A historical marker tells the story of how the Blue Mesa Reservoir was created when a dam was built on the upper Gunnison River more than 50 years ago. Although the spring snowpack and reservoir levels have been well above average this year, Colorado ag water leaders aren’t backing off from their efforts to educate the public about the need for more water storage. Photo by Candace Krebs By Candace Krebs / Contributing Writer A period of historic drought in the West might be over for now, but the war over water never is. A period of historic drought in the West might be over for now, but the war over water never is. From Colorado to California, a snowy late spring finally broke through what was left of the drought’s fierce grip. Soil is saturated again, reservoirs are full and water worries have temporarily receded as farms return to their full productive capability. Even so, wrestling over water during the recent shortages was a wake-up call for agricultural leaders who are now putting heightened importance on developing better outreach to the public while still pushing long-term resource planning. “Consumers enjoy what we produce but they don’t really understand what it takes to do it,” summarized Alicia Rockwell, the director of corporate communications for Blue Diamond, a large almond growing cooperative with more than 3,000 members who each farm on average 50 to 70 acres of trees. Agricultural groups in the two states are undertaking new forms of what Rockwell calls “ag reputation management” while looking ahead at how to address future water needs. “This is a very difficult place to do business,” she said. “That’s not just a concern for California, it should be a concern for the nation.” In Colorado, the Ag Water Alliance, a decade-long collaboration among representatives of the state’s agricultural groups, has put much of their emphasis in recent years on educating farmers and water-users on water rights issues and exploring new alternatives for sharing water between high priority uses. In recent weeks the group hosted two bus tours, geared specifically to the general public, which traveled through some of the most highly productive irrigated farmland in the…