Outdoor recreation takes a main title at the 2026 Rio Grande State of the Basin Symposium scheduled for Saturday, March 28, at Adams State University.
This year’s symposium, the eighth annual offered by the Salazar Rio Grande Del Norte Center at Adams State, will provide a new perspective around the prospect of tourism and outdoor recreation, says Salazar Rio Grande Center director Paul Formisano.
“I think recreation has an interesting part to play in that conversation. We know that there are difficult times ahead, certainly with the way that our climate is working now and things are hotter and drier,” he says in this episode of The Outdoor Citizen podcast. “This is maybe a conversation just for us in the Valley to better understand what options might exist, how might tourism and recreation play perhaps a slightly larger role than we’re currently doing.”
The history and purpose of the Closed Basin Project, which helps Colorado meet its obligations under the Rio Grande Compact but remains contentious among irrigators in an era of warming climates, is also on the program.
Formisano is in his second year as director of the Salazar Rio Grande Del Norte Center and has worked to grow the academic and community offerings presented by Adams State around the topic of water and the Upper Rio Grande.
The Rio Grande State of the Basin Symposium is free to attend. It begins at 8 a.m. at Richardson Hall and runs through 5 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are provided.