North Platte - Pine Beetle _Water Activity Summary Shee (2)

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant and Loan Program Water Activity Summary Sheet Agenda Item 7f Applicant: Rocky Mountain Research Station Water Activity Name: Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle and Forest Management on Water Quantity, Quality and Forest Recovery - North Platte and Upper Colorado River Basins Amount Requested: $ 376,923.48 Source of Funds: $212,305.56 (Basin Account) and $164,617.92 (Statewide Account) Matching Funds: Significant in-kind staffing and equipment, value not quantified Water Activity Purpose: Non-structural water activity County: Jackson, Routt, and Grand; perhaps others Drainage Basin: N. Platte and Colorado River basins Water Source: multiple Staff Recommendation Staff recommends approval of up to $212,000 from the North Platte Basin Account and $165,000 from the Statewide Account to help complete the "Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle and Forest Management on Water Quantity, Quality and Forest Recovery - North Platte and Upper Colorado River Basins" project contingent on resolution of the item in the issues/additional needs section. Application Tabled at the September 2008 CWCB Meeting The Board voted to table the application until the November CWCB meeting because of the following issues: • Federal agencies are currently an eligible entity under the Criteria and Guidelines, however the Board had concerns about granting state money to a federal agency. • The Water Activity Summary Sheet identified several "Issues/Additional Needs." We can use the time between now and November to address these Staff worked with the applicant to address these issues. In terms of the contracting entity, staff worked with the applicant to see if another entity could receive the funds. We explored using the Colorado State Forest or a local entity. We were not able to come up with a local entity that could act as the fiscal agent. We explored using the Colorado State Forest but do not think this makes project management of fiscal sense. Using them as the fiscal agent would add a layer of administrative overhead and additional costs. The Rock Mountain Research Station, although a part of the US Forest Service, is set up as a collaborative research entity that can execute the work with minimal administrative overhead. Staff recommends providing the grant directly to the Rocky Mountain Research Station since they will be performing the work. The applicant submitted a revised Scope of Work and Budget addressing the "Issues/Additional Needs" identified in the original Water Activity Summary Sheet. The original Water Activity Summary Sheet is provided below.