Vote Today in the 2013 Union of Concerned Scientists Editorial Cartoon Contest

Click here to vote. Great cartoons but the underlying message is not funny.

More education coverage here.

Restoration: CSU Researchers Identify Environmental Risks and Opportunities for Conservation of Native Colorado Trout Populations

Here’s the release from Colorado State University (Jennifer Dimas):

With only 14 percent of their original habitat remaining, native Colorado River cutthroat trout have been forced into isolation by habitat loss and invading non-native trout in relatively short reaches of high-altitude headwater streams. A new research paper by scientists at Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources has found that 63 percent of the remaining populations will be at some risk of decline or extinction by 2080.

There are 309 individual fragments of rivers and streams where pure Colorado River cutthroat trout still persist in the Colorado River Basin. The CSU researchers developed models to assess the probabilities for a variety of risks to trout in these populations, including those from a warming climate as well as increases in drought that causes stream drying and wildfire that can produce erosion of sediment into streams.

Researcher and lead author on the paper James Roberts first developed a sophisticated model to predict future stream temperatures from the latest predictions of future air temperatures and stream flow under climate change, as well as a range of other important variables such as latitude, slope, and elevation. The researcher team then analyzed the impacts of potential environmental disturbance events, such as fire, erosion and drought. What they found was a surprising paradox, and an opportunity for conservation.

The scientists report that none of the populations of cutthroat trout are expected to be at risk of acute mortality from increasing temperatures as the climate warms, even 70 years in the future. This is because these native fish have already been forced into refuges in short high-altitude streams, above barriers that prevent invasion by non-native brook, rainbow, and brown trout. As a result, the surviving populations are less susceptible to extreme temperature changes such as those that will occur at lower elevations. However, these isolated havens of cool-water habitat are also at the crux of what is jeopardizing the Colorado River cutthroat trout population.

The study reported that the fish living in these short stream reaches are highly vulnerable to potential effects of drought, fire, sediment deposition and freezing because they lack the habitat that would shelter them from these events that longer stream segments would afford. In addition, the isolated populations are also compromised by genetic risks that occur in small populations.
Because Roberts’ models looked at each risk factor for each stream where the native trout still occur, the researchers are able to identify in which of the 309 fragments restoration to expand the native trout’s habitat can be most effective. Furthermore, they are able to determine approximately how many kilometers long a stream fragment needs to be in order to provide adequate habitat for enhanced persistence rates.

“The complexity and depth of this study has allowed us to sharpen our focus and help managers create sustainable solutions for this iconic native fish species,” said Roberts. “Our hope is that this research will empower land managers with the tools and information needed to make a significant impact on the conservation of native Colorado River cutthroat trout for generations to come.”

The paper, Fragmentation and thermal risks from climate change interact to affect persistence of native trout in the Colorado River basin, is published in the May 2013 issue of Global Change Biology. The study was conducted using data from the upper Colorado River Basin, which includes all tributaries above Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.

Roberts, now working with the U.S. Geological Survey, conducted the research over three years while he was a post-doctoral researcher with CSU’s Warner College. CSU scientist Kurt Fausch served as Roberts’ research advisor and co-author, and is a professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and a world-renowned expert in the ecology and management of trout and other stream fishes. Other co-authors of the study are Mevin Hooten with the USGS Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and CSU alumnus Doug Peterson with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“The exciting outcome of this research is that we now have a targeted tool to help land managers plan efficient and strategic habitat restoration to reduce these risks,” said Fausch. “In many other cases, managers may be able to do little for native trout as the climate changes and makes streams too warm for their survival.”

From the Summit Daily News (Breeana Laughlin):

Rising water temperatures, the Colorado State University study concludes, aren’t impacting the indigenous fish like some of its non-native brothers.

Results of the study, which included six streams in Summit County, indicate that the hardy fish may be less susceptible to increases in water temperature than other trout.

Researchers James Roberts and Kurt Fausch are suggesting this may be because cutthroat trout have already sought refuge in short, high-altitude streams, above the barriers that keep out non-native brook, rainbow and brown trout.

Although isolated havens of cool-water habitat could help native trout survive future temperature increases, they still face peril in the event of a drought, fire or hard freeze because they don’t have the expansive habitat larger fish populations rely on to survive.

More restoration/reclamation coverage here and here.

Boulder County ‘Water Tour 2013′ is Saturday, June 8

Want to learn more about water for agricultural uses in Boulder County? Water Tour 2013 is Saturday, June 8. Visit watertour2013.eventbrite.com

— BoulderCountyAG (@BoulderCountyAG) May 1, 2013

CFWE watershed tours are coming up later this month, June and July

Click here for the 2013 tours page from the Colorado Foundation for Water Education. Watch their showcase video above to learn about the mission.

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here and here.

Eagle River Watershed Council Waterwise Thursday May 16: Are you wiser than a sixth grader?

From email from the Eagle River Watershed Council:

Join us for a special Water Wise “Thursday” brought to you by the 6th Graders of Homestake Peak School of Expeditionary Learning. After an in-depth, multiple month study, these students are ready to teach you “the what, the so what, and the now what?” of the Eagle Mine Superfund Site.

The event will take place Thursday, May 16th at 5:30 at the Walking Mountains Science Center. The students will begin with a living history museum where you can chat with figures of the past and then, they take you in depth into the history, science and future of the Eagle River. Beverages and appetizers will be provided.

More Eagle River Watershed coverage here and here.

Colorado River Basin: Annual ‘State of the Rivers — Mesa County’ meeting May 13 #ColoradoRiver

From email from the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University:

State of the Rivers Meeting

The Water Center at CMU is pleased co-sponsor the annual “State of the Rivers – Mesa County” meeting with the Colorado River District on Monday, May 13 from 5:30 – 7:30pm in the Colorado Mesa University Ballroom.

This meeting will address our current & projected water supply situation, water banking to deal with shortages, and salinity control programs. Light refreshments will be provided.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here and here

CFWE President’s Award Reception: ‘There are still things left to be done and goals to be set’ — Amy Beatie

In Colorado the water teaching heavy lifting falls to the Colorado Foundation for Water Education staff and board. Their work touches many in Colorado. Young and older, software experts, engineers, attorneys, water suppliers along with non-profit and public servants mirrored the Foundation’s diversity of outreach at yesterday’s President’s Award Reception.

Conversation ranged from travel plans for southern Africa to Open Source software for the water business to the monster wet April that we just saw in the northern part of the state.

Amy Beatie was honored as this year’s Emerging Leader.

She spoke about standing on the shoulders of many who had affected Colorado water in the past and how that allowed her the opportunity to do her work at the Colorado Water Trust. In particular she thanked former State Senator Fred Anderson for his foresight in marshalling Colorado’s instream flow law through the legislature.

Ms. Beatie told us that she believes that emerging means, “There are still things left to be done and goals to be set,” as she held her young son who decided to join her at the podium during her remarks.

She also mentioned that after listening to the arguments in Tarrant v. Herrmann she was struck by the difficulty the justices were having in understanding the concepts behind water law. Amy suggested that we should dispatch the Colorado Foundation for Water Education to D.C. to help them out a bit. The justices do not speak fluent water it seems.

The President’s Award for 2013 went to Jim Isgar, rancher from the dry-side of La Plata County.

During her introduction Joan Fitzgerald talked about their days in the legislature and said, “Jim never lied to anyone and if he told you he was with you he was with you to the end.”

Isgar got at the heart of the Foundation’s mission during his remarks saying, “When people buy a house they think it’s a guarantee that when they turn on the tap they have water.”

As Foundation Director Nicole Seltzer says in their short film introduction it is their job to help everyone speak fluent water so that they can make good decisions about it in the future.

Justice Greg Hobbs gave a special award to Jayla Poppleton the editor of the Foundation’s one of a kind water-centered publication Headwaters. Hobbs said that there is no publication like Headwaters, “anywhere else in the world.”

Click here to check out the CFWE website, join up or drop some cash in the tip jar. They’re also booking folks for their summer watershed tours right now.

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here and here.

El Paso County Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply meeting May 2

From the Colorado Springs Indpendent (J. Adrian Stanley):

Ever since the Waldo Canyon Fire charred our hillsides, Colorado Springs and the small communities that dot our foothills have been at extremely high risk for flooding. The WARSSS is an escape route — a detailed plan on how best to control the water, mud and debris.

The WARSSS will tell us how water moves and how to trap it. It will show us where to build the detention pond that will prevent the Pleasant Valley neighborhood from drowning, and how to control a wild rush of water out of Williams Canyon that is pointed at the center of Manitou Springs.

Thus, it is with excitement that I tell you the study will be presented to the El Paso County Commissioners on Thursday, May 2. Woo-hoo, indeed.

Waldo Canyon Fire WARSSS to be Presented May 2

Colorado Springs, CO, Thursday, April 25, 2013 — The Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply (WARSSS) Study will be presented by Dr. David L. Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology at 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2013, in the Hearing Room at the Pikes Peak Regional Development Center located at 2880 International Circle, Colorado Springs.

WARSSS is a technical procedure for water quality scientists use in evaluating streams and rivers impaired by excess sediment. It will predict how water, sediment and debris will move along and off the Waldo Canyon Fire burn scar. Based on its findings, it will assist in providing a list of prioritized mitigation projects.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

CFWE: ‘Colorado’s water is important to the state, but it also impacts the rest of the country’ — Caitlin Coleman

From The Colorado Statesman (Caitlin Colemen):

Colorado’s water is important to the state, but it also impacts the rest of the country — we are a headwaters state with water flowing from our mountains to nourish 19 states and the Republic of Mexico. Our water matters. If Colorado has a dry year, or pulls more than our allocation of water from the state’s rivers, our downstream neighbors will feel the effects. This has always been true, but as populations continue to grow and we experience more frequent hot and dry years in the West, competition for water is going to intensify and those choices we make become increasingly grave. It’s important to understand the implications of water use on a personal and policy-level…

…the state often sees new policy-makers who need to quickly learn water policy; this year there are eight new legislators on the House Agriculture Committee. “They’re certainly dealing with a variety of complex topics, everything from climate to groundwater policy to water planning,” [Doug] Kemper says.

Making those complex topics digestible is why the Colorado Foundation for Water Education exists — to help all Coloradans ‘speak fluent water.’ That means knowing where your water comes from, where it goes, who else depends on it and using that background to make informed decisions. The nonprofit started in 2002 as the result of legislation and was backed by financial support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. As Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs says, water professionals came together with the shared sentiment that Colorado needed an organization focused on nonbiased statewide water education. “We can point to a law that the legislature passed that is unlike anything else that I know about in the water field,” Hobbs says. “The fact that the state of Colorado has decided to support a non-advocacy, nonpolitical water foundation to communicate with people is extraordinary.”

I consider Ms. Coleman a friend and teacher. She is the primary blogger at Your Water Colorado Blog. (Disclaimer: I helped her start the blog using WordPress software.)

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here and here.

Greeley Children’s Water Festival recap: ‘In fifth grade you get to do’ — Armando Valladares

From The Greeley Tribune (Sherrie Peif):

It was clear walking around Island Grove Regional Park on Wednesday that most fourth-graders could survive on a very limited vocabulary. “Whoa,” one boy said as an employee of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District blew a giant bubble all around him. “Whoa,” another girl yelled out as water fell all around her in the 100-year flood exhibit. “Cool” and “Oh yeah,” could also be heard throughout the Island Grove Events Center, the Exhibition Building and the 4-H Building as more than 1,000 students from 15 schools across Adams, Morgan and Weld counties filled the buildings for the 23rd annual Children’s Water Festival.

The day long event is a collaboration among the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, the city of Greeley, the West Greeley Conservation District and the city of Evans, along with numerous sponsors. It is designed to teach young children about water conservation and its uses. The “Whoas,” “Oh yeahs” and “Cools” were for good reason; each activity was designed with kids in mind and meant to be hands-on and interactive. “We want to reach kids early to teach them that water is a limited resource and things can be done to take action,” said Kathy Parker, public information/education officer for the CCWCD.

The event consisted of dozens of booths that tested children’s awareness of water use and conservation.

At one booth, students spun a wheel to answer either a water knowledge question or a fun facts question such as at what temperature does water freeze? What saves more water, a shower or a bath? And what is the longest river in the United States? If they answered the question correctly, they won a bracelet.

Another “just for fun” activity, that attracted students more than most, was the bubblelogy booth, where giant bubbles were blown up around the student.

The bubbles were made from water, dish soap and cooking oil. Students stood on bricks in a plastic swimming pool while a large hula hoop type device was dunked in the mixture and stretched around them.

All the kids were given free T-shirts and schools that could not afford the transportation were given money for their busses to make the trip. Schools from as far away as Brush and Fort Morgan were in attendance.

Also helping with the event were students in the fifth-grade leadership class from Dos Rios Elementary School, who taught how to pan for gold and when and why it was done in Colorado history. “It was buried here and ended up in the rivers from when the mountains grew up,” said Kenia Morales, 11.

They all agreed that helping was just as much fun, and more, as participating. “In fourth grade all you got to do was watch,” said Armando Valladares, 10. “In fifth grade you get to do.”

More education coverage here.

Colorado Watershed Assembly: Volunteer for River Watch

Here’s the link to the announcement. Here’s the pitch:

2013 River Watch Training Schedule

River Watch is a statewide volunteer water quality-monitoring program operated by the non profit 501©3 Colorado Watershed Assembly in cooperation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Our mission is to work with voluntary stewards to monitor water quality and other indicators of watershed health, and utilize this high quality data to educate citizens and inform decision makers about the condition of Colorado’s waters. This program is unique in its statewide focus and frequency of data collection. River Watch volunteers come in all shapes in sizes: Middle, Elementary and High School groups participate in our program to provide in-depth education and experience in real life science that extends beyond the classroom. Conservation groups and community organizations concerned with water quality issues in their areas participate to learn more about watershed health in their region. Interested volunteers must participate in a training before becoming part of our program. After the training, groups agree to sample at a designated station monthly for metals, nutrients and other parameters. As water quality data must be recorded over time to understand the baseline conditions and any changes that occur in the system, we are seeking volunteers that can make a several year commitment to the program.

The fee for new groups to become part of the River Watch program is a one time cost of $200. With this fee, groups will obtain over $1800 worth of water quality equipment and includes one person’s attendance cost to the training. Scholarships are available to those groups who demonstrate their inability to pay the fee.

We will have two trainings scheduled this calendar year. These events cover the same material and format and will allow participants the ability to broaden their knowledge on River Watch as we will be having sessions on data management and advanced stream ecology. Introduction to River Watch for new participants will focus on water quality sampling and analysis and the nuts and bolts of our program. Sessions in bringing River Watch home to your organization and exploring non traditional teaching methods to implement River Watch will also be covered. There will be a cost of $90 per person (returning or additional persons) to attend if the registration is completed before the stated deadlines. After the deadlines, the registration rate is $110 per person. All meals and lodging (3 nights) are included in the fee.

July 23- July 26, 2013 we will be meeting at Mountain Park Environmental Center in Beulah, just southwest of Pueblo. The deadline to register for this event is June 15th. Registration after this date will be $110 per person.

October 29 – November 1, 2013 we will be meeting at Camp Cedaredge, in the town of Cedaredge on the Western Slope. The deadline to register for this event is October 1st. Registration after this date will be $110 per person.

Additional information:

Students are welcome to attend if accompanied by an adult.

Continuing education credits will be available from the Colorado School of Mines (up to 3) at an additional cost.

To register online, click here.

If you are interested in attending this training or learning more about our program, please contact Michaela Taylor at michaela@coloradowatershed.org or at (303) 291-7322.

More education coverage here.

Denver: Water For People is presenting the Festival for Water at Civic Center Park on June 9

From the Associated Press via The Denver Post:

As Colorado prepares for what’s expected to be another dry summer, water organizations are planning a free festival in Denver to raise awareness about what it takes to get clean water to people worldwide.

The Denver-based nonprofit group Water For People is presenting the Festival for Water at Civic Center Park on June 9 in collaboration with sponsors, partners and the Denver-based American Water Works Association, whose annual conference kicks off that day in Denver.

Festival spokesman Aaron Carlson said the event, which is both a fundraiser and awareness builder, will feature bands including The Motet, plus food trucks. The idea is to get the public more involved in worldwide water challenges and not just draw the estimated 12,000 engineers, water providers, consultants and other water professionals attending the association’s conference, Carlson said.

“It’s important that people understand how lucky we are to turn on the faucet, and water magically comes out,” Carlson said. “There are people in parts of the world who have limited access to clean water. There are organizations in Denver that are working on the problem.”

Costs of the festival, estimated at about $80,000, are being covered by sponsors, including Molson Coors Brewing Co., for whom water is a key ingredient.

“Water supply is something you want to look at whether you’re expanding or going to developed or developing markets,” said Mike Glade, the brewer’s senior director of water resources and real estate.

In Colorado, farms, ranches, cities, environmental interests and various businesses have competing interests for limited supplies of water. Coors Brewing Co. in the past has tussled in court with the city of Golden over water rights and with the state over a 2000 beer spill that killed thousands of fish in Clear Creek.

Glade said Molson Coors, which is working to reduce its water use and protect watersheds, believes in the importance of collaboration to address water issues. “Reducing risk is a community effort. It can’t really be done alone,” Glade said.

More education coverage here.

Windsor first and second graders learn about wetlands in conjunction with the Jane Goodall Foundation

From the Windsor Beacon/Greeley Tribune (T.M. Fasano) via The Denver Post:

First- and second-grade students at Skyview Elementary School in Windsor are learning the importance of making the environment and the world they live in a better place.
The students — 44 in all — are participating in a service-learning project sponsored by The Jane Goodall Foundation’s Roots & Shoots program.

They’ll wrap up the project, which involves learning about their environment and rehabilitating the school’s wetlands, includes a field trip to the Ritchie Center on the campus of the University of Denver on May 4, where they will hear from Jane Goodall, who will reflect on her career as a conservationist and emphasize how young people can ensure a better future for the world.

The students’ project won’t end on May 4, however. Second grade teacher Kendra Jacoby said it will be an on-going learning experience for the classes. “I am part of a test group doing projects all over the Denver Metro Area and Northern Colorado,” Jacoby said. “Our campaign will last at least through this spring, and we are hoping that it becomes a service-learning project that will last for years to come. Our objectives are to rehabilitate the wetlands that are on the east side of our school grounds, and learn more about recycling and why it’s so important for our environment.”

The project started in February and has been extensive for the students, who also write in a reflection journal about what they’re learning for a language arts experience that also ties it to the state’s standards and curriculum. “It’s really important because when kids learn at this age they take that life lesson with them as they grow up, and they also go home and teach their parents,” Alexis Joens, outreach coordinator for Gallegos Sanitation in Fort Collins, said.

Jane Goodall speaks

Jane Goodall talks about inspiring and empowering young people. 9-10 a.m. May 4 at the Ritchie Center on the University of Denver campus, 2201 E. Asbury Ave. Event is free, but registration is required at stemosphere.org

More education coverage here.

Grand Valley water related events during May #ColoradoRiver

From the Grand Junction Free Press (Hannah Holm):

Grand Junction will be a hub of water activity in May with both educational events and major policy meetings. Here’s a sampling:

• May 13 — 5:30-7 p.m. Colorado Mesa University Ballroom: State of the River meeting

This annual meeting, co-sponsored by the Colorado River District and the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University, provides an opportunity to learn about our current and projected water supply situation. This year, there will also be presentations on the achievements of salinity control programs in the Grand Valley and research on the feasibility of a “water bank,” which would compensate agricultural water users for voluntarily cutting back water use in order to maintain critical uses during times of shortage. This meeting is a free educational event for the public, and light refreshments will be provided.

• May 14-15 — Colorado Water Conservation board meeting

The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) is the state’s primary water policy and water project financing entity. The board will have its May meeting in Grand Junction, giving local residents the opportunity to watch the board at work and make comments on agenda items. Details on the location and agenda will be published on the CWCB website prior to the meeting.

• May 16-17 — Colorado Basin Salinity Control Forum

When water is applied to the soils in our region, the flows back to the river often contain high levels of naturally occurring salts. The trouble this causes to downstream farmers has led to many efforts to limit deep percolation through our soils through measures such as canal lining and irrigation efficiency. The Colorado Basin Salinity Control Forum meets regularly to assess the effectiveness of these efforts, and in May, they will hold their meeting in Grand Junction in the Courtyard by Marriott on Horizon Drive.

• May 29-31 — Lower Colorado River Basin float and tour

Not all the water events in May are inside, wonk-talk affairs. On May 30-31, the Colorado Foundation for Water Education will host a tour of key sites in the Grand Valley and uphill on the Grand Mesa. Discussions and sites on the tour will illuminate issues such as the purchase of agricultural water rights to serve the Grand Valley’s growing urban population, energy development in water supply watersheds, endangered fish recovery efforts, and tamarisk control. Prior to the tour, on May 29, the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University will host a float down the river from Palisade to Corn Lake.

DETAILS, DETAILS …

Details on all these events and many more can be found on the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University’s website, at http://www.coloradomesa.edu/WaterCenter/events.html

More education coverage here.

Colorado River Named Most Endangered in United States #ColoradoRiver

Here’s a release from Western Resource Advocates (Jason Bane):

The Colorado River is the most endangered river in the United States, according to the 2013 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® released today by the nonprofit group American Rivers. Western Resource Advocates, a conservation organization that works throughout the entire Colorado River Basin, issued the following comments in response to the new listing:

“We all have our own dreams and visions for the future of the West,” said Bart Miller, Water Program Director at Western Resource Advocates. “But this is one subject where there can be no disagreement: If we don’t protect the Colorado River, we don’t have a future. It’s really that simple – an endangered Colorado River is a danger to us all.”

The Colorado River provides drinking water for more than 36 million people in seven states. The river is also critical to our regional and national food supply, providing irrigation for 4 million acres of farmland.

“We are using water in the West at a rate that is simply unsustainable,” said Drew Beckwith, Water Policy Manager at Western Resource Advocates. “The good news is that we can solve this problem if we act quickly. If we implement aggressive conservation, reuse, and efficiency programs for both municipal and agricultural users, we can protect the Colorado River and its many species, while at the same time exceeding projected water demand through 2060.”

The population in the West is expected to rise by 50% in the next 50 years; at the same time, Colorado River flows are projected to decline by 10% or more. Not only would this decline impact food and water availability, but it would be a huge blow to a growing recreation economy responsible for more than $26 billion in annual revenue for the Colorado River Basin states.

Western Resource Advocates has long advocated that water conservation and reuse should be the backbone of any plan for meeting future water demands in the Colorado River Basin. This is particularly critical in the face of climate change scenarios that experts agree will lead to increased frequency and severity of drought.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here and here.

‘The reach of Colorado water goes all the way to the Mississippi’ — Justice Greg Hobbs

From the Cañon City Daily Record (Rachel Alexander):

The Fremont-Custer Bar Association on Friday welcomed Justice Gregory Hobbs, who spoke to a group of about 20 about water law and the history of water in Colorado.

The meeting, at DiRito’s, was part of the association’s effort to provide educational activities for its member attorneys. Friday’s event was open to the public and included several city council members and city employees…

Hobbs is vice president of the Colorado Foundation for Water Education, which is a non-advocacy and non-political organization created by the General Assembly to provide information about water to Colorado citizens.

“The reach of Colorado water goes all the way to the Mississippi,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs discussed the nine interstate compacts Colorado has regarding the four major rivers with headwaters in the state, including the Arkansas River. The compacts control how much water Colorado citizens may use and how much must be allowed to leave the state in its rivers. The compacts result in Colorado being able to only consume 1/3 of the state’s snow melt water.

The concept of water rights for irrigation, Hobbs said, arose out of the necessity to irrigate lands a distance from the river for agricultural purposes. In the 1866 Mining Act, Congress severed water from land in the public domain, which made up most of the territory at the time…

The doctrine of water right favors settled uses, he said, meaning those with old rights take preference over newer uses. “The public always owns the water resource,” Hobbs said.

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here and here.

CSU Research is Examining Water Savings from Different Farming Strategies during Drought #COdrought

Here’s the release from Colorado State University (Jennifer Dimas):

A team of Colorado State University agricultural and environmental scientists hopes to pinpoint best management practices in crop production to help conserve water in times of drought, and their project will provide farmers with an online tool to calculate water savings gained from different strategies. The research project is supported with a grant of $883,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Adaptation to Drought Conservation Innovation Grant. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., announced the funding last week. “We are taking a systematic approach to understand how to effectively manage water in the face of scarcity,” said Neil Hansen, associate professor in the CSU Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and project leader. “We want to maximize crop per drop, meaning crop yield per gallon of water. Water is short, and we’ve got to get as much as we can from the little we’ve got.”

The research is unique in its involvement of agricultural businesses and scientists from multiple disciplines. Assisting from the private sector will be Dupont Pioneer, Regenesis Management, Biochar Solutions, John Deere Water and 21st Century Ag Equipment. The project also engages area farmers through the West Greeley Conservation District and the Lower South Platte Irrigation Research Farm.

CSU researchers will conduct field demonstrations to examine how different approaches to soil, crop and irrigation management affect water conservation, yields and system adaptation to drought.

The project will examine water-saving benefits gained with adjustments in:

• Crop management, including use of cover cropping and drought-tolerant crop varieties;
• Soil management, including conservation tillage and soil amendments; and
• Irrigation management, including scheduling and variable rate irrigation, which uses space-based technologies to tailor water application to varying needs within a field.
• The project also will employ sensors to track soil moisture and crop stress.

“Colorado’s agricultural producers have been at the forefront of new conservation technologies that help more efficiently produce food, fiber and fuel for the country largely due to CSU’s leadership in agricultural research,” Bennet said. “This grant will help CSU continue to develop new ways for farmers and ranchers to protect their land, crops and water.”

The researchers will modify an existing online tool to help farmers understand how management practices will improve their water use.

The CSU team also will provide research results to farmers through field days, fact sheets and a web site; the researchers will develop a technical water-management guide for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. “Ultimately, we want to help producers assess, ‘Am I using my water at maximum productivity?’” Hansen said.

The CSU research team was one of thirteen nationwide to receive federal Conservation Innovation Grants to develop approaches and technologies that will help producers adapt to extreme climate changes that cause drought. The USDA awarded a total of $5.3 million to these research projects. “USDA is working diligently to help American farmers and ranchers rebound from last year’s drought and prepare for future times of climatic extremes,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.

More education coverage here.

The next Eagle River Watershed Council ‘Waterwise Wednesday’ (April 3) features Nolan Doesken and a focus on drought #codrought

From email from the Eagle River Watershed Council:

A Peek into Colorado’s Climate: Is Drought Passing, Permanent or Periodic?
by State Climatologist Nolan Doesken

Water Wise Wednesday
Wednesday, April 3rd
5:30-7:00 pm
The Dusty Boot
Eagle, CO

Colorado State Climatologist Nolan Doesken joins the Eagle River Watershed Council for our next Water Wise Wednesday to discuss the state of drought in Colorado. Doesken, who monitors current and long term climatic conditions in Colorado, will provide updates on the current snowpack, summer drought predictions and long term trends in the state.

Nolan Doesken has been with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University since 1977, where he was appointed State Climatologist in 2006. He is currently the president of the American Association of State Climatologists.

More Eagle River Watershed coverage here and here.

CSU to offer low-cost irrigation efficiency audits for farmers #codrought

From the Loveland Reporter-Herald:

A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to CSU’s Center for Agricultural Energy will pay for reduced-cost irrigation efficiency audits for growers with center pivot systems. Center pivot irrigation is common on Colorado’s Front Range and Eastern Plains. Water is pumped onto fields by impact sprinklers mounted on overhead pipes that roll in sweeping arcs across farmland.

For $250, a fourth of the usual $1,000 cost, university technicians will conduct up to three pumping plant audits to gauge efficiency of farmers’ systems, recommend changes and estimate potential savings.

Information and a brief application can be found at www.ext.colostate.edu/cae/audits.html, or by calling Cary Weiner at 970-491-3784.

More conservation coverage here.

The January/February issue of Colorado Water (Colorado State) is hot off the press

Click here to read a copy.

Thanks to the Colorado Water 2012 Twitter feed for the heads up

.

Check out the Jan/Feb CSU Water Newsletter for lots of articles featuring Water 2012, CFWE, and all the amazing… fb.me/2neBrlXZt

— Colorado Water 2012 (@ColoWater2012) March 26, 2013

More education coverage here.

Colorado Foundation for Water Education: 2013 President’s Award Reception, May 3

Click here to go the the CFWE website to register and learn all about the event. Click on the thumbnail graphic for a photo of last year’s shindig.

The venue this year is the Colorado History Museum. Here’s the pitch from the website:

Join the Colorado Foundation for Water Education on Friday May 3 to enjoy our 2013 President’s Award Reception. Help us honor Jim Isgar, the recipient of CFWE’s President’s Award. The award pays tribute to those who demonstrate steadfast commitment to water resources education. We will also bestow our Emerging Leader Award upon Amy Beatie.

Jim Isgar, 2013 President’s Award

Looking at Jim Isgar, a bit grizzled from recent chemotherapy treatments to battle cancer, I see a generous man who stands as tall as Mt. Hesperus. Due north of Isgar’s family farm and ranch, Mt. Hesperus in southwestern Colorado’s La Plata Mountains is one of four mountains considered sacred to the Navajo. Isgar irrigates off the La Plata River outside of Breen, southwest of Durango. Like his father, Art, he has served on the H.H. Ditch Company board of directors, including 25 years as its president.

Amy Beatie, 2013 Emerging Leader Award

Amy Beatie fights drought by putting water back into parched Colorado streams for fish, wildlife and people. In the summer of 2012, when Western Slope streams were running precariously low, the nonprofit Colorado Water Trust she leads helped to hold some of the hardest-hit waters together.
“In February of 2012, the snow wasn’t catching up,” says Beatie. “In March we realized the snow wasn’t coming at all. It looked like a bad drought would hit every basin in the state.”

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here.

The One World One Water Center March newsletter is hot off the press

Click here to read the March newsletter from the One World One Water Center.

More education coverage here.

MSU Denver: One World, One Water Center presents ‘Water and the Arts’

From YourHub (Tim Carroll) via The Denver Post:

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs never expected a poem he wrote about his passion—water—to become the lyrical content of a rap song.

But a rap rendition of his poem, “Colorado Mother of Rivers,” written in celebration of the 30 th year of Colorado’s in stream flow law, was performed by rapper Mr. Figurora at MSU Denver’s first ever “Water and the Arts” symposium. The two-day event on Feb 25-26 brought musicians, authors and artists to Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus to raise awareness and explore water issues through the arts.

The event is part of the university’s One World, One Water Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship initiative, which in addition to bringing water-related events and applied learning activities to campus, also offers an interdisciplinary pilot water studies minor that more than 90 faculty members are involved with.

“The students here at Metro are in a perfect situation,” said Hobbs, who is a member of the One World, One Water advisory board and a co-chair for the “Water and Arts” event. “We’ve identified 100 different courses that have to do with water in some way. English, music, technology of clean water, water infrastructure, engineering, biology…There are so many opportunities for students in the water profession, and this is what this curriculum is trying to do.”

More education coverage here.

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable wants $300,000 to model diversions

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable is backing a $300,000 study to develop a way to sort out complexities of water projects.

The roundtable is applying for grants from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to fund a thorough analysis of water use.

“The reason it’s needed is that everyone does planning for an average year, but everyone has to deal with wet years and dry years,” said Jim Broderick, executive director of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

The most extreme case in point were the 2011 and 2012 water years. In 2011, the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project brought over record amounts of water, and the next year yielded one of the lowest amounts ever.

“We need an accounting tool that tells us how much water is available through native or imported sources, how much is in storage and how much can be exchanged,” Broderick said. The plan continues the roundtable’s regional planning efforts that try to incorporate multiple uses into projects.

For instance, the timing of how water is moved for irrigation or municipal purposes can improve flows for rafting and fishing, as demonstrated by the Upper Arkansas River flow program started in 1990.

The study would look at data back to 1982 and develop a report about how water was diverted as supplies varied from year to year. That would provide data for a water supply model that could be posted online to assist water users in planning, based on hydrologic conditions.

“Eventually, it serves an educational purpose as well,” Broderick said.

More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.

Avon: Denver Water’s Bill Bates to discuss the relationship between water users on the Front Range and the Western Slope, March 11

From email from the Eagle River Watershed Council:

The Watershed Council would like to invite you to join us for the fourth and final H2Know High Country Speaker Series!

We will welcome Bill Bates of Denver Water to discuss the relationship between water users on the Front Range and the Western Slope. Mr. Bates currently oversees the protection and development of water rights associated with Denver Water’s collection system. Prior to this, Bill supervised the water supply operations and reporting for the Denver Water collection system.

This High Country Speaker Series / Water Wise Wednesday is presented by the Eagle River Watershed Council, Walking Mountains Science Center and the Eagle Valley Library District…

Monday
March 11th
5:30-7:00 pm
Walking Mountains Science Center
Avon, CO

More education coverage here.