The State of Colorado's Watersheds Report 2005

• Year: 2005
• Title: The State of Colorado's Watersheds Report
• Author: Colorado Watershed Assembly
• Description: 2005
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

Background
In November 2003, The Dolores
Water Conservancy District (DWCD)
and San Juan Citizen's Alliance (SJCA)
convened an effort to address resource
management for the Dolores River
Watershed downstream of McPhee
Reservoir. The effort, called the Dolores
River Dialogue (DRD), is a multi -
stakeholder effort aimed at improving
the environment downstream ofMcPhee
Dam while protecting or enhancing
human uses of the Dolores River water
resource. The DRD is being facilitated
by Mike Preston of Ft. Lewis College's
Community Action Program, and it
includes participants representing a
broad spectrum of Federal, State, local
governments, water users, recreation
and environmental representatives,
as well as community based interests,
both public and private. In addition,
input from any interest or individual
is welcome at the Dolores River
Dialogue.
Accomplishments
To date, the Dolores River Dialogue
has made great progress. The DRD has
convened over a year of successful,
well- attended meetings of diverse
stakeholders with an interest in river
management. The DRD has established
two data /science study groups to
assess the condition of aquatic and
riparian systems in the lower Dolores
River, and to consider the critical
questions of water availability and
project constraints in identifying
opportunities to achieve DRD goals.
The group has successfully raised funds
from a range of stakeholders to support
its continued meetings and scientific
investigations. And just this spring,
the Dialogue's good work yielded an
on- the - ground success for river and
watershed conditions: the work of the
newly - established core science team
was used to plan this year's spill release
from the McPhee Dam, providing
targets for improving riparian and
warm -water fish communities in the
downstream river environment. A
grant from the Bureau of Reclamation
will help to monitor the effects of
different flow
levels through
before and after
videography of
the channel all
of the way to the
Colorado River.
The DRD
core science
team and core
hydrology team
have issued
preliminary
reports. The
science team
will integrate
the river resource assessment, which
identifies flow conditions that support
native fish and riparian habitats, with
the hydrologic water availability report
— given climatic conditions and the
local watershed reports
needs of all the human users of the
river. These needs include the natural
systems of the river, agriculture,
cold water fisheries and recreational
boating. Integrating these two studies
into a matrix or simplified model
will allow stakeholders to understand
the opportunities and work towards
informed resource management
decisions.
When the matrix of opportunities
for river restoration has been developed,
we will convene a workshop to identify
practical actions to enhance the lower
Rafters enjoying the Dolores River
Dolores River, given resource needs and
water availability. Public participation
of diverse stakeholders is a cornerstone
of the Dolores River Dialogue and this
workshop will be the culmination of the
scientific work to date.