FEBRUARY 5th, 2020: Please contact CDSN to participate for REG85, REG93, and REG31 data calls in 2020. Colorado Data Sharing Network (CDSN) Data Calls are in Progress! Make it easy. Use CDSN to submit your data. It takes dedication, innovation, time, and money to sustain a resilient data sharing network for data managers and for all of Colorado. See the data call flyer HERE.
FEBRUARY 7th, 2020: Western Slope Conservation Center (WSCC) Annual Membership Meeting | 6:00 p.m. | Edesia Community Kitchen, Paonia, CO. Come for dinner and drinks, stay to connect with the Conservation Center board, staff, and fellow members to provide input on the direction of the organization! Recap of 2019 highlights and accomplishments, look ahead to plans for 2020, and conduct official WSCC business. A "lug your mug," or "pack your plate" style event. Read more details HERE.
FEBRUARY 12th, 2020: Come Celebrate Nature's Wonder and the Lower Blue River Valley | FOLBR | Silverthorne Pavilion | 5:30-8:00 p.m. Friends of the Lower Blue River welcomes you to join an inspiring evening showcasing the might and beauty of the Lower Blue River and the surrounding valley. The evening includes a Special Presentation “Summit County’s World of White” with beautiful music and commentary by John Fielder. John Fielder is a renowned photographer of Colorado’s landscapes for over 40 years. He will share his work and his ideas on preserving our natural world. An inspiring Short Film Festival, showcasing Water and Wildlife films that capture the unique character of this region along with a global perspective, will also be presented. Advanced tickets are $15/person through Eventbrite (link below) and $20 at the door. Tickets include hors d’oeuvres provided by Food Hedz Catering. There will also be a Cash Bar & Silent Auction. Volunteers are needed to help set up for this event! Please contact Tom Koehler if you can lend a hand. His phone number is: (970) 409-9391. Thank you! Click HERE for the EventBrite.
FEBRUARY 12th, 2020: Big River Committee Meeting will be 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. concluding with lunch. The meeting will be held at the O.P. Bar and Grill in Craig.
FEBRUARY 25th, 2020: Next Friends of the Lower Blue River (FOLBR) Board Meeting | Eagle's Nest Community Center | 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
River Rally Scholarship Support Available! River Network offers a limited number of scholarships for those who need financial assistance to attend River Rally. The application is part of the registration process. To apply, complete your registration online and pay a $20 application fee. We also offer volunteer opportunities in exchange for registration discounts. Scholarship applications are due Friday, February 28. Don't miss out!
Are You River Network’s 2020 Emerging Leader? In 2019, River Network established the Emerging Leader award, inspired by former River Network board member Leslie Lowe, whose generous spirit and encouragement of emerging leaders provided a vision for how River Network’s efforts could extend into a wider array of communities. The award provides early-career recognition and acknowledgement to an individual who shows promise and a path to expand the community of people who work on water issues by recognizing and lifting up those individuals who are working at the juncture of water and justice. Meet Kevin Jeffery, the 2019 Emerging Leader, and learn more about how to self-nominate today! Self-nominations are due Friday, February 28. Click HERE.
Colorado Water Trust and the Colorado Water Conservation Board have launched the annual Request for Water Process. This process offers a streamlined approach to water transactions to benefit the environment on streams throughout the state. In 2020, again water rights owners are invited to explore options to use their water rights for streamflow restoration purposes. Voluntary water sharing arrangements or voluntary acquisitions of senior water rights, on a temporary or permanent basis, can help restore flows to rivers in need, sustain agriculture, and maximize beneficial uses of Colorado’s water. This Process is confidential, completely voluntary and open to all water right owners, including agricultural, municipal, industrial, or other users. Offers will be accepted through June 30, 2020. Colorado Water Trust expects to host informational webinars in spring of 2020. For more information, click HERE.
Salinity Workshop Includes Colorado Corn Administrative Committee (CCAC) Commissioned Study. Full Study Being Published Spring 2020. A recent workshop about the increasing salinity of the South Platte river was organized by the Centennial, Morgan and Sedgwick County Conservation Districts with help from Sterling, Morgan and Julesburg offices of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Information included a study commissioned by Colorado Corn Administrative Council. Topics included Regulation 85 & Watershed Planning, the effects of salinity on soil and agriculture, salinity on the South Platte, and the future of water storage on the South Platte. Speakers were Phil Brink from Colorado Cattlemen’s Association Ag NetWORK; Mike Peterson, retired soil scientist & agronomist; Mark Sponsler of Colorado Corn; Grady O’Brien of NEIRBO Hydrogeology; and Joe Frank of Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District. The full salinity study commissioned by Colorado Corn will be published Spring 2020.
Colorado Small Acreage Management Newsletter. Inside this edition:Where do Bees go in Winter?, Soil Health, USDA Rural Development Value Added Grant, Which Trees to Transplant in Spring and Fall, Bird Migration Timing, Payson Lupine and Silvery Lupine. Click HERE to read!
Perhaps read this scientific paper: “Irrigation institutions typology and water governance through horizontal agreements.” Abstract: An argument is made for a typology of the diversity of self-governance. On the one hand, decentralized or centralized governance, and bureaucratic or non-bureaucratic water management. On the other hand the existence of networks of horizontal agreements with no overarching institutions.
Perhaps read this report: The Sustainable Water Management Profile: An Assessment Tool to Advance Water Supply Sustainability. Summary: The Sustainable Water Management (SWM) Profile is an assessment tool to advance long‐term water supply resilience and water resource stewardship at a regional scale. The Water Foundation completed extensive research within and outside the water supply community while designing this evaluation framework. The tool focuses on management actions that water supply agencies can take internally, with agency partners, and across their regions to improve the sustainability of water supplies. The profile provides standards for assessing stressors that cause water supply vulnerability, and for evaluating the responses of water supply agencies to these vulnerabilities. This article explains how the SWM Profile was designed by the Water Foundation to meet the needs of the water community and makes recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the profile and similar assessment tools. As the challenges facing water supply managers grow, standards that track progress toward sustainability become more important. The Water Foundation provides this article to share the lessons learned from the SWM Profile, in hopes that it will contribute to the work of other professionals in the field of water supply management.
AquaSPE in Zurich, Switzerland, invites you to join the largest knowledge sharing platform and business exchange for global water professionals—The Water Network, where you will find more than 113,000 water professionals. Check out the benefits - it is free and easy to join! Help solve the world's water crisis one answer at a time.
Watershed Wildlife Protection Group has posted their 2020 group meetings dates. To find the dates, times and location click HERE.
It Could Be Your Rooftop! Is your facility struggling with zinc in its stormwater discharge even after implementing BMPs? A hidden source of zinc could be your roofing materials or galvanized roof equipment. Learn more about StormwateRx’s Zinc-B-Gone® line of stormwater filteders HERE.
Egret Marsh Stormwater Park in Florida overlaps Municipal & Industrial (city & factory) filtration of water with Environmental habitat rebuilding. These multi-use structures are all the rage. Bioengineering with algae?! Watch the video HERE! Alexis Peralta notes, Colorado has harsher winters than this brackish ecosystem.
Colorado River District works every day to secure water supplies for agricultural, industrial, and municipal uses on the Western Slope. From the jagged peaks of the Continental Divide to the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau, and from the twists of the Uncompahgre River to the turns of the Yampa River, the Colorado River District contains the headwaters of one of our nation’s most important watersheds: the Colorado River. Watch and Share their video to spread the word.
Friends of the Lower Blue River is proud to announce the launch of their online guide to the history of the Lower Blue River Valley. With a click on the website or a swipe with your thumb on your device, you will be transported to key points of interest and their historical relevance from Summit to Grand County. This project was made possible by grant support from the Summit Foundation. To check out the LBR history guide, click HERE.
Learn About Methods for Stream Management Planning with CWCB’s and River Network’s New Resource Library! Just like individuals, each Stream Management Plan (SMP) is unique. The people and the location greatly influence their goals and activities. But there is also a common blueprint, documented at CWCB and River Network’s SMP Resource Library. For each step in the planning process, it presents examples, best practices, online resources, and methods to consider. The goal of the SMP Resource Library is to enlarge the pipeline of local coalitions that are interested, ready, and capable of undertaking Stream Management Plans, as well as advance the state of knowledge around how to craft effective and implementable SMPs. Resource Library case studies will be updated annually as SMPs progress. Experts in the different assessment areas (hydrology, water quality, recreation, riparian habitat, etc.) are encouraged to submit their ideas and feedback so it can continue to grow and improve. Click HERE to visit.