Colorado Farm Bureau President Retires from Interbasin Compact Committee

Colorado Farm Bureau President Retires from Interbasin Compact Committee

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Feb 11, 2026

After 20 years on the committee, President Currier is stepping down.

Colorado Farm Bureau (CFB) President Carlyle Currier is stepping down after 20 years on the Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) to focus more on his new role on the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Executive Committee. President Currier was elected to the IBCC in 2006 after being appointed to the Colorado Basin Roundtable.

President Currier had planned to step down when he was elected president of the Colorado Farm Bureau in 2020, but had many folks convince him to stay on longer to make sure agriculture's voice was still properly represented. He said it is finally time for him to focus on his other commitments, such as his new role on the AFBF Executive Committee.

The IBCC was created in 2005 when the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act passed through the state legislature. It created nine roundtables across the state- one for each basin, and one for the Denver Metro Area. Each roundtable elects two representatives onto the IBCC Committee, which has 27 total members to represent the various water interests across the state, including agriculture, municipal, recreation, environmental, etc.

The IBCC was very active in its first 10 years, helping to write the Colorado Water Plan that was released in 2015. Many CFB members were involved in creating this plan, including Rob Sakata and Don Shawcroft, and other well-known Colorado ag proponents like Terry Fankhauser. The group supporting agriculture would meet monthly or even more frequently, according to Currier, to make sure they would present a unified message to the IBCC on ag water issues.

The Colorado Water Plan was supposed to be updated approximately every five years, but the COVID pandemic put everything on hold. The newest update to the plan wasn't released until 2023, spearheaded by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB).

While President Currier says helping to create the Colorado Water Plan was among his biggest accomplishments while on the IBCC, he is even more proud that he was able to help bring the agriculture industry together to speak with one voice. He truly feels it brought the community together and helped prevent them from being overrun by the other industries invested in water usage. This unification process led to the formation of the Colorado Ag Water Alliance (CAWA), a group the Colorado Farm Bureau is still currently involved with.

"It's been a great process to get to know water leaders across the state both inside and outside of ag," Currier said. "There are so many people from various fields that I don't think I would've gotten to know otherwise, and I am grateful for their hard work."