Rio Grande - Rio Grande Basin CREP_Application & Scope of Work

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised October 2006 Court with the Petition to form Subdistrict No.1 indicate that Subdistrict No.1 contains 171,291 acres of sprinl(ler irrigated lands, 21,110 acres of surface water irrigated lands, 6,046 acres of meadow land that could be irrigated using either ground or surface water sources. Data collected from the 1998 Rio Grande Decision Support System (RGDSS) for Subdistrict No.1 show alfalfa on approximately 45,700 acres, grass pasture on approximately 4,000 acres, potatoes on approximately 64,000 acres, small grains on approximately 55,000 acres and vegetables on approximately 5,000 acres. Subdistrict No.1 is governed by an eleven member Board of Managers who are currently worl(ing to develop a plan of water management that will remove approximately 40,000 acres from production in Subdistrict No.1. The Board of Managers firmly believes that the only way to encourage farmers to tal(e land out of production is to create financial incentives. The Board of Managers determined that seel(ing Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) funding in conjunction with financial incentives raised through user and service fees within the Subdistrict would be crucial to the subdistrict's success. The CREP is a Federal-State-Local partnership administered by the United States Department of Agriculture - Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) through the authority of the 2002 Farm Bill (Conservation Title). The CREP provides a tool that will assist producers within the sub-district to voluntarily reduce their water consumption, move toward a balance between water supply and demand, and retain a viable agricultural economy, which is so vital to the region. No other program exists that can provide the level of funding and collaborative federal-state-Iocal partnership necessary to address the groundwater management issue so critical to the basin and the state of Colorado. This Grant Application for SB-l 79 Competitive Funds is requested to provide thirty six thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars ($36,750.00) for the development of a CREP Proposal and subsequent CREP Agreement requesting enrollment of approximately 40,000 acres of irrigated cropland in the San Luis Valley of the Rio Grande Watershed in Colorado, specifically within Subdistrict No.1. This figure includes a $1,750 administration fee to the Applicant for management of the grant. The Rio Grande CREP Proposal will seel( USDA approval to enroll and retire irrigated acres through CREP and remove irrigation from the enrolled acres. Upon completion and USDA approval of the CREP Proposal and the CREP Agreement, and upon full implementation, this project will place 40,000 acres of previously cropped land into native vegetation and reduce water consumption within Subdistrict No.1 by approximately 60,000 acre feet per year. A fully implemented CREP in Subdistrict No.1 will mal(e a substantial contribution to Subdistrict No.l's goals of reducing consumptive use within the Closed Basin. An approved 40,000-acre CREP in Subdistrict No.1 of the Rio Grande Upper Basin will leverage approximately sixty million ($60,000,000) federal dollars to provide cost-share, incentives, and annual rental payments to producers that enroll in the CREP program. Subdistrict No.1, through income from assessments including service and user fees on irrigated cropland and in-l(ind services, will provide no more than a twenty percent contribution, in 7