BOARD01800

• Board Meeting Date: 7/23/2001
• Description: Resolution Concerning the Proposed Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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lUO GRANDE OUTSTAKDING NATURAL AREA

The purpose of this legislation is to preserve and restore unique scientific, scenic, educational
and environmental values, including land forms, cultural sites as well as habitats used by various
species of raptors and other birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians,

The provisions of the proposed legislation are the product of a cooperative efYort between
local government, private proper1y owners and agricultural and environmental interests, l'dutual
concern for protection of this \'aluable asset to our Valley led to broad-based support for the proposal
attached,

The area proposed for protection woulcl be that stretch of the Rio Grande from the southern
boundary ol'the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge to the ColoradolNew f\'lexico State line, a distance
of approximately 33.3 miles, The protected corridor wOLrld be Yo -mile wide with \1,- mile from the
center line of the ri\'er on both the east and west sides, It would consist of approximately 2,771
acres of land on the west side of the Rio Grande managed by the Bureau of Land fvlanagement and
approximately 7,885 acres of private land on both the east side and west sides of the river, The area
proposed for protection is located downstr'eam from signiticant and long-standing water uses,

A commission would be established which would assist appropriate feder'al, state and local
authoritit:s in the development and implementation of an integrated resoul'ce management plan called
the ;/ruu AjW/(JgullI~IIII'/(/II, The nin,e-membN commission would be composed of

two Icderal agency ol1icials, one representing the Bureau of Land ivlanagclllCllt and the other
rcpresenting the U,S, ['ish and Wildlife Selvice at the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge;

two state agency ofticials, one representing the Colorado Wildlife Commission and the
Division of Wildlife, and the other representing the Division Engineer of the Colorado
Division of\Vater Resources responsible for the Rio Grande Basin;

one representative from the Rio Grande Water Conservation District;

two appointees from the local area representing non-governmental, agricultural interests,
and;

two appointees representing non-protit, non-governmental, environmental interests,

The members of the Commission other than the federal members shall be recommended by
the Governor of Colorado for appointment by the Secretary of the Interior,

A nranagemcnt plan for the area will be developed within two years alter enactment of this
legislation, The plan should be consistent, to the extent possible, with the management plans adopted
by the Director of the Bureau of Land fvlanagement for adjacent properties in Colorado and New
I\-Iexico, A GO-day public review and comment period will be held prior to implementation of the
plan,

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