Adjudication and public outreach

One of the central concerns of the State Engineer, and of the Utton Transboundary Resource Center (at UNM), is the public image and message of the on-going adjudication process. People tend to react negatively when they receive any kind of legal document, and it's no wonder that so many don't respond to initial offers of judgment or consent orders, so the "back end" work on this is time-consuming. Just look at the map to see the number of in-process adjudications, and this figures does not include the real beast that has yet to start, the Middle Rio Grande. I've written about Darcy Bushnell's efforts already at the Utton Center and her role in the Ombudsman Program. One of her central challenges is to facilitate public understanding of adjudication and I think this video in English and Spanish does a good job in explaining the process.
Adjudication reform is also under discussion, because of the conflicts generated within and because of adjudication as a process, and several groups are involved in either pushing for or facilitating a reform of some kind. What would a 'reformed' adjudication look like? Perhaps more negotiation and up-front contact by OSE personnel, or in person contact, rather than a legal packet that is often ignored for months on end. In my previous post, I made it clear that a lot of time and effort is spent sending out notices, but how much of this could be accelerated and made more informal? Because of the state mandate for doing general stream adjudications, and some cascading legal problems, this will be a difficult challenge. But certainly, some basic conflict resolution tools can come in handy. If you've never seen the materials put out by the Utton Center, now is the time especially if you are being adjudicated.