Irrigated agriculture is vitally important to the economy and quality of life in many areas of the Colorado River Basin. It also accounts for a significant share of the basin’s existing water use, shared among 33 million people in the United States plus 3 million in Mexico. Faced with historic drought conditions and water supply pressures, farmers, ranchers, Indian tribes and other water users are in urgent need of accelerated conservation on working agricultural lands.

With the CCA designation, USDA will build on existing strong partnerships in the region to accelerate conservation efforts to address these internationally significant conservation issues. Working alongside a broad spectrum of partners who will bring additional investments for conservation, NRCS will focus assistance on promoting soil health, improving irrigation, addressing drought and helping to promote sustainable use of water resources throughout the basin.

This dataset includes a printer-friendly CCA map and shapefiles for GIS.