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<br />American West Program 2004 Lecture Series:
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<br />. April 13 -- Justice Greg Hobbs will give a lecture on how "Water Invented Colorado &
<br />the West" at 7 pm at CSu. Justice Hobbs will explore the formulation and history of
<br />water law, its continuing role in Colorado development, and his work in the areas of
<br />water litigation and education, For more information call 970-491-6418,
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<br />. June 8 -- Dr, Michael Welsh ofUNC will give a lecture on "Voices from a River: An
<br />Oral History of the Cache la Poudre" at 7 pm, For the past several years Dr. Walsh has
<br />intensively researched the relationship between people and place, as found in the Cache
<br />la Poudre Valley, For more information call 970-491-6418.
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<br />CFWE Upper Colorado River Tour: On June 23-26 the CFWE will host a tour ofthe Upper
<br />Colorado River in Colorado, The tour will begin and end in Keystone, The tour is designed to
<br />give participants a closer look at urban, recreational and agricultural water use, Visit the CFWE's
<br />web site for more information,
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<br />Colorado Water Congress Summer Meeting: The 2004 Summer Convention will be at the
<br />Silver Tree Resort in Snowmass Village on Aug, 26-27, For more information visit
<br />cowatercongress,org,
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<br />USGS/CWCBffiWR Coordination Meeting: On Feb, 19 CWCB and DWR staff met with staff
<br />from the USGS for a semi- annual coordination meeting to discuss various stream gaging issues,
<br />The USGS provided details on the President's proposed budget for USGS programs for FY
<br />2005, Overall, this proposed budget calls for a 6 percent reduction in funding for USGS water
<br />programs,
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<br />In Colorado, the USGS operates and maintains approximately 280 active streamflow gages, The
<br />funding for these gages comes from the USGS Cooperative Gaging Program (co-op program) as
<br />well as from funds available through the National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP), The
<br />co-op program originated as a SO/50 cost-share arrangement between the USGS and State, tribal
<br />and local partners, However, in recent years budget cuts have resulted in a steady decline in the
<br />funding available from the USGS for the co-op program, This year, the cost share ratio has
<br />dropped to an estimated 44/56 (federaVnon-federal) funding arrangement.
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<br />Similar budget cuts in previous years have ultimately resulted in a loss of gages in Colorado,
<br />Since Oct. I, 2003, Colorado has lost a total of 11 important gages: Five in the Arkansas River
<br />Basin, one each in the San Juan, Dolores and Gunnison River Basins, and three in the Green
<br />River Basin. CWCB staff believes that the loss of these gages is unacceptable, and is dedicated
<br />in the effort to minimize additional losses, Staff would also like to ensure that gages of eri tical
<br />importance for managing Colorado's water resources remain operating, The USGS has
<br />requested the DWR, CWCB and others to prioritize gages in Colorado that are important for
<br />administration, water supply, interstate compact, high flow (floods), and low flow (ISF) issues,
<br />The USGS will then combine the State prioritization along with its own internal prioritization to
<br />come up with a list of gages where the co-op dollars will either remain the same or potentially be
<br />reduced to ensure that those gages remain operating, However, in order to balance its budget,
<br />this will mean that co-op costs on other lower priority gages in Colorado will likely go up, If
<br />the cost becomes too expensive for the cooperators, it is highly likely that Colorado will loose
<br />additional gages this year.
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<br />CWCB staff has made a federal funding appropriation request through DNR in an attempt to
<br />bring attention to this problem and to obtain additional funding for Colorado gages. In addition,
<br />the DWR is in the process of obtaining additional information from the USGS on this issue and
<br />is also interested in supporting the USGS in the effort to minimize the loss of gages,
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