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Author: SanJuan Water

Get On Board with Colorado Water Plan

Did you know that the legislated Colorado Water Plan supports water storage, which is a primary responsibility of San Juan Water Conservancy District? The deeply researched document also discourages transmountain diversions, encourages responsible agricultural practices, promotes the health of rivers and riparian habitats, and recognizes the need for increased municipal water conservation. These intentions define what SJWCD is all about.

The Directors of SJWCD base the organization’s decisions on the Colorado Water Plan when considering the future water needs in the upper San Juan River watershed. Scientifically-based and data-driven research forms the basis of SJWCD actions.

Of course, anecdotal research that includes your opinions and community input is of paramount importance! Let SJWCD know what you’re thinking about water.

Link here to read the Colorado Water Plan. https://www.sjwcd.org/colorado-water-plan

Notice of Work Session, March 13

San Juan Water Conservancy District has scheduled a Work Session from 1 to 3 pm on Wednesday, March 13. The public Work Session is at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5. The purpose of the in-person Work Session is to research and plan with Steve Wolff of Southwestern Water Conservation District. There is no agenda and no actions will be taken. There is no opportunity for public comment.

Notice of Special Meeting, March 18

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) is scheduled for Monday, March 18, 2024, 4:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time).

The meeting will be at the SJWCD office at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5, Pagosa Springs, CO. The SJWCD Board will be discussing and sharing documents related to the agenda below.

This meeting is in-person, but may be attended by Zoom.

To remotely access the SJWCD Regular Meeting via Zoom on Monday, March 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM MSD, use this link:

Topic: SJWCD Special Meeting

Time: Mar 18, 2024 04:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81747827871?pwd=YVhUTmhNY2U0TzdmbFB2cnVHNlVOQT09

Meeting ID: 817 4782 7871

Passcode: 231971

One tap mobile

+16892781000,,81747827871#,,,,*231971# US

For questions about how to participate by Zoom, please contact Sally High, SJWCD Executive Assistant, at shigh.sjwcd@gmail.com.

Proposed Agenda for the Regular Meeting is as follows:

1. Call to Order

2. Revisions to Agenda

3. Disclosures of Conflict of Interest

4. Public Comment (3-minute limit)

5. Consideration of Attorney’s Report and Approval of Proposed Terms of Water Rights Decree and Stipulation in Boot Jack Ranch Case No. 22CW3044 (Phillips Ditch)

6. Consideration of Treasurer’s Report

7. Consideration of Application for Exemption of 2023 Audit

8. Consideration of Contract with Moxiecran Media and CWCB deposits

9. Consideration of Vacancy on Board of Directors

10. Consideration of Office Lease and Pending Building Sale

11. Chair’s Update and Board Outreach Reports

12. Discussion of www.sjwcd.org and ADA Accessibility Rules

13. Discussion of PAWSD Response to SJWCD Letter

14. Consideration of Sponsorship of Environmental Film Festival (April 19 and 20)

15. Consideration of Booth at Earth Day (April 21)

16. Consideration of Approval of Records of Proceedings of February 2024

17. Updates from Committees Advancing Strategic Objectives and Actions

Objective 1: Advance the San Juan River Headwaters Project (SJRHP) as one resource for meeting agricultural, municipal, environmental, and recreational water needs of the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) community.

Objective 2: Identify complementary and supplemental uses for the Running Iron Ranch property and initiate programs with suitable partners to develop the particular use cases.

Objective 3: Educate the SJWCD community about water resource issues facing the Upper San Juan River Basin. Define the public position on the construction of a reservoir.

18. Consideration of Executive Session Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402(4)(b) for the purpose receiving legal advice on specific legal questions regarding: Consideration of Attorney’s Report; Consideration of Treasurer’s Report; Consideration of Application for Exemption of 2023 Audit; Consideration of Contract with Moxiecran Media and CWCB deposits; Consideration of Vacancy on Board of Directors; Consideration of Office Lease and Pending Building Sale; Chair’s Update and Board Outreach Reports, Discussion of www.sjwcd.org and ADA Accessibility Rules; Discussion of PAWSD Response to SJWCD Letter; Consideration of Sponsorship of Environmental Film Festival (April 19 and 20); Consideration of Booth at Earth Day (April 21); Consideration of Approval of Records of Proceedings of February 2024; Updates from Committees Advancing Strategic Objectives and Actions.

SAN JUAN WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

By /s/ Sally High

Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors

DISTRICT SEAL

San Juan Water Conservancy District Plans Educational Film Series

Southwest Basin Roundtable has funded San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) to create three educational short films in 2024.  Professional film maker, Christi Bode of Moxiecran Media, will script and shoot “This is Your Watershed: Upper San Juan River.” Collaboration with other water organizations and stakeholders is expected to enrich our understanding of our San Juan River home.

In the planning stage, the working themes of three six-minute videos are:

  1. Introduction to the Upper San Juan Watershed: Geography, Ecological Functioning. Tributaries, and Rivers
  2. Water Uses and Needs: Environmental, Agricultural, Recreational, Industrial, Municipal, as well as Cultural and Tribal Needs
  3. The Future of our Water Supply: Threats and Opportunities

Quantitative and qualitative data, collected across decades, that explains water supply and needs will be included. Risk management and Colorado compact compliance requirements will be incorporated into explanations of all water uses – environmental, recreational, agricultural, municipal, and industrial.

The creation of the informative films are part of SJWCD’s Strategic Plan to educate the community about the water resources of the Upper San Juan River Basin and related issues, including climate change, future water needs, water resource planning, water conservation, and the work of the SJWCD.

New Snow Science Site Comes to SJWCD

San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership (SJHFHP) and Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) installed new snowtography measurement equipment on Jackson Mountain in San Juan Water Conservancy District. Snow data will be collected this winter. Alex Handloff, the newly hired coordinator for San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, described the project to San Juan Water Conservancy District at its Special Meeting on November 16, 2023.

According to Handloff, there’s an emerging snowtography network happening in Colorado and across the West. Snowtography will inform decisions on how to manage forests and answer questions such as how the amount and location of trees impacts snow accumulation, retention, and ablation (melting/sublimating). With a changing climate, measuring and modeling the amount of snow we receive can support decisions to ensure water resources and ecosystem health, and in turn, our health. Eventually, data gleaned from snowtography can help determine how we approach forest health, wildfire mitigation, and riparian restoration. Snow provides between 75 and 90 percent of our water supply, says Handloff.

Dr. Jake Kurzwell, Mountain Studies Institute, is quoted in a recent article by Handloff published in the Pagosa Springs Sun: “Snowtography is an approachable method to quantify how forest structure and forest management impacts snow accululation, retention, and subse1quent water yields.”

Other Snowtography sites in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado include Chicken Creek, Horse Creek, Lizard Head, and Red Mountain.

In addition to Snowtography, SJHFHP and MSI are involved in bringing two related scientific pursuits to Archuleta County: Adaptive Silvaculture for Climate Change and Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Projects.

Connect here to learn more: https://sanjuanheadwaters.org/forest-health-protection/snowtography/. Contact alex@mountainstudies.org to learn more and volunteer.

Pagosa Gateway Project Moves Forward

Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP) announced to SJWCD at our Special Meeting in November that funding had been received for the collaborative Pagosa Gateway Project. SJWCD funds WEP and supports its activities in the San Juan River watershed.

The Town of Pagosa Springs announced in its January 2024 newsletter that a contract with FlyWater, Inc. had been approved to achieve the construction of the Gateway project. (https://www.flywater.com)

WEP recently commissioned a Non-consumptive Water Needs Assessment from Lotic Hydrological (https://lotichydrological.com) in Carbondale, Colorado. The in-depth water study was used at all stages of the planning process for the Gateway Project. Link here to Lotic’s Non-consumptive Water Needs Assessment. Lotic_WEP_PhaseII_Report_&_Appendices

The Pagosa Gateway Project will construct a series of interventions to improve an approximately 2.1 mile section of the San Juan River, just upstream from the Town of Pagosa Springs and downstream from Running Iron Ranch. (The Running Iron Ranch is jointly owned by San Juan Water Conservancy District, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District, and Colorado Water Conservation Board.) The project will address the negative impacts of decreasing stream flow on the aquatic habitat and is approved by all affected landowners. The well-researched project is designed to improve the river’s resilience in the face of climate change. All non-consumptive water uses are being considered, like the environmental needs of the river and recreational needs of the community.

According to the Town of Pagosa Springs, “project design is expected to be about 60% complete by summer 2024.” Summer design work will continue, allowing for additional fieldwork and study of environmental and cultural impacts. Construction will begin in fall 2024. Completion is expected in fall 2025.

WEP’s funding goal, $1,246,160, was reached with support from the US Bureau of Reclamation, Town of Pagosa Springs, Trout Unlimited, Southwestern Water Conservation District, The Nature Conservancy, Pagosa Tourism Board, San Juan Water Conservancy District, Friends of the Upper San Juan, and Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Notice of Regular Meeting, February 12

NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) is scheduled for Monday, February 12, 2024, 4:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time).

The meeting will be at the SJWCD office at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5, Pagosa Springs, CO. The SJWCD Board will be discussing and sharing documents related to the agenda below.

This meeting is in-person, but may be attended by Zoom.

San Juan Water Conservancy District is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: SJWCD Regular Meeting

Time: Feb 12, 2024 04:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88391536502?pwd=VzFUOU5TSkFZUG9sNGo0NGxOOWNCZz09

Meeting ID: 883 9153 6502

Passcode: 872516

One tap mobile

+16699009128,,88391536502#,,,,*872516# US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 883 9153 6502

Passcode: 872516

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbOFyVf8uo

For questions about how to participate by Zoom, please contact SJWCD Executive Assistant, Sally High, at shigh.sjwcd@gmail.com

Proposed Agenda for the Regular Meeting is as follows:

1. Call to Order

2. Revisions to Agenda

3. Disclosures of Conflict of Interest

4. Public Comment (3-minute limit)

5. Consideration of Attorney’s Report

6. Consideration of Public Comment at PAWSD Meeting

7. Discussion of SJWCD’s Three-part Film Series – “This is Your Watershed: Upper San Juan River.” Presentation by Christi Bode, Moxiecran Media (15 minutes).

8. Consideration of Treasurer’s Report and Colorado Trust Representation

9. Consideration of Check Signing Authority

10. Consideration of Approval of Records of Proceedings from 1/9/24 Regular Meeting

11. Chair Report and Outreach Updates

12. Consideration of Adoption of 2024 Strategic Objectives

13. Discussion of Board Members’ Participation in Strategic Objectives

14. Discussion of SJWCD Board Members’ Participation in Water Organizations (PAWSD, SWCD, SWBR, USHFHP, Park Ditch Association, etc.)

15. Consideration of Executive Session Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402(4)(b) for the purpose receiving legal advice on specific legal questions regarding: Consideration of Attorney’s Report; Discussion of SJWCD’s Three-part Film Series – “This is Your Watershed: Upper San Juan River.” Presentation by Christi Bode; Consideration of Treasurer’s Report; Consideration of Check Signing Authority; Consideration of Approval of Records of Proceedings of 1/9/24 Regular Meeting; Chair Report and Outreach Updates; Consideration of Public Comment at PAWSD Meeting; Consideration of Adoption of 2024 Strategic Objectives; Discussion of SJWCD Board Participation in Strategic Objectives; Discussion of SJWCD Board Participation in Water Organizations.

SAN JUAN WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

By /s/ Sally High

Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors

DISTRICT SEAL

Notice of Work Session, January 22, 2024

A Work Session is scheduled for Directors of San Juan Water Conservancy District to review / revise the Strategic Plan for 2024. The 4 pm Work Session is in person at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5 with a Zoom option. A Work Session is not a Meeting and no decisions will be made. It is open to the public, but provides no opportunity for public comment. There is no agenda.

Link to Zoom here.

Topic: SJWCD Work Session
Time: Jan 22, 2024 04:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85885245412?pwd=ZFJGWUdhUnZIeGlIc09USmdTWTlGZz09

Meeting ID: 858 8524 5412
Passcode: 547340

—

One tap mobile
+13863475053,,85885245412#,,,,*547340# US

Meeting ID: 858 8524 5412
Passcode: 547340

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kAINHqtT2