Board Meeting Memorandum 09/10/2003 ‎(B)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/10/2003
• Description: Non Reimbursable Projects Tamarisk Coalition, Infested Acres Inventory
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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Non-reimbursable Investment Application-CWCB Construction Fund
Form Revised August 8,2003
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actual impacts. The inventory becomes the basis for project planning (e.g., cost
estimates, resource allocation, priority setting) and tracking the long-term success of
control efforts. For Colorado, a quality inventory will also place the state in a favorable
position to acquire Federal funding for major demonstrations that are likely to be
available in 2004-2008.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish and implement an inventory
protocol that provides a clear understanding of the extent of the problem but is also
economical to perform. The Colorado River and Arkansas River watersheds are
identified because they are heavily infested and represent two distinct topographic
conditions — a western slope canyon setting that is predominantly Federal lands and a
front range prairie setting that is predominantly private agricultural lands. The protocols
developed under this study can then be used to generate accurate inventories for the
other major watersheds in the state; i.e., San Juan, Rio Grande, South Platte, North
Platte, and Republican rivers.
Inventory Approach: A more accurate means of inventorying is required to identify
location, density, and maturity of tamarisk and Russian-olive in comparison to native
species. This information is essential to developing good cost estimates for control and
revegetation and to better understand impacts such as water losses and wildlife habitat
• effects. The survey will have four basic components.
Step '1 —A basic understanding of infestation locations will be gained from
existing or newly developed remote sensing mapping from state agencies;
previous studies; historic records; and personal knowledge from county weed
managers, state weed coordinator, state agriculture specialists, water
conservancy district staff, federal weed managers, university researchers, etc.
Step 2 —A planning meeting with CWCB staff will occur over a two day period to
review past inventory studies and agree on an approach to collect and analyze
information.
Step 3 — On-the-ground surveys by two-person crews (one for each watershed)
using college interns will be performed during the summer of 2004 to verify
location, density, maturity, topography, and presence of native vegetation.
These surveys will be logged using GPS and digital photos.
Step 4— Field data will be compiled and evaluated to develop maps of
infestation.
For developing future cost estimates for control, revegetation, and maintenance, the
extent of infestation should be within about +1- 20 percent accuracy which will be
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