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<br />In 2002, RiGHT began the San Luis Valley Strategic Conservation Inventory and Plan (SCIP), an ongoing <br />inventory of all the protected lands in the SL V and public meetings with residents of all six SL V counties <br />to assess priority conservation values. Through the SCIP process and subsequent evaluations, it is clear <br />that Rio Grande river corridor lands and water resources stand out as the community's primary and <br />paramount conservation priority. In response to this clear priority, over the past several years RiGHT and <br />our partners have been developing the Rio Grande Initiative, a collaborative process to protect as much <br />private land along the Rio Grande river corridor as possible- while we have the chance. <br /> <br />In December 2007, RiGHT received an award for the full request of$7.385 million for a large scale <br />Legacy Grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) for the overall Rio Grande Initiative, targeting <br />protection of six important river ranches and their senior water rights, over a three year time period. The <br />Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) is partnering on two ofthe properties for $2.385 million of the <br />total request. The funds requested in this application would serve as matching funds to the GOCO award <br />along with generous donations of value from the participating landowners, which total $3.748 million. <br /> <br />Kev Partners <br /> <br />As a landscape-scale, multi-year project to protect the Rio Grande corridor, the Rio Grande Initiative <br />involves numerous partners for its overall success. In addition to RiGHT, there are three active <br />collaborators: 1) the San Luis Valley Wetlands Focus Area Committee, 2) Ducks Unlimited and 3) The <br />Nature Conservancy. We have included descriptions of these organizations below to demonstrate the <br />breadth of the partnership and the collective capacity to achieve the objectives of the Rio Grande Initiative. <br /> <br />San Luis Valley Wetlands Focus Area Committee (SLV WFAC) is a collaborative group consisting of <br />essentially all of the area's federal and state land, water and wildlife agencies and districts; the many <br />national, state and local conservation organizations active in our area; and interested citizens. This group <br />works to protect, restore and enhance the management of public and private wetlands and the water <br />resources that sustain them. This group has long worked collaboratively for the protection of the river <br />corridor and its many important wetland and water resources. Coordinator, Rio de la Vista, is the <br />Environmental Representative on the Rio Grande Basin Round Table and the SL V WF AC is now serving <br />as the Non-consumptive Needs Assessment Subcommittee for the Round Table. RiGHT serves as the <br />fiscal agent for the SL V WF AC and the group works to support the conservation efforts of all its members <br />and partners. <br /> <br />Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an international conservation organization dedicated to the conservation, <br />restoration and management of waterfowl habitat and wetlands that support them. The Rio Grande <br />corridor between Monte Vista and Alamosa has been a top DU priority in Colorado since 1996. Their <br />success over the past decade with substantial private lands protection in this region, particularly among <br />long-time local ranching families, has laid the foundation for the entire Rio Grande Initiative. To date, DU <br />has over 3,500 acres under conservation easements along the river, providing important buffers for three <br />Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) State Wildlife Areas (SW As). DU holds conservation easements <br />on 16,010 acres in the SLY and with the active participation ofSLV WFAC members, has been awarded <br />three large North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NA WCA) grants ($1 million each) as well as <br />substantial GOCO and other funds for conservation efforts in the SLY. <br /> <br />The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is an international conservation organization dedicated to the <br />conservation ofthe Earth's biodiversity. TNC has long considered the SL Va priority area and the <br />Colorado Chapter has invested significant time and funding in the protection of the area's important <br />biological resources. Their many successes in this part of the state include one ofthe earliest conservation <br />easements in Colorado (1986) protecting the Phipps family's La Garita Ranch, an 1,400+ acre ranch on the <br /> <br />Page 3 of 32 <br /> <br />Rio Grande Initiative <br /> <br />Janual'Y 2008 <br />