Incorporation of Governance Committee Comments on draft IMRC

Home Browse Search

STATE OF COLORADO Colorado Water Conservation Bi _Y)90 Department of Natural Resource: 1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 Denver, Colorado 80203 0VM Phone: (303) 866 -3441 FAX: (303) 866 -4474 . www.dnr.state.co.us/cwcb Bill Owens Governor Technical Committee Greg E.Walcher Platte River Cooperative Agreement Executive Director Subject: Comments on the Draft Integrated Monitoring and Research Col tie or Dear Technical Committee Members: Dan McAuliffe Deputy Director Thank you for the opportunity to review the draft Integrated Monitoring and Research Component ( "IMRC ") prepared by the Technical Committee. The State of Colorado emphatically agrees with the Platte River Project's comments on this subject. We appreciate the importance of monitoring and research to the proposed Program and we recognize the many challenges in allocating resources to such efforts. The State of Colorado has real concerns about the escalating Program budget. At this time, critical discussions are being held about budget constraints, particularly related to the Water Action Plan. As you know, some 60,000 to 80,000af are needed to reach the critical habitat annually for Program purposes. Meanwhile, progress towards habitat acquisition and management is being made with the realization that costs could be substantial. Throughout the first increment of the proposed Program, the states and the federal government committed to adhere to a $75 million budget in the Cooperative Agreement. Water and habitat are the foremost considerations for the proposed Program. While research and monitoring is essential to meet milestones, we view the proposed $19 million budget as untenable. Moreover, we question the extent to which the proposed budget recognizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fiscal and statutory responsibility for research and monitoring. We have grave doubts about the Colorado General Assembly's willingness to fund the State's involvement in these efforts beyond the budget set forth in the Cooperative Agreement and we hope the Technical Committee and the Governance Committee will carefully consider these important issues. Thank you. Sincerely, Greg Walcher Executive Director Flood Control and Floodplain Management • Project Planning and Construction • Instream Flows and Water Rights Investigations • Interstate Streams Investigations • Office of Conservation Planning • Personnel and Budget