South Platte - Lower South Platte Wetland Initiative Phase I_Application-Void

Home Browse Search

Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised May 2007 we have over 10,000 registered members in Colorado. The SPR is DU's main focus in Colorado. Diverse habitats and geographic isolation from other large western rivers attracts millions of waterfowl and migratory birds each year. The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory estimates that 74% of all bird species in Colorado are found on the SPR sometime during each year. However, the Platte is losing its diverse habitat and natural features due to impacts on water resources caused by human diversions. Changes in natural flood regimen such as overbank flooding, scouring, and flushing flows have reduced the number of seasonal wetlands, warm-water sloughs, and sandbars. These habitats have been further reduced by agricultural practices, and municipal and industrial enterprises. River augmentation via wetland recharge has become a viable technology for restoring and creating seasonal wetland habitat. Water applied directly to the recharge basin provides migration and wintering habitat, but return flows through the alluvial aquifer augment flows to warm-water sloughs, raise groundwater tables to supply seasonal wetlands, and supplement flows in the river channel, the latter of which is the main goal of river augmentation projects. Recent studies conducted by the RMBO and Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) demonstrate that recharge wetlands are vital to migratory and wintering birds on the SPR, as more than 20 species of migratory birds and 27 species of waterfowl use these habitats. Obviously, most recharge projects are conceived to support agricultural, municipal and industrial enterprises. Recharge projects retime water excesses in the river so that additional water returns to the river when natural flows are insufficient to satisfy water rights. However, DU has found a niche in supporting recharge projects with design features that benefit wildlife and has built diverse partnerships to assist in accomplishing this goal. It is a unique and highly successful partnership that has delivered recharge projects on public, private and municipal lands. Partners in the South Platte Wetlands Focus Area (SPFAC) include Ducks Unlimited, USFWS Partners for Wildlife (PFW), CDOW, Colorado Open Lands (COL), Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District (LSPWCD), Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), RMBO, South Platte Lower River Group (SPLRG), and South Platte Water Related Activities Program (SPWRAP). This partnership was instrumental in developing the Tamarack Phase I recharge project, now central to Colorado's contribution to the Platte River Recovery Program (Program). For the purposes of this application DU chose three landowners on three tracts of land that would best demonstrate the power of collaboration, and the ability for partnerships to meet the goals and objectives of the SWSI and HB-ll77. These tracts are located throughout the lower river from Brush to the stateline. We chose this geographic area because it conforms to the administrativeboundries of the LSPWCD, and the project focus area of the SPWRAP, and within the larger project boundary identified by DU. Brush Prairie Ponds SW A This 620-acre property's top priority is to provide recharge credits to cover the City of Brush's municipal wells. Owned by the city, wetlands have been developed throughout the property by DU and CDOW to provide waterfowl habitat for public hunting. The Fort Morgan canal delivers recharge water in the spring and early summer to fill the wetlands, which remain flooded through the first part of fall. The City and the Fort Morgan Reservoir and Irrigation Company split the recharge credits, bnefitting both entities. Survey's conducted by CDOW and RMBO indicate that this is one of the most popular waterfowling destinations in Northern Colorado, and waterfowl harvests are more than double those on other public access properties. However, there is still room to grow. The original decree allowed for 12 diversions along the Fort Morgan Canal as it crosses the property, and although the 12th diversion was installed, it was never used. Concerns 3