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Section 9 Attachment J II el! 'I Jackson Gulch Reservoir Expansion Project The first phase of the Mancos watershed project is a watershed-wide assessment of the natural resources in the area. The assessment goals and objectives are as follow: . 1) Produce a lW.ltershed projlle that outlines the current and historical status of natural resources, social circumstances and environmental conditions; . 2) Develop a matrix that summarizes current resource conditions, desired resource conditions, conservation practice and system recommendations (including 0 & M costs), and qualitative effects on primary resource concerns; . 3) Bring stakeholders together in a partnership that allows for the consideration of needs, concerns, and recommendations; . 4) Develop a public outreachprogram that raises awareness and participation in conservation initiatives among stakeholders; . 5) Formalize partnership agreements; . 6) Ident!fY additional funding sources for planning and implementation phases. .: The pmject is important to the conservation efforts of the Mancos Valley as a whole because this valley: . I) Is part of the natural resource base for the Upper and Lower Colorado River water projects; . 2) Serves a rapidly expanding and culturally diverse human population; . 3) Is the foundation for an agricultural community that has occupied the land for over 130 years, now in a state of transition; . 4) Has an expanding commercial community; . 5) Contains abundant native and wildlife species, important economically because of hunting and tishing and ecologically as providers of ecosystem servICes; . 6) Supports large-scale cultural tourism related to Ancestral Puebloan archeology. [The watershed has more than 5,000 known archaeological sites, the two most notable being Mesa Verde National Park, a United Nations designated World Heritage Site, and the Ute Mountain Ute TribaIPark.]; . 7) Provides scenic value as a portion of the nationally designated San Juan Skyway, a 236-mile Scenic By-way. . A summary of the work to be perfonned as part of this assessment is as follows: . 1) Collect and compile quantitative and qualitative information to develop an overall watershed profile. Data on. soil, hydrology, water quality, air quality, wildlife, and the functional condition of the riparian ecosystems throughout the watershed will be gathered along with data on water storage and water supply adequacy. We will also collect information on social demographics and open space to better understand the changing demographic patterns and identify future natural resource needs and distributions.