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Feasibility Study for the Plaza Project — Phase 2: McDonald Ditch Implementation Project <br />3.3 Community <br />The Sevenmile Plaza is one of Colorado's oldest communities. The Sevenmile Plaza, historically <br />known as Plaza de los Valdeses, has a rich cultural history. Descendants of Juan Pio Valdes, the <br />original founder of the Plaza, still reside in this area. As the first non - Native American farmers <br />to use the waters of the Rio Grande, Valdes and others used shovels and horse -drawn slips to dig <br />the original ditches. In 1866, the first application of water in District 20 was made at the Sevenmile <br />Plaza. District 20 encompasses the mainstem of the Rio Grande in Colorado Water Division 3. <br />Also of significance are the conservation easements other residents in the Project area have <br />placed on their property. One easement, held by the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust <br />(RIGHT), is south of the McDD diversion and borders the river for over two miles. North of the <br />Silva /Atencio 2 diversion dam is a conservation easement held by the NRCS Wetland Reserve <br />Program (WRP). These efforts protect wildlife habitat, riparian areas, and wetlands into <br />perpetuity. <br />3.4 Land Ownership <br />The land on which the project is located is owned by Rio Grande County and a private <br />landowner, River Bend Ranches, LLC. Genevieve Manzanares owns land adjacent the project <br />area. However, no work will occur on her property. Please see Figure 2 for detailed <br />landownership. <br />Figure 2 . Land Ownership in the Project Area <br />