BOARD02253 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

.." -}, - 3 - . Discussion Proposed Vision for a Colorado Watershed Restoration Program The proposed vision for a unified Colorado Watershed Restoration Program would include the possibility of three prerequisite elements to arrive ultimately at watershed restoration implementation project. These elements would be: 1. Initial Comprehensive Basinwide Studies (i.e. Roaring Fork, Rio Grande, Fountain Creek, Alamosa River, Dolores River at Rico); 2. Localized and Specific Feasibility Studies (i.e. Basalt, Willow Creek, Lake Fork); and 3. Design and Construction ofImplementation Projects (i.e. Alamosa River, Basalt, Willow Creek). Other elements of the proposed modernization of the program would be: . Outreach for Potential "Customers" (i.e. contact all previous applicants to the Colorado Watershed Protection Fund who did not receive funding, contact other groups and communities who have expressed interest in the past, and contact the Colorado Watershed Assembly and the Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers), . A Unified Application and Selection Process (perhaps utilizing the form sand procedures being developed for Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Fund) . Applicants Who Are Selected to Receive Grants Will Prepare Standardized Scopes of Work and Budgets Shortly after Receiving Award Letters (to facilitate contract preparation, invoicing, and payments), an . An Annual Conference to Present Projects Already Funded (in progress or completed) and to Solicit Future Applicants . Regional Training Workshops in Partnership with CW A, CASFM, and with other Governmental Agencies . AProgram Website . Proposed Colorado Watershed Restoration Fund The proposed Colorado Watershed Restoration Fund will support the Colorado Watershed Restoration Program by providing a single unified funding source at the CWCB for watershed restoration activities. It would be established to accept funds from various CWCB sources and from other entities. The Fund would serve as a source offunds to match other programs, whether they be federal programs or other programs. Initially funding levels would be the equivalent of adding together current individual funding levels from the present collection of independent funding sources. There have been recent instances of the CWCB carrying out watershed restoration activities with funding from other entities where the lack of a designated Fund for such activities created implementation difficulties. A designated Fund would facilitate receipt by the CWCB of funds from other state agencies, from federal agencies, or from regional, local or private entities. Recently the CWCB was approached about providing assistance for a watershed restoration planning study for a watershed tbat originates within the Urban Drainage & Flood Control District with the stream flowing into a county outside the District. Some impacts of upstream urbanization (within the District) are experienced downstream and outside the District. The District can fund activities within its territory but it cannot fund activities outside its territory. A CWCB Fund may provide a mechanism to fund work on such a watershed in a unified fashion, to extend across county and regional boundaries. . There is also a benefit in terms of informing entities throughout the state that the CWCB is committed enough to watershed restoration to create a fund specifically for that purpose. Right now the moneys used for such activities come from a variety of sources, only a few of which are specifically dedicated to watershed restoration or some specific aspect of watershed restoration. A dedicated fund could encourage other entities to partner with CWCB to accomplish even more watershed restoration work than is already being accomplished. Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection Water Supply Protection. Conservation Planning