By Scott A. Miltenberger, Ph.D.
Building on prior scholarship, “We Must Judge the Future by the Past” explores the impact and historical significance of the 1931–40 dry period for the Colorado River Basin. It places this decadal drought in context and discusses how it shaped U.S. Bureau of Reclamation planning for new Colorado River projects in the 1940s, the drafting of the Upper Colorado River Compact of 1948, and the development of the Colorado River Storage Project, authorized by Congress in 1956.