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<br />Conservation District, of which Ray is also a member, played a pivotal role in the establishment of the new
<br />park. The Council is expected to meet two or three times a year.
<br />
<br />Texas Farmers Boiling Over Mexico Water Dispute: (Excerpted from an April 18 Washington Post story)
<br />At Texas's southernmost tip, farmers who depend on irrigation from the Rio Grande have complained for
<br />years that Mexico is not living up to its obligations under a 1944 water-sharing treaty, Each year Mexico is
<br />supposed to allow 350,000 acre-feet of water to flow into the Rio Grande from tributaries in Mexico, But the
<br />water deliveries have fallen 1.5 million acre-feet in arrears since 1997,
<br />
<br />Mexican officials have blamed the shortfall on persistent drought conditions, But a report by Texas A&M
<br />University casts doubt on that explanation,
<br />
<br />After studying crop production on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande Valley, the report's authors say
<br />farmers there in recent years have been raising more corn, oats and vegetables, and less barley, wheat and
<br />soybeans, Corn, oats and vegetables demand more water than the other crops, A&M economist Parr Rosson
<br />said,
<br />
<br />San Juan and Dolores River Issues
<br />
<br />Animas-La Plata Project Wetlands Mitigation: The CWCB staff, local water users, Animas-La Plata
<br />Project (ALP/Project) proponents, the Bureau of Reclamation and others have been meeting to discuss the
<br />issue of insuring sufficient water is available for ALP wetlands mitigation success, An initial meeting was
<br />held in March of 2002 to review the status of the Project, the wetlands mitigation commitment and
<br />commitment dates, the proposed mitigation plan and schedule, and the issue of insuring sufficient water for
<br />success of the plan, Potential solutions were discussed and the Bureau was going to do additional
<br />investigations on the ideas that surfaced, Additional meetings are anticipated to further pursue this issue,
<br />
<br />Rio Blanco Spring Fling Celebration: The Lower Blanco Property Owners Association (LBPOA) is
<br />hosting their third annual Spring Fling to celebrate the Rio Blanco River Restoration Project, The
<br />celebration includes a potluck barbecue and program to update residents on the river restoration project, raise
<br />funds for the project and generally enjoy the fruits of their labor, the Rio Blanco itself, The event will be
<br />held again this year at the Rio Blanco RV Park and the LBPOA has extended an open invitation to the Board
<br />and Staff to attend as their guests, For further information and to RSVP (no later than 5/31/02, please)
<br />contact Dan Merriman (303-866-3903 or dan,merriman(a)Slale,co,us) or Bahman Hatami (303-866-3946 or
<br />bahman,hatami@state,co,us),
<br />
<br />Rio Blanco Field Trip: The CWCB will facilitate a field trip of the Rio Blanco Restoration Project for the
<br />Denver North High School II-graders, Seventeen students and two to three teachers will participate in the
<br />field trip, Students will assist the CWCB and DOW staffs in streamflow measurements, water quality
<br />sampling, fish shocking, and willow trimming/planting activities, The trip is scheduled for May 28-31.
<br />
<br />It is worth mentioning that these are the students in Ms, Melissa Underwood's British Literature class, Ms,
<br />
<br />T T__ _1 _ _____ _ _ _1 1_ _ _1 _ ____ __ .L1_ _ __""--_ _1 _ __-"-__ _ _1 _ __ __ _..L__ _1__ _ __ __ _ _ __ ___ _ __-"- _ __ "___1_ _-"- ~.L ___ _ _ __ __ .L _ L _ _ 1_ _ __ _ " 'T'1_ _""---_ _1 _-"-
<br />u~~u......~ vvuuu ~~au 5.lv......l.l U.l..... ..,LUU.......lH." a "-'.La..,.., ..,LUUY 0..,..,.15.11111......111. U.l.l VV.l.lClL.lL 1l1.....CU.l.., LV u..... a .l.l.......lu. .1.1.1..... ..,LUU.......lH."
<br />had decided to look into an environmentally related activity for their class assignment, In their Intemet
<br />search, they happened to find a link to the Rio Blanco Restoration Project, which is linked to the CWCB's
<br />web page, Last March, one of the students contacted our office, and expressed interest in knowing more
<br />about the project.
<br />
<br />Upon our retuming their phone call, we spoke with their teacher Ms, Underwood, who informed us that the
<br />students were willing to take a field trip to the site and provide assistance in restoration activities,
<br />
<br />Since then, Dan Merriman, Bahman Hatami, and Jay Skinner have met with Ms, Underwood and the
<br />students to arrange the trip, The students, who many among them have not traveled outside of Denver, are
<br />very excited about this trip, As part of Board's commitment to provide in-kind services for the Rio Blanco
<br />
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