BOARD01423

• Board Meeting Date: 1/25/2005
• Description: Flood Section - Presentation of Colorado Stream and Watershed Restoration Program Elements
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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WHEREAS, a joint effort including federal funding
initiatives for state support of watershed rehabilitation,
combined with state, local and private funding programs,
would provide substantial benefits to Colorado and other
Rocky Mountain headwaters states; and

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WHEREAS, watershed restoration efforts in Colorado must
address the issues of water rights and supply, legal
interstate compact obligations, protection of water quality,
restoration of watersheds impacted by human activities and
by wildfires, enhancement of habitat, recovery of stream
channel stability, flood protection and mitigation, and
enhancement of water-related recreation; and

WHEREAS, the Colorado Water Conservation Board commissioned
the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) to "explore,
basin by basin, existing water supplies and existing and
projected demands through the year 2030, as well as a range
of potential options to meet that demand"; and

WHEREAS, the SWSI included in its November 2004
implementation recommendations that CWCB staff should
identify areas of the state that would benefit from
combining stream restoration projects with SWSI projects;
and

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WHEREAS, the Colorado Water Conservation Board can serve as
the state agency responsible for the administration of
federal and state stream and watershed restoration
initiatives in Colorado and can provide a mechanism to fund
environmental and recreational enhancement in conjunction
with meeting water supply needs, which will likely develop
further cooperation and collaboration between all water
users; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that:
The Colorado Water Conservation Board recognizes the needs
identified in the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI)
for combining watershed restoration projects and activities
with SWSI projects; and

The Colorado Water Conservation Board recognizes that there
are unmet stream and watershed restoration needs in
Colorado, which would be greatly aided by federal funding to
further existing State programs;

AND BE IT DIRECTED that the Colorado Water Conservation
Board staff provide assistance and cooperation in the
development of legislation for state directed federally

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