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EXHIBIT B COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD CONSTRUCTION FUND 2007-2008 NON-REIMBURSABLE PROJECT APPLICATION 4. Please provide a brief narrative description of the proposed study or demonstration project including purpose, need, and service area. (Attach scope of study, if available). Construction projects all over the state have been delayed,relocated, rerouted,postponed or in some cases totally cancelled due to the presence of fen wetlands in the project area. Fens are located throughout Colorado at elevations above 8,000 feet, which is a significant percentage of land in Colorado. They are also typically found in valley bottom locations which tend to be the most desirable for many types of development. Implications of the study could affect the full spectrum of agencies dealing with projects related to water development, roadways, infrastructure and recreation to name a few. Many of the agencies are located on the Front Range and plains of Colorado, although their projects are actually located in areas with elevations above 8,000 feet, thus the study has truly statewide significance. Many entities contacted in the development of the project have noted significant problems related to the presence of fens within their project areas. For example, the proposed development near the Wolf Creek Ski area has encountered problems owing to the occurrence of a fen. The Colorado Department of Transportation noted they have relocated several projects due to fens. An engineer representing a Vail Valley Water District said they had been trying to enlarge a small dam for several years but a fen was located in the area of the proposed expansion and since there was no way to mitigate the necessary fen impacts, the project had been put on hold. Additional entities noting projects delayed, halted or moved due to fens include the Board of Water Works of Pueblo, the City of Aurora, the City of Colorado Springs and the Denver Water Board. A fen is a special type of wetland whose impacts cannot be satisfactorily mitigated according to Army Corp of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines. This unmitigable status may be related to the lack of scientific investigation related to fen mitigation. The City of Aurora Utilities Department(Aurora) and the Board of Water Works of Pueblo, Colorado (Pueblo) contacted Colorado Mountain College Natural Resource Management Program(CMC NRM)to develop a research project to investigate potential means of successfully mitigating fen impacts. The project is administered and facilitated by CMC NRM with a technical team overseeing the development of the project. The technical team includes a fen expert and remediation construction representative as well as members from the US Fish &Wildlife Service, Army Corp of Engineers, and US EPA. The representation of the federal agencies on the technical team speaks to the importance of this scientific research project and fen mitigation. This study will bolster the scientific knowledge of fen mitigation on many fronts including transplantation, creation and restoration. Many of the components of the project will be applicable not just to fen impact mitigation,but to wetland mitigation in general increasing the significance of the project. The project focuses on developing techniques to translocate a fen from an area where it would be covered, inundated, drained or in some way damaged, to a location where it would be out of harms way and could continue to function as a fen. This scenario of transplantation is only one of many conceivable situations in which the techniques that would be Colorado Mountain College—Rocky Mountain Fen Research Project