BOARD00031 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Federal and Interstate
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Ditch Bill Update - In our continuing effort to keep the Board apprised of the progress by the U.S. Forest
Service on the issuance of Ditch Bill Easements and the issues surrounding this task the following
information is provided:

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Colorado Ditch Bill Act Easements
Progress Report - 9/08/2006

The Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Region is going to report an accomplishment of262 Ditch Bill
easement application cases as having been processed during the Fiscal Year 2006, ending on September
30, 2006. That follows an accomplishment of 169 cases that were processed during Fiscal Year 2005
(ending on Sept. 30, 2005), for a total 2-year accomplishment of 431 cases processed. This will leave the
Region with approximately 630 remaining cases, the vast majority of which are already being worked on
and are at some stage of processing.

Jeff Ulrich, Region 2 Ditch Bill Coordinator is currently on a fire assignment and was unavailable to
provide a Forest-by-Forest breakdown of where the accomplishments have occurred. We expect to have
this more detailed itemization for the Board's November Director's Report.

If you have specific questions, please contact Jeffery Ulrich at:
Jeffery L. Ulrich
R-2 Ditch Bill Coordinator
740 Simms Street
Golden, CO 80401
303-275-5091
j [e-mail]

New NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster: Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has selected Arlen Lancaster
as Chief of the NRCS. Lancaster has served as deputy secretary of Congressional Relations since April
2005. Prior to working for USDA, he served in various senior staff positions in Congress. He has served
as a senior policy advisor for Senator Mike Crapo since 1999 and as the staff director for the Senate
Subcommittee on Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization since 2001. He is credit with playing a
key role in crafting parts of the 2002 Farm Bill. He has also worked for Senator Robert Bennett and in
the Utah State Legislature. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Utah.

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Robert Johnson To Be Nominated To Be Commissioner of Reclamation: President Bush has
announced his intention to nominate Robert W. Johnson to be Commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation. Johnson currently serves as Regional Director of the Lower Colorado Region.

If confirmed, Johnson will replace former Commissioner John W. Keys III, who retired earlier this year.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Rinne has been serving as Acting Commissioner. Rinne will continue to serve
in this capacity until Johnson is confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in as Commissioner.

Senator Kyle to Introduce MSCP Act: In order to provide more certainty for the Multi-Species
Conservation Program (MSCP), which is being implemented in the Lower Colorado River Basin to
provide conservation measures for endangered species, and its participants, Senator Kyle intends to
introduce an Act in the Senate in the coming weeks. The proposed legislation, among other things,
authorizes funds to cover the federal cost share in the program, directs the Sec.retary of the Interior to
manage and implement the MSCP in accordance with the underlying program documents, and provides a
waiver of sovereign immunity so that the non-federal participants would be able to hold the U.S.
government accountable for its obligations under the plan in court, if that became necessary.

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