New Book About Colorado Rivers by Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg Hobbs Reviewed by DU Professor Tom I. Romero II

A new book about Colorado rivers written by Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg Hobbs has been described as “…one man’s lifelong journey to understand and come to grips with the wonderful but often inequitable bounty of Colorado’s rivers and its people,” by Tom I. Romero II, an Associate Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Professor Romero, who teaches Water Law, recently reviewed Living the Four Corners: Colorado, Centennial State at the Headwaters for The Colorado Lawyer (December 2010 pages 59-60), the journal of the Colorado Bar Association.

Justice Hobbs has been a long time friend of the College of Law and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law program in particular. He regularly speaks at the University of Denver Water Law Review Annual Meeting as well as to various water law-related courses.

Professor Romero writes that “Once majestic and unpredictable bodies of water, the headwaters of the Centennial State have become tightly controlled, over-managed cisterns on which every single drop is drained.”

In commenting about Justice Hobbs’ book, Professor Romero says:

“Justice Greg Hobbs reminds us…these rivers continue to inspire awe and wonder, perhaps because of our deep-rooted reliance on the river systems for our economy, politics, and culture—or perhaps because we simultaneously recognize and take for granted each river’s persistence and durability.”

Moreover, Professor Romero suggests that the book is a “teaching text” for all those involved in water issues:

“It shows us how to breathe life into our endeavors; it implores us to suck the marrow out of our shared experiences; and it empowers us to drink liberally from those water that have cut such deep canyons in the history, lives, and culture of Colorado."

Living the Four Corners is published by Continuing Legal Education in Colorado. For information about how to order the book, please click here.