PUB00093

• Year: 2004
• Title: State of Colorado's Watersheds Report
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Colorado Watershed Assembly
• Description: An Annual Report
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

-------- --------

Background
The Rio Grande Headwaters
Restoration Project Task Force
(RGHRP) joined the Colorado
Watershed Assembly in 2003 as a
result of our commitment to restoration
and maintenance of a healthy river
and economy as envisioned in the
completed RGHRP Study of 200 I.

Our voluntary group is composed
of a widely diversified population of
citizens, fanners. ranchers. business
owners, realtors, city and county
officials, state and federal agencies,
and grass roots environmental
organizations. Building collaborative
relationships to promote water and
riparian conservation practices while
supporting the traditional agricultural
lifestyle in the San Luis Valley is the
basis of our group. The goals identified
by the Task Force are:

. Removal of debris built up in the
channel of the Rio Grande from
South Fork to Alamosa

. Stabilization of stream bank erosion
areas

. Protection of irrigation structures
and canals

. Improvement of channel conveyance
capacity

. Floodwater protection

. Aquatic and wildlife habitat
improvement

Accomplishments
\Ve have focused on outreach and
education in the headwaters region
through brochures. public service
announcements, radio intervicws,
ncwspaper articles, and presentations
throughout the San Luis Valley. A
subcommittee from the Task Forcc
drafted a document for Design
Standards for Dcvelopment Adjacent
to Rivers in Rio Grande County with
the county commissioners and land use
administrators.

! .o~~ a I.-Y'LClleJ:.sJ)~~cLrJ~RO J:.t 5_

Rio Grande Headwaters
Restoration District

Task Force Report 2003-2004

Funding
We received a grant for 2002-2003
trom the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation (NFWF) to support
outreach efforts and hire a coordinator.
NFWF grants also provided money for
the printing of brochures for public
distribution detailing the mission and
purpose of the RGHRP.
During this time, the RGIIRP
engaged local farmers and ranchers in
a debris removal and relocation project
to protect and stabilize degraded
and eroded riverbanks. Natural
Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) provided the workforce
and planning for each projecL
which included the installation of
J~Hooks. In early 2004. a grant was
received for S 150,000 to continue these
ongoing projects.
We arc ncaring completion of our
non-profit status. \Ve are pursuing
funding to develop a Rio Grandc
\Vatershed Strategic Plan to incorporate
the RGHRP Study's findings into the
context of the broader watershed and
hiring a part or fl1ll~time coordinator
for the RGHRP.
We have grant proposals out for
designs to replace outdated irrigation
structures and stream bank stabilization
projects.

The Task Force builds
collaborative relationships
to promote water and
riparian conservation
practices while supporting
the traditional agricultural
lifestyle in the valley.

Great Sand Dunes

\Ve are in the process of mapping
the restoration and conservation
casements on the Rio Grande from
Creede, Colorado to the New Mexico
state line. A recent initiative is the
formation of a Tamarisk mapping
and eradication task force to address
the invasive plant migration into the
Rio Grande \Vatershed prior to its
becoming a problem.
Commitment to the health of the
Rio Grande and the development of a
Rio Grande Watershed Strategic Plan
will assure the RGHRP a long-tern,
vision for restoration and river corridor
protection.

.