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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form <br />Fonn Revised May 2007 <br />The water activity helps surstain ogricurlnire and open space and meets environmental and recreational needs. The <br />voluntary retirement of some wells in the Republican basin will enable other farmers to continue to irrigate <br />their fields. Both fields upon which irrigation is retired and those that are able to continue to operate because <br />of the retirements and other activities will remain as functional open space for the foreseeable firturre. The <br />sustenance and restoration of flows in the Arickaree River will provide environmental benefits by protecting <br />the habitat of several species of plains fish and the riparian corridor along the river. The flow benefits will <br />also benefit recreation in the area by hunters, bird watcher, picnickers, and history buffs on private land along <br />the river and at Beecher Island State Park. The water activity will also help to sustain CWC'B instream flow <br />rights decreed for this reach of the Arickaree River one of the only CWC'B instream flow rights decreed in <br />the eastern plains of Colorado. <br />The water activity, is directly linked to and aids in the administration of compact-entitled waters and helps address <br />problems related to contact-entitled waters and compact compliance. The speck retirements targeted by this <br />project are built upon Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and Environmental Quality Incentives <br />Programs that were implemented specifically to aid the local community and the state comply with the <br />Republican River Compact and settlement <br />The water activity will assist in the recovery of threatened or endangered wildlife species (i.e., plains minnow and <br />brassy minnow) and Colorado state species of concern (i.e., orangethroat darter). Feather, it may aid in <br />keeping fish species from being listed Other plains fish species known firom the Arickaree inchrde the central <br />stoneroller, creek chub, fathead minnow, red shiner, sand shiner, white sucker, green sunfish, and plains <br />killifish. <br />As the base incentives o fered by C'REP and EQIP are based on fair market value evaluations of the economic impact <br />of well retirements on irrigated acres, the water activity provides a reasonable benefit to Colorado in <br />relationship to the amount offends requested The finds requested in this application will provide a high level <br />of benefit to Colorado in relationship to the amount of finds requrested because they will result in the <br />retirement of wells close to a live surface stream instead of wells at some greater distance from a live surface <br />stream that would, all things being equal, more likely be enrolled in the absence of the added incentives that <br />this proposal would find <br />The water activity, is complementary to the state's efforts to comply with the Republican River Compact and settlement <br />and the CWCB 's recent decision to loan the Republican River Water Conservation District signi frcant funds to <br />implement other compact compliance activities. <br />The water activity helps szrstain Colorado 's agriculturral output by enabling sign cant production to continure in the <br />Republican Basin, which is responsible for producing several billion dollars a year worth of agricurltrrral <br />prodrets. Yuma County, which lies in the heart of the basin, has been among the top five corn producing <br />counties in the (A and its output contributes to Colorado 's economic vitality and competitiveness in national <br />and international markets. <br />9