in a new tab
Aurora difficult to provide specifics on how much Homestake water is needed for Wild Horse
Vail Daily opens in a new tab
Colorado River talks face transparency questions
Rachel Cohen / KUNC, republished by CPR opens in a new tab
Aurora Water set to buy up more historic farm water in Lower Arkansas Valley
Colorado Sun, Michael Booth opens in a new tab
Denver Water supply and water use update
Denver Water opens in a new tab
River District concerned conservation tools could favor some regions
Aspen Journalism opens in a new tab
Full source index
Search the whole record.
Search articles, court decisions, scientific research, and public documents by topic.
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Colorado River talks face transparency questions opens in a new tab
Rachel Cohen / KUNC, republished by CPRKUNC's reporting examines public-access and transparency concerns surrounding Colorado River negotiations
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Most direct answer to the Homestake connection: possible source, no disclosed fixed amount
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Aurora Water set to buy up more historic farm water in Lower Arkansas Valley opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, Michael BoothThis September 2026 report examines Aurora's proposed farm-water purchases, lease-back terms, export limits, tax effects, and local skepticism
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Denver Water's dated Sept. 8, 2026 update provides official storage, supply, and customer-use context
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Water facts and storage reports opens in a new tab
City of AuroraTime-stamped storage conditions and current drought context
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River District concerned conservation tools could favor some regions opens in a new tab
Aspen JournalismGeographic equity, shepherding conserved water, and who benefits from compensated reductions
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Current lawn and outdoor-use restrictions in Colorado's largest city
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Colorado River operational framework announcement opens in a new tab
U.S. Department of the InteriorPrimary federal explanation of the 2027-2028 rules and longer decision framework
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Reclamation announces Colorado River operations opens in a new tab
Bureau of ReclamationPrimary details: Lower Basin reductions, voluntary conservation, Lake Powell objective, and interim operating horizon
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3 downstream Colorado River states will bear the brunt of water cuts under new 2-year plan opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, Shannon MullaneThis report explains the federal two-year operating plan, the Lower Basin reductions, and reactions from the basin states
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An August 2026 report surveying political debate over lawns and outdoor-water reductions during drought
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A report on increased homeowner interest in xeriscaping and landscape-conversion programs
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Local visual and hydrologic evidence of the 2026 shortage
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Heat and low flows drive fishing restrictions opens in a new tab
Associated Press via Colorado SunRegional context on fishing closures caused by hot weather and low, warm rivers across the West
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Everything you need to know about the new federal report on the Colorado River's future opens in a new tab
Colorado SunThis explainer compares the states' competing approaches after seven-state negotiations failed to produce a consensus
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No movement on Whitney proposal after six years opens in a new tab
Vail Daily via Sentinel Colorado, David O. WilliamsCurrent status: drilling complete, no final design, no formal proposal, and 1041 review still expected
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2026 Homestake Community Science Day opens in a new tab
Eagle River CoalitionTwenty-nine participants recorded plants, algae, and small water-dwelling animals, including insects, during the 2026 community science day.
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Western Slope concerns about process, protection, and exposure
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Follow-up on legal and local effects
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This June 2 report shows officials pressing for stronger drought action immediately before Colorado's June 4 emergency declaration
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Revegetation bill will shape how Colorado cities buy-and-dry farm water opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, Michael BoothThis article explains legislation assigning revegetation responsibilities when cities acquire and dry agricultural land
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Video and event source for community voices
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Contamination, climate change and political drama stall clean water for Colorado's Arkansas Valley opens in a new tab
High Country NewsA feature placing agricultural transfers within the Arkansas Valley's broader water-quality, climate, and political pressures
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May 2026 reporting on severe snowpack and flow conditions across the Colorado River system
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Shows that water-use restrictions and scarcity also affect the headwaters region
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This report describes a temporary 2026 relaxation of the Shoshone call that allowed additional Front Range diversions through May 20
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Upper Basin entities call for supply-driven Colorado River rules opens in a new tab
Post Independent, Ali LongwellThis article records Upper Basin and Front Range positions submitted before the August 2026 federal decision
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Western Slope leaders ask what data centers mean for water opens in a new tab
Aspen Times, Robert TannEmerging industrial demand and the need to disclose whether new large users are included in municipal forecasts
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Council File 26-058, Otero Pipeline isolation valve opens in a new tab
Colorado Springs City CouncilDocuments joint Homestake Project infrastructure and cost sharing
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Colorado River crisis fails to force a deal from states opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettUpper and Lower Basin impasse before the federal action
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Here's how Aurora is leading water conservation opens in a new tab
Aurora mayor, Denver Post opinion mirrored by cityAurora's account of its conservation policies and reported conservation results
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Aurora selects final site for its largest reservoir yet opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, Jerd SmithProject scale, cost, off-channel concept, fill-time projections, federal review, and Park County 1041 review
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Homestake Valley campaign page opens in a new tab
Wilderness WorkshopWilderness Workshop documents its campaign position and history opposing Whitney
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Pitkin County seeks to boost Roaring Fork flows with water purchase opens in a new tab
Aspen Times and Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettConcrete local response to transmountain diversions: purchase of Twin Lakes shares for streamflow
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Roaring Fork Basin real-time snowpack opens in a new tab
Aspen JournalismA dynamic snowpack dashboard whose displayed values must be read with their current observation date
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This 2025 report described the planned conversion of a dispersed-camping area to a managed, paid campground; the change was implemented in 2026
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Front Range providers seek hearing on Shoshone acquisition opens in a new tab
Aspen Times, Ali LongwellAurora and Colorado Springs concerns about senior flows, transmountain supplies, Homestake interests, and agricultural-transfer pressure
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Reporting on unusually high household water use in Eagle County. Water conservation matters here, too.
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Reporting on Eagle County water providers' severe drought plan, including seasonal outdoor demand and local water restrictions.
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Upper Basin managers begin monthly drought meetings opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism via Vail DailyThis February 2025 report documents growing operational concern as Upper Basin managers sought recurring drought meetings with federal officials
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2024 highlights opens in a new tab
Community-science sourcesWinter 2024 fieldwork update documenting community observations and participation
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Integrated Water Master Plan opens in a new tab
City of AuroraDemand scenarios, system modeling, project sequencing, climate and reliability assumptions
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Lower Arkansas districts and Aurora prepare talks opens in a new tab
Water Education ColoradoNegotiation process and competing interpretations of the agreement
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Cities in the West are booming, but will they need much more water? opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, KUNC, Aspen Journalism, Fresh Water News, and The Water Desk, Luke RunyonReporting on 28 Colorado River-dependent utilities that grew while collectively using less water, with examples from Aurora and Colorado Springs.
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Recent Upper Colorado River Streamflow Declines Driven by Loss of Spring Precipitation opens in a new tab
Geophysical Research Letters, Hogan and LundquistPeer-reviewed analysis of spring precipitation, evaporative demand, and post-2000 streamflow deficits
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Current recreation and resource-management context
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The Runoff | Reclamation's cool water releases sound fishy to these scientists opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism newsletterA 2024 newsletter containing a Wild Horse planning update, including reported capacity, contract, cost, and schedule details
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Officials propose tracking conserved water opens in a new tab
Aspen JournalismWhy measurement and legal protection determine whether conservation helps reservoirs or downstream users
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Aurora Water eyes its biggest storage bucket yet opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun and Fresh Water News, Jerd SmithEarly Wild Horse overview connecting projected growth, storage, Prairie Waters blending, farm-water purchases, and climate risk
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Local legal and economic concerns after the purchase
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Aurora farm-water purchase draws dispute opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun and Fresh Water News$80.4 million transaction, irrigated acreage, and disagreement over a 2003 intergovernmental agreement
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Otero County could send billions of gallons to Aurora opens in a new tab
CPR, Shanna LewisApproximately $80 million purchase, more than 4,800 acres, about 7,500 acre-feet of rights, and three-in-ten-year municipal use proposal
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A 2024 analysis of how competing state plans could have affected Colorado before the later federal framework
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Negotiation history comparing the Upper and Lower Basin proposals submitted in 2024 before the later federal framework
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Colorado Climate Assessment 2024 opens in a new tab
Colorado Climate Center and partnersPrimary statewide climate synthesis for temperature, snowpack, runoff, and drought trends
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Recycling, tiered pricing, compensated fallowing, irrigation technology, and tradeoffs
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2023 fen work opens in a new tab
Community-science sourcesCommunity observations and participation records documenting Homestake Valley's biodiversity
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Independent report on nonfunctional turf policy
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The Fight Over Homestake Reservoir opens in a new tab
Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine, Devon O'NeilStrong narrative introduction to the place and dispute
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A 2022 retrospective containing a May 21, 1982 archive item about the Homestake II draft environmental impact statement
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Water plan manages risk, accommodates growth opens in a new tab
Colorado Springs UtilitiesColorado Springs Utilities describes how its long-range plan combines growth forecasts, conservation, reuse, and supply-risk management
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2022 bioblitz opens in a new tab
Community-science sourcesCommunity observations and participation records documenting Homestake Valley's biodiversity
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This opinion piece argues that Whitney should be reconsidered in light of climate change and the history of transmountain diversions
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Homestake hike highlights uncertainties with proposed reservoir opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettHydrology period, climate adjustment, compact-call pilot, conservation debate, and drilling status
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Eagle River Joint-Use Water Project opens in a new tab
Colorado Department of Natural Resources project databaseOfficial summary of the 1998 MOU's parties, objectives, yield targets, and undetermined infrastructure mix
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Watering restrictions work, but only a few Colorado cities have them opens in a new tab
Colorado SunAurora's permanent rules, tiered pricing, incentives, Prairie Waters, and reported conservation performance
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Notice of intent to sue over the Whitney Creek geotechnical project opens in a new tab
WildEarth Guardians and five conservation organizationsPrimary legal filing in which six conservation organizations gave notice of alleged Endangered Species Act Section 7 violations related to the Whitney Creek Geotechnical Investigation special-use permit
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Homestake Reservoir release proves tricky to track opens in a new tab
Aspen Times and Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettFollow-up tracing the 1,667 acre-foot release and measurement challenges along the route to the state line.
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Forest Service approves test drilling for Whitney Reservoir site opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettTen bores, depth, duration, categorical exclusion, and separate future review
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Reporting on the scope of the 2021 federal geotechnical authorization
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Whitney Creek Geotechnical Project decision announcement opens in a new tab
U.S. Forest ServicePrimary confirmation of the limited drilling decision
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Aurora inks $43.7 million in South Platte water deals opens in a new tab
Water Education ColoradoGrowth forecast, agricultural transfers, leases, and alternative-transfer methods outside the Arkansas Valley
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This report distinguishes Homestake II's diversion proposal from the later Whitney reservoir concept while covering drilling delays
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Homestake reservoir-release pilot begins opens in a new tab
Aspen Times and Aspen Journalism, Heather SackettProposed 1,800 acre-foot release to test shepherding Homestake water to the state line during dry conditions
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Eagle County 1041 authority looms large in proposed Whitney Reservoir debate opens in a new tab
RealVailEagle County's 1041 authority governing any future Whitney proposal
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Forest Service flooded with comments opposing Whitney Reservoir drilling opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, David O. WilliamsComment volume, drilling details, public concerns
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Hundreds of comments submitted over Holy Cross Wilderness water export proposal opens in a new tab
Fresh Water News via Colorado Sun, Jerd SmithThis 2020 report covers hundreds of public comments and distinguishes exploratory drilling from any later reservoir authorization
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Cities may need to redraw a wilderness area to access water opens in a new tab
Colorado Sun, Jason BlevinsAccessible overview of the wilderness-boundary issue and competing positions
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Efforts to relocate an ancient wetland could help determine the fate of a water project opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Sarah ToryFen ecology, transplant mitigation, and why groundwater-connected wetlands matter.
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Cities seek to drill on lower Homestake Creek dam sites opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Brent Gardner-SmithFour sites, 13 proposed bores, 6,850 to 20,000 acre-foot concepts, 2018 land purchase, wilderness and fen questions
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Glenwood Springs close to securing rights for new whitewater parks opens in a new tab
Post Independent and Aspen JournalismDocuments a 30,000 acre-foot call-reduction provision protecting possible future Homestake diversions and reports the cities' then-current development position
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The Twenty-First Century Colorado River Hot Drought opens in a new tab
Water Resources Research, Udall and OverpeckFoundational peer-reviewed explanation of warming-driven flow losses
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Choices are narrowing for water development along Eagle River opens in a new tab
Aspen Journalism, Allen BestLong-form history of the proposed $685 million package and narrowing alternatives.
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Where the River Runs Dry opens in a new tab
The New Yorker, David OwenA long-form explanation of how field-level irrigation efficiency affects downstream water accounting
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Explains the planning package of about 33,000 acre-feet: 20,000 for eastern users, 10,000 for local western users, and 3,000 of storage associated with Climax
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Cross Creek: A valley of wetlands opens in a new tab
Post Independent, Heather McGregorPlace-based account of the Cross Creek wetlands preserved after the Homestake II conflict
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Eagle County, Colorado Springs and Aurora agree on Homestake plans opens in a new tab
Denver Post-derived archiveAn archive excerpt summarizing reporting that the 2010 agreement shifted planning away from new facilities inside Holy Cross Wilderness and toward a smaller lower Homestake Creek reservoir.
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Certiorari denied, 516 U.S. 1008 opens in a new tab
U.S. Supreme Court docket recordFinal endpoint of the cities' review effort
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Another water project is drowned opens in a new tab
High Country NewsA contemporary 1994 account explains how Eagle County's 1041 denial survived appellate review and ended the Homestake II proposal
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City of Colorado Springs v. Board of County Commissioners, 895 P.2d 1105 opens in a new tab
Colorado Court of AppealsThe controlling state appellate account of the 1041 denial
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The Holy Cross Wilderness Area and Homestake II opens in a new tab
University of Colorado Conflict Research ConsortiumDetailed chronology, stakeholder positions, Eagle County findings, litigation map, and bibliography
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City and County of Denver v. Colorado River Water Conservation District, 799 P.2d 33 opens in a new tab
Colorado Supreme CourtExplains alternate points of diversion and the separate water-right track
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Application for Water Rights, 731 P.2d 665 opens in a new tab
Colorado Supreme CourtPrimary project history, 1952 priority, 1967 completion, wilderness provision, Plan B, Whitney and Peterson conditional rights
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Aurora Water topic archive opens in a new tab
Colorado SunDiscovery feed for new purchases, permitting, conservation, and storage stories
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Post-2026 Colorado River operations hub opens in a new tab
Bureau of ReclamationCentral docket for alternatives, environmental review, modeling, and final decisions
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Watershed, snowpack, streamflow, and diversion resources opens in a new tab
Roaring Fork ConservancyLocal watershed context and current monitoring links
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Water service opens in a new tab
Colorado Springs UtilitiesColorado Springs Utilities' city-reported residential use, per-capita reduction, and annual savings figures
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Sustainable Water Plan opens in a new tab
Colorado Springs UtilitiesDemand scenarios, a 10,000 to 11,000 acre-foot annual conservation goal, Colorado River exposure, and reuse strategy
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Water shortage and irrigation rules opens in a new tab
City of Colorado SpringsPrimary rules, including watering-day and midday restrictions
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Water-wise rules opens in a new tab
City of Colorado SpringsPublic explanation of outdoor-use requirements
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Water innovation opens in a new tab
City of AuroraAurora's city-reported 36 percent per-capita reduction since the early 2000s, about 115 gallons per capita per day, turf limits, reuse, and 2040 target
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Drought response opens in a new tab
City of AuroraStage 1 conditions, outdoor reduction target, watering schedule, and enforcement
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Water-wise landscaping opens in a new tab
City of AuroraPractical standards and resident programs
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Know Your Flow opens in a new tab
City of AuroraHousehold water-use education and audit tools
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Colorado Water Plan scenario explorer opens in a new tab
Colorado Water Conservation BoardCompare plausible growth, demand, climate, and innovation futures instead of relying on one forecast
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Homestake Reservoir opens in a new tab
City of AuroraCurrent official description of the original reservoir, completed in 1967 with 42,900 acre-feet of capacity
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Agricultural conservation and efficiency opens in a new tab
Water Education ColoradoEssential distinction between reduced diversion, efficiency, and reduced consumptive use; includes return-flow examples
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Water uses opens in a new tab
Colorado State University, Colorado Water KnowledgeWithdrawal versus consumptive use and the role of return flows
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Wild Horse Reservoir individual authorization page opens in a new tab
Colorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentPrimary permit docket and public documents
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Wild Horse frequently asked questions opens in a new tab
Aurora project siteCity-stated need, capacity, cost, and no-new-water-right position
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How Wild Horse would work opens in a new tab
Aurora project siteProposed conveyance and operating concept
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Federal review opens in a new tab
Aurora project siteTrack parallel permitting pathways
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Park County review opens in a new tab
Aurora project siteTrack parallel permitting pathways
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Mountain supply opens in a new tab
City of AuroraSystem map and source description
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