Rio Grande - Haywood Ranch Conservation Easement_WaterActivitySummary

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Water Supply Reserve Account—Grant and Loan Program Water Activity Summary Sheet Agenda Item 25.h Applicant: Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust(RiGHT) Water Activity Name: Rio Grande Initiative: Haywood Ranch Conservation Easement Water Activity Purpose: Nonstructural Consumptive and Nonconsumptive Water Project County: Rio Grande County Drainage Basin: Rio Grande River Water Source: Rio Grande River Amount Requested: $400,000 (Statewide Account); $25,000 (Rio Grande Basin Account) Matching Funds: $300,000 (cash,NAWCA grant); $400,000 (in-kind, landowner donation) Staff Recommendation Staff recommends approval of up to $400,000 from the Statewide Account and$25,000 from the Rio Grande Basin Account to partially fund the Rio Grande Initiative: Haywood Ranch Conservation Easement. Water Activity Summary: The Rio Grande Initiative of the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust(RiGHT)is a collaborative,community-based, landscape-scale effort to protect the land and water along the Rio Grande river corridor through voluntary, incentive- based,permanent conservation easements,with over 22,000 acres and 39 miles protected to date. The requested funds will be used by the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust for the acquisition of a conservation easement on an important, 400-acre Rio Grande river corridor working ranch and its 30% share of the#1 senior water right on the Rio Grande, the Silva Ditch. This conservation opportunity will directly protect senior surface water rights in order to help sustain the historic water use patterns along the Rio Grande,while securing the agricultural productivity as part of the economic base of the San Luis Valley, important wildlife habitat,the flood plain function of the river corridor,and beauty of the scenic landscape. This is accomplished through a willing-seller/willing-buyer process for a voluntary conservation easement, which is purchased through a bargain sale and includes a substantial charitable donation of value(approximately 35%) by the landowner. The Rio Grande Initiative provides vital benefits to both consumptive and non-consumptive water needs in the Rio Grande Basin and contributes to the overall goal of the roundtable to achieve water sustainability. WSRA funds will be used solely toward the acquisition of the conservation easement, serving as important matching funds for the project. All other related costs for personnel, due diligence,etc. will be borne by RiGHT,the landowner and/or other funders. The WSRA funds would be expended at closing on the conservation easement through a Title Company and only when all the due diligence is finalized, in a similar process to the prior WSRA awards. Threshold and Evaluation Criteria The application meets all four Threshold Criteria. The application articulates how the project meets the Evaluation Criteria as summarized below: Tier 1: Promoting Collaboration/Cooperation&Meeting Water Management Goals&Identified Needs: The project and RiGHT's overall Rio Grande Initiative achieve direct protection of river corridor land and senior surface water rights,which addresses both non-consumptive and consumptive needs and benefits multiple entities and interests in the Rio Grande Basin and on behalf of the State, specifically for the wildlife benefits and for the sustainable administration of the Rio Grande Compact. The project has received diverse support, including: RGWCD,RGWUA, City of Monte Vista,Rio Grande County,DWR, CPW,USFWS,USFS,BLM,NRCS, TNC,DU, and others. The Haywood Ranch lies within an area of key attributes as identified through the non- 1