Home

It only took two words for me to know that Jim Pokrandt and I would get along.

In July 2005, when Pokrandt was leaving the Summit Daily News after three years as its managing editor, a story in that paper read that Pokrandt is a self-described "issues geek."

I am nothing if not an issues geek. It's why I'm a reporter - and why some people run to the other side of the room when they see me at a party. (Although there may be other reasons : neon spandex is still in style, right?)

The 2005 story further stoked my curiosity about Pokrandt by eulogizing his newspaper career with this statement: "Pokrandt relished Summit County politics and its interplay with larger, regional issues like natural resource conservation and the dynamics of resort-driven economies."

Swap "Routt" for "Summit," and we're twins. He's even an East Coaster, albeit from New Jersey, which as the "Garden State" has arguably the most inaccurate state nickname in America.

Despite his odoriferous homeland, Pokrandt sounds like an interesting guy, which is why I'll be sad to miss his appearance in Steamboat Springs tonight.

Pokrandt left the Summit Daily News to become a water education specialist for the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Glenwood Springs. Tonight, from 6:30 to 8:30 in Bogue Hall, Room 300, at Colorado Mountain College, Pokrandt is hosting a free water issues workshop focusing on the Yampa River and Colorado River Basin. The workshop is designed for residents who want a basic knowledge of water issues in "a non-intimidating atmosphere," Pokrandt said.

Wait. Don't stop reading.

If you feel like the kid who ran home with a heavy trick-or-treat bag only to find walnuts and apples (in other words, if you're wondering why I wrote that whole big introduction to set up a water workshop), trust me on this one. Seriously, this is a cool event.

As Colorado's population continues to boom and thirsty Rocky Mountain throats continue to swallow hydrogen and oxygen, the Yampa River will increasingly become a hotbed of activity and speculation.

It's already happening. A Front Range water district is proposing a nearly $4 billion pipeline of more than 200 miles to pump Yampa River water to kitchen faucets in Aurora.

And the Steamboat Springs City Council is proposing a watershed protection ordinance that has drawn heated public comments from rural landowners warning of draconian over-regulation on the Yampa.

Pokrandt said tonight's workshop is not a forum for over-the-top debate.

"It's meant to be a water conversation; it's 'Water Law 101,'" he said. "It's very low-key and very informal - it's not going to be any kind of showdown over this ordinance. This is more of a water discussion; lots of questions are encouraged about what can be a very complex topic."

No registration is required for the workshop, which also includes commentary about water issues from Pilot & Today reporter Tom Ross. I'd join him, but duty at a City Council meeting calls. For more information about the workshop, call Pokrandt at (970) 945-8522, ext. 236, or e-mail edinfo@crwcd.org.

Water, Pokrandt said in 2005, is nothing less than "the history of the West." That history is evolving today, and in only two hours, you too can become an issues geek. And you'll be a hit at parties.

Just don't wear the neon spandex.

- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com