Board Metting 01/23/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. Storms Boost Snowpack: Colorado's double shot of year-end heavy snow may bring good tidings for the Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack, but it's a bit premature to proclaim a stellar spring runoff. The best news: The drought in the central Rockies may have been relegated to the history books - for now, at least. By Dec 29, precipitation totals for the Upper Colorado River Basin were well above normal, with total precipitation sitting at 115 percent of average and snow-water equivalent 108 percent of average. Some particularly wet spots on the Western Slope include Mesa Lakes on Grand Mesa, where precipitation totals are 135 percent of normal, and McClure Pass, which has received precipitation 138 percent of normal. The Front Range basins are also doing well with snow-water equivalent. The South Platte River Basin is at 134 percent of normal and the Arkansas River Basin is 120 percent of normal. But there are serious moisture deficits in some Western Slope basins. The Yampa-White River Basin is at 85 percent of normal for snow-water equivalent and the San Juan-Dolores-Animas-San Miguel River Basin sits at 81 percent of normal. According to the National Weather Service, 33 percent of the entire Southwest region of the United States - including Arizona, the western parts of Colorado, Texas and New Mexico, and the southern thirds of Utah and California - is covered with snow. The average regional snow depth is 1.1 inches with an average snow-water equivalent of 0.2 inches. Maximum snow depth is about 42 inches. . It's a bit snowier in the Central Rockies, which includes most of Wyoming, north-central New Mexico and central Colorado. More than 98 percent of that area is covered with snow with an average snow depth of 12.2 inches and a snow-water equivalent of2.3 inches. The greatest snow depth in the region is 77 inches. Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund: This item was originally presented to the Board as an informational item in 2005. In response to Board members' request to see the program guidance and other grant administration materials developed for processing the Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund grants, staff has attached these materials to this Director's Report. As background, the Fish and Wildlife Resources Fund (aIkIa Fish & Wildlife Mitigation Account) was established by the Legislature in 1987 with a base of $5,000,000 to help mitigate the impacts of existing water facilities. The statute was amended in 2002 to recognize the role instream flows play in mitigating impacts, and authorized the CWCB as well as sponsors of existing facilities to use these funds. The relevant statutory language is as follows: 37-60-122.2. Fish and wildlife resources - legislative declaration -}ish and wildlife resources fund - authorization. (5) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY RECOGNIZES THE ROLE INSTREAM FLOWS AND RIVER RESTORATION PROJECTS PLAY IN MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF WATER DIVERSION, DELIVERY, AND STORAGE FACILITIES. THEREFORE, THE COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD AND THE OPERATORS OF EXISTING WATER DIVERSION, DELIVERY, OR STORAGE FACILITIES PROJECTS ARE HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD FOR MONEYS FOR PROJECTS TO CARRY OUT THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION THE BOARD IS AUTHORIZED TO GRANT SUCH MONEYS IF IT FINDS THAT SUCH PROJECTS WILL FURTHER THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION . To guide implementation of the new statute, the Board adopted Policy #15 -- CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF FISH AND Wll..DLIFE RESOURCES FUND APPLICA nONS FOR INSTREAM FLOWS AND RIVER RESTORA nON PROJECTS. The new policy, which became effective on 19 ~