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'- of grant funds in consultation with the CW A representatives (without the need for ratification by the full Board and Commission). The revised CWPF Grant Program Guidance Document was posted on the web pages of the CWCB and the WQCC on March I, 2006. This document can be found at: . http://cwcb.state.co.uslRules.htm. Water QuaUty-Water Quantity Coordination Meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2006. We will provide an update at the May Board meeting. Sen. Salazar's Statement on OLM's Mineral Leasing Decision: On Feb. 7, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar announced he was pleased that the Bureau of Land Management has decided to conduct further analysis of the parcels in San Miguel county. He also noted his disappointment with decision to move forward with leasing the minerals under land located within the watersheds serving the communities of Palisade and Grand Junction. He believed postponing the lease sale for a short period of time while the affected parties could evaluate the effect of drilling on their watersheds was a reasonable request and the BLMs response is not only disappointing but short sighted. Rep. Musgrave Goes to Oat for Three Rural Colorado Counties: On Feb. 6, U.S. Representative Marilyn Musgrave (CO-04) petitioned Department of Agriculture officials to reconsider a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) wavier request that was previously denied. In a letter to Farm Service Agency Administrator Teresa Lasseter, the Congresswoman stressed the importance of protecting the soil and economies in this drought wrecked region by relating these three counties to the neighboring Kiowa, Crowley, and Pueblo Counties that were approved. Farm Service Agencies in these counties requested a waiver from the statutory 25 percent cropland limitation requirement for the CRP. The waiver to exceed the limitation was approved by the State of Colorado, but it was denied at the federal level. However, the neighboring counties were approved. In the past, all six of these Colorado counties were granted waivers. CRP funds have protected the soil from erosion and, if the waiver is not granted, the counties will face soil erosion problems because crops will be placed back in production. . Bm Makes Water a Cash Crop: In early February, a House panel approved a measure that would allow farmers to lease water they don't use as part of their rotational crop management plans. The measure, lIB 1124, allows a water judge to approve contracts for lease of that water without harming their long- term water rights, said Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton. Proponents say the bill would help preserve Colorado's agriculture industry by making water a renewable crop, instead of a one-time sale that puts farmers out of business and drains the rural economy. The Rotational Crop Management Bill would knock down legal barriers that demand all or nothing for farmers willing to sell water - and by extension, their trade - to cities. When cities buy water rights, they usually get the land in the deal, even though the real estate has little or no value for agriculture or development. The crop- management bill, introduced by state Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, would allow farmers to keep their land but sell the water that would have been used to irrigate it. Farmers then could let parts of their land lie fallow or grow crops that don't need irrigation, such as winter wheat or certain varieties of corn and alfalfa, as they sell water to cities. Farmers also could rotate the portion of their land designated to yield water, the same way they rotate crops. Some Southern Colorado water officials said that while on the surface, the bill appears to give farmers more options, the measure would tie up senior water rights and possibly harm junior water rights owners. Hodge said that's unlikely because the fallowing contracts must he approved by a water court judge, whose job is to consider the injury any decree would have on water users. . 10