Celene Hawkins is the new Colorado River Program Director for The Nature Conservancy, stepping into the role after years of impactful work in tribal water policy and place-based conservation across the basin. She’s taking the baton from Taylor Hawes, who led the program for nearly 17 years and is now serving as the Colorado River Program’s Special Advisor. It’s a leadership transition at a critical moment for the Colorado River, and in this episode, I was lucky to sit down with both of them in person to talk through the handoff—what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and what the future of the river might look like.

This is both Celene and Taylor’s second time on the podcast, and we cover a lot of ground. We talk about the ongoing negotiations over new operating guidelines for the river—what’s on the table, why the stakes are so high, and what happens if the basin states can’t come to an agreement. We dig into tribal involvement—how things are (slowly) changing after decades of exclusion, and why stronger tribal participation is essential to any long-term solutions. We also explore how conservation groups are bringing new ideas, resources, and partnerships to the table, from modeling future scenarios to piloting creative water-sharing and resilience strategies across the West.

And beyond the policy, we talk about what it actually takes to lead in a time of uncertainty—how to stay grounded, keep teams motivated, and maintain momentum when the challenges feel overwhelming. As always, Taylor and Celene bring a clear-eyed sense of purpose and a refreshing mix of realism and optimism to the conversation.

We’re releasing this episode just ahead of Colorado River Day, which falls on July 25th. So if you care about the West, public lands, rivers, or just want to better understand one of the most important water and conservation challenges in North America, this is a great place to start.

Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoy!

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Celene Hawkins
Taylor Hawes
Announcement of Celene’s new role as Director
TNC’s Colorado River Program
Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/celene-taylor/

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This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

During the last week of every month throughout 2025, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

3:02 - Intro, Taylor’s career shift
7:27 - Celene’s journey into Taylor’s old role
9:07 - What Taylor’s proud of
13:16 - Celene’s pitch for the job
15:21 - Exciting initiatives
17:18 - Overview of the Colorado River Basin negotiations
22:42 - Sticking points
23:54 - Finding the Indigenous voice
28:38 - Alternatives
31:37 - Work outside of negotiations
37:07 - Federal funding freeze impacts
39:04 - Effects of uncertainty
40:57 - Not getting bogged down
44:49 - What Celene’s learned from Taylor
46:28 - And how Taylor thinks Celene is well-positioned
47:22 - Book recs
51:37 - Wrapping up

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