CURE is an American non-profit that addresses public policy and
environmental justice implications of water transfers from agricultural to
urban centers among its other land use and environment activities. Due
to unchecked population growth and shortages on the Colorado River,
cities in the western United States increasingly look to agricultural areas
for relief. For the past five years, CURE has actively participated
in the public debate surrounding California's landmark proposed
transfer of water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.

CURE is addressing the short- and long-term implications of water
transfers on several levels including:

• Educating rural communities on both sides of the US-Mexico border
  about the environmental justice implications of water transfers, through
  development of a documentary on how water transfers directly impact the
  public (link to film clip)
• Purchasing or structuring land trusts for the preservation of
  endangered and threatened habitat
• Administrative advocacy and engagement, public education, and
  litigation challenging the construction of a new, concrete-lined All American
  Canal, including work with the Environmental Protection Agency, the
  Department of the Interior, and the International Border Water Commission,
  based upon the lack of a comprehensive study on the bi-national nature
  of these water and ecosystem issues
• Supporting academic research into the public policy impacts of water
  transfers from a regional sustainability perspective, including the
  impacts on
  
  -Human migration and immigration
  -Wildlife and natural resources, including endangered species such as
    the Yuma clapper rail
  -Andrade Mesa wetlands
  -Air pollution levels
• Collaborating with other stakeholders in the development of
  sustainable, water transfer policies. (link to the Southern - California water
  committee policy paper)
• Promoting research into the long-term implications of reduced
  agriculture on America's food security
• Developing strategies to mitigate the loss of agricultural land
  through the adoption of land use policies promoting a balanced evolution
  from rural to suburban communities, including economic alternatives for
  migrant and low skilled workers to offset unemployment resulting from
  water transfers.
• Structuring land trusts and other legal mechanisms to promote the
  survivability of family farms and open space in rural America.
• Developing appropriate and long-term remedies for the depletion of
  the Salton Sea