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Author: SanJuan Water

2024 Climate Change Report by Colorado State University

San Juan Water Conservancy District follows relevant scientific studies and considers seriously data-driven reports, especially those generated in Colorado. SJWCD Directors use fact-based information to plan for the future of water in the Upper San Juan River drainage and Archuleta County.

Link here to read the Executive Summary of the most recent CSU Climate Change report. 2024 Climate Assessment Report Executive Summary

Notice of Work Session, March 1

San Juan Water Conservancy District has scheduled a Work Session at 11 am on Friday, March 1. 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 Christi Bode of Moxiecran Media. There is no agenda and no actions will be taken. There is no opportunity for public comment.

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

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.

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