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<br />II. WEIGHTED SELECTION CRITERIA <br /> <br />1. OVERALL VISION AND CONTEXT <br /> <br />The Wetlands Initiative Legacy PrOjllct will conserve biologically significant, high quality, viable, <br />wetland systems in Colorado through a bold, public-private partnershi]:1 which builds on the <br />wetlands track record of the project ]oartners. The WI Partners are t.b.e Division ofWildJife, <br />Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (nU), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the U.S. Fish and WildJife Service <br />Partners For WildJife program (PFW), and the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (State <br />Parks). The knowledge and expertis,e the Partners bring to this partnership is impressive and is <br />discussed later in this document. <br /> <br />TIlls Legacy grant would fund a distillct portion, the WI, of a broader plan, the Division of <br />WildJife Wetlands Program (WP). It is a product of the new Division ofWildJife, an agency that <br />resulted from the 1994 Long Range Plan (LRP) for the now that was adopted by the Colorado <br />WildJife Commission (CWC), and wliich mandated the re(;ent Management Review of the now. <br />ATTACHMENT A includes a copy ()fthe LRP which states in Goal 3 that the now is to <br />"Protect, enhance and restore aquatic: and terrestrial habit:ats [including wetlands] for all wildJife <br />species in Colorado." Director of the new now, John Mumma, has d.eclared the conservation of <br />wetlands habitat and wetlands associated wildJife, a very high priority tilr the agency. To <br />implement the LRP, the Director gave direction to formulate a plan of action and to begin <br />immediate implementation. The WP, with the WI as a ke~, component, is the plan by which <br />wetlands conservation will be accomplished, <br /> <br />The WP has a goal of conserving 100,000 acres of wetlands in Colora.d,o by the year 2005. <br />Where the overall goal of the WP is to conserve through vohmtary, incentive-based means <br />100,000 acres of wetlands by the yelUr 2005, the WI will ilritiate that eflbrt by conserving a <br />minimum of 15,000 acres of wetlands in the next three years. Subsequo:mt phases of the WP will <br />continue efforts towards the greater goal by the year 200:5. <br /> <br />The WI is the pilot and model for future, similar partnerships with a diversity of partners <br />interested in conserving Colorado's wetland resource. It 1Nill bring tog,etber much expertise and <br />many strategies that will be brought to bear on this challemge. The conl;ept of the WI as a pilot <br />and model should also be emphasized for another reason - it is the beginning of a long term <br />commitment by the now to be an innovative, major, player in the wetlllllds conservation arena. <br />It is envisioned that, in the future, the now will continue to cooperate with GOCO and other <br />partners to implement the visions of the WP and to follow the model established by the WI. <br /> <br />Much has already been accomplished towards this end, Plior to the WI becoming a well-defined <br />concept, the now created and filled llhe position of Wetlands Program Coordinator to refine and <br />implement the plan of action ordered by the Director. Subsequently, th,e WP was developed. <br /> <br />3 <br />