South Platte - Ducks Unlimited Lower SP Water Protection and Wetland Restoration_C150432 Application

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Fonn Revised May 2007 the bloody Sand Creels Massacre, the local military used the fort to protect all types of passengers traveling along the Overland Trail. While our paramount concern remains the conservation of wetland habitats, DU is also interested about preserving our waterfowling heritage. Duck clubs along the Platte River date back more than 100 years and represent a strong cultural tradition with a deep land ethic. Nearly 70 years of banding data show the rich history of waterfowling in Colorado. Even as we celebrate relatively large harvest rates, we remain aware that we are not recruiting new hunters in the state. Without protection of the properties and resources that sustain quality hunting, we will lose the waterfowling heritage that has existed here since settlement. Provide for operational flexibility: Most projects will provide operational flexibility. The Heyborne restoration project, fiunded by the CWCB last year will likely be operated by SPWRAP or LSPWCD to assure that the best combination of water recharge, storage, irrigation, and wildlife needs are met. The projects will be operated in cooperation with several partners to meet the goals of this proposal and the long term goals of the Platte Recovery Program and SWSI. Comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and water rights: DU will insure that all applicable laws, regulations, and water rights are followed as the project progresses. The water activity promotes water conservation and efficiency: The project promotes water conservation by putting water to beneficial use and thereby increasing efficiency of water rights associated with the tracts. The applicant has an existing water conservation plan: DU unveiled a ten year conservation plan for Colorado in 2003. Water originating from the mountaintops in Colorado eventually reaches the Platte River in Nebraska, the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, the Arkansas River Bottoms in Arkansas, and the Rio Grande Delta in Texas. This water nourishes wetlands of these systems and provides stream flow critical to fish and wildlife. While many events and decisions along the course of these flows determine the ultimate quantity and quality of water that nourish downstream wetlands, the health of the headwaters is the first link in the chain. Seasonal wetlands created by overbank flooding during spring runoff were one of the most common types of wetlands in Colorado prior to settlement. Seasonal wetlands purify melt water as it moves through wetland soils and plant roots, recharge aquifers that provide base flow for rivers and streams, and attenuate flood events by retaining runoff from snowmelt and thunderstorms. DU's conservation efforts with seasonal wetlands help assure that the headwaters of the state continue to flow and provide high quality water. 11