Gov. John Hickenlooper has launched a state rebranding initiative, Making Colorado, to stimulate the state’s economy, streamline statewide programs, and reintroduce the state to the rest of the world. Through April 30, the initiative is seeking state residents’ input on what it is that makes Colorado, Colorado.

The Colorado River is critical to the Colorado state economy, responsible for 80,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in revenue each year. Colorado natives and visitors enjoy world class rafting, fishing and national parks – which have defined the state as a place to enjoy the great outdoors, breathtaking landscapes and free flowing rivers. The state is also home to small businesses, agricultural innovators and individuals who recognize the economic importance of the river.

Take Action: Tell Gov. Hickenlooper that a healthy Colorado River makes a vibrant Colorado.

1. Send a tweet sharing your Colorado River story to @makingcolorado, including the hashtag #makingcolorado. In addition to sharing your personal story, please feel free to choose from among our sample tweets:

• @makingcolorado Canyons carved by free flowing rivers are what makes Colorado, Colorado #makingcolorado #rivers #kayaking #rafting #fishing
• @makingcolorado Supporting a healthy Colorado River supports a healthy Colorado state #makingcolorado #innovation #smallbusiness
• @makingcolorado Colorado = conservation. 76 percent of Coloradans support efforts to conserve water & reduce waste #makingcolorado 
• @makingcolorado Colorado is what makes the Colorado River, and vice versa. Support healthy rivers. #makingcolorado #recreation #economy
• @makingcolorado Colorado’s West Slope relies on free flowing rivers for 80,000 #jobs & $6.4 billion per year #makingcolorado #economy

2. Upload your favorite photo of the Colorado River here, or share a photo on twitter or instagram to @makingcolorado using the hashtag #makingcolorado.

Thank you for helping us support a healthy Colorado River and a vibrant Colorado.

Today, American Rivers announced that the Colorado River is the nation's Most Endangered River.

"Demand on the river’s water now exceeds its supply, leaving the river so over-tapped that dries up to a trickle before reaching the sea. A century of water management policies and practices that have promoted wasteful water use have put the river at a critical crossroads."

Watch the video.

Learn more about what we're doing to restore healthy river flows to the Colorado, with solutions ranging from water-saving infrastructure for agriculture to Basin-wide water conservation: http://www.coloradoriverbasin.org/about-us/

A recent National Geographic Water Currents blog post introduces us to Inocencia Gonzalez, a seventy-seven year old elder of the Cucapá, a native tribe that has lived in the Delta for at least a thousand years.

“When I was a little girl, the river never dried up,” she says. “Now that I’m old, yes, look, it’s dry…[I]t makes me sad.  There’s nowhere to fish.  There’s no fish.”

Natives of the Colorado River Delta are all too familiar with dry years. But what they're not familiar with is change. A great revival is now in store for the river's dry delta — one that will begin to restore flows and rejoin the river to the sea.

"Farmers in the Mexicali Valley are playing a critical role in the restoration as well. Working collaboratively with conservation groups, some are voluntarily selling their water rights to the innovative Colorado River Delta Water Trust – a kind of water bank for restoration efforts.  Established in 2008 by Mexico-based Pronatura Noroeste and U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund and Sonoran Institute, the trust is paying fair market price for water rights, and then strategically using the water to reestablish forests along the Colorado River corridor and expand off-channel wetlands."

Read more from the Water Currents blog: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/22/revival-in-the-colorado-river-delta/