The coming Republican administration in Washington should help move the properly downsized Animas-La Plata Project along. The Utes have long deserved their portion of the water, and the non-Indian water will be needed for the inevitable population growth. After certain legal challenges are met, Ridges Basin reservoir construction may well be less intrusive than feared.
Equipment is large, and construction workers are professionals.
For Fort Lewis College, the challenge in the near future is to enroll capable freshmen. With the University of Colorado and Colorado State University dipping down into the available pool of high school graduates, and a strong job market, competition is stiff. Fort Lewis will either have to grow its own freshmen in a sense, providing entering remedial classes or by strengthening its reputation for delivering a quality undergraduate education. One similarity between Fort Lewis College and the three public school districts in the county is the low wages paid teachers. New college liberal arts faculty cannot buy a house in Durango, and School District 9-R teachers work second jobs.