Arkansas River: ‘We’ll supply 10,000 acre-feet for rafting and the fishery’ — Roy Vaughan

From The Mountain Mail (Casey Kelly):

Arkansas River boaters can expect to see flows bolstered this summer by 10,000 acre-feet of water from the Voluntary Flow Management Program. Roy Vaughan, facility manager for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Pueblo Field Office, confirmed Monday that water will be available for the Voluntary Flow Management Program. “We’ll supply 10,000 acre-feet for rafting and the fishery,” Vaughan said.

The program will supply enough water to keep flows at the Wellsville station at 700 cubic feet per second from July 1 through Aug. 15 this year, according to Vaughan.

He said the bureau’s April 1 forecast called for bringing more than 24,700 acre-feet of water over from the Western Slope. Its May 1 forecast called for 47,230 acre-feet. “That’s almost double what we were forecasting,” Vaughan said. He said recent moisture “changed the outlook for us.”

Rob White, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area park manager, told a May 7 Salida City Council work session that outfitters were worried about another low water season and had been told a few months ago that water may not be available this summer for the Voluntary Flow Management Program. “Luckily we were saved by the late-season storms in both March and April,” White said. “As a matter of fact, I got a call from the Bureau of Reclamation (May 6), and they believe they’ll be able to deliver the full 10,000 acre-feet of water for us for the summer flow program.”

Rafting outfitter Mark Hammer, owner of The Adventure Company in Johnson Village, said he does about 75 percent of his summer business during the 6 weeks that augmentation flows will be available. “(The Voluntary Flow Management Program) is extremely helpful,” Hammer said. “The bell curve of river flows doesn’t necessarily coincide with our peak tourism, so this ensures we have enough water in the Arkansas during the later period of our season.”

He said a more average water flow season this year will help outfitters predict when river flows will peak, how high they will be and how long they will last. “We certainly appreciate the collaborative effort of the flow program,” Hammer said. “It’s a benefit to the public, outfitting companies and the whole area’s economy which relies on the river.”

Greg Felt, co-owner of ArkAnglers, said this year is shaping up to be a good year for the fishery. “We’ve been able to see some good hatches and good aquatic insect activity,” Felt said. “Looking ahead, it’s great to see snowpack improve as it has.”

Kara Lamb, Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman, said, “What makes this program possible is the cooperation, understanding and willingness of those involved to work together. Their cooperation helps the diverse groups reach the mutual goals of the water owners, operators and users, municipalities and government agencies. The Flow Program has created a model for all rivers in the West, and one Coloradans can be proud of.”

More Fryingpan-Arkansas Project coverage here.

Whitewater sports brought in $52 million in business along the Arkansas River mainstem in 2012

From The Mountain Mail (Casey Kelly):

Commercial rafting activities brought more than $52 million into the Arkansas River Valley economy in 2012, Rob White, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area park manager, told Salida City Council during a work session Tuesday. White said the $52 million figure came from the Colorado River Outfitters Association’s 2012 year-end report on the economic impact of commercial rafting. In 2011, the impact on valley economy was a little more than $60 million. “You can see the effect that a low-water season has,” White said.

To calculate economic impact, the report uses total cash spent in the local area for rafting, food, lodging and souvenirs by one rafting customer in one day, taken from a 1991 survey conducted by the Bureau of Land Management. That figure is multiplied by the number of commercial user days and an economic multiplier of 2.56 (the number of times a dollar is spent in the local area before being spent outside that area, according to the Colorado Tourism Board). “I don’t think people realize the economic impact whitewater boating provides to the communities in the Upper Arkansas River Valley,” White said. “People are bringing a lot of people into the area and spending a lot of money.”

Other data White highlighted from the report included the Arkansas River recording a total of 169,486 commercial user days, the most of any river in the state in 2012. White said the Arkansas River saw “more than half the use of all other rivers in the state of Colorado. That’s including the Colorado River. So you can see basically how important the Arkansas River is in terms of drawing people from both the Front Range and out of state for whitewater boating and for rafting.”

Commercial use on the Arkansas River in 2012 was down from 2011, which saw 208,329 commercial user days. “2011 was obviously a much better water year. In some respects, almost too good of a water year. We had big, big flows and we had high water advisories on the river a couple of different times,” White said.

More whitewater coverage here and here.

Snowpack news: Colorado River outfitters are more upbeat about the start of the season

From The Mountain Mail (Calley McDermott):

Because of recent late-season snowfall, Colorado River Outfitters Association predicts a “normal start” to this year’s rafting season. The typical rafting season is mid-May to mid-September. David Costlow, CROA executive director, said, “The state’s weather patterns over the past 3 weeks give plenty of reason to think that more moisture will be in the forecast, thus adding to the snowpack and overall water levels. This puts outfitters on track to offer rafting throughout the typical rafting season.”

Rob White, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area parks manager, said, “I’m really pleased with the late-season snow. It’s really helping the recreational flows, as well as agricultural interests.” He said the summer flows will depend on how warm it gets and how quickly. “Either we’ll have full-on and steady flows like we did in 2011 when it came off nice and even, or it gets hot and stays hot and the runoff comes quickly with a higher peak,” White said. He said certainly the spring snow has enabled a “better whitewater season than last year.”

Mike Whittington, co-owner of Independent Whitewater rafting company, said, “I think we’ll have a good average season with what (snow) we got. We are reportedly at average.”

SNOTEL reported Monday that the Arkansas River Basin was at 73 percent of median and 61 percent of peak.

Whittington added that he would prefer the runoff to “trickle down and stay nice and steady.” Ideal flows in his opinion are 1,000-2,000 cubic feet per second, but he said if the flows can “hover around 1,000 cfs for the season, it would be a big step above last year. But I don’t know if that will happen. As long as flows are 700 cfs and above, it will still be great fun.”

According to Colorado River Outfitters Association’s 2012 Economic Impact Study, Colorado’s rafting industry had a more than $127 million economic impact on the state’s tourism industry in 2012 – and that was during a down year. Low water levels and wildfires plagued the industry. In 2011, Colorado’s rafting industry generated an economic impact of more than $151 million.

More whitewater coverage here.

Durango: Ambitious restoration/construction project for the city’s whitewater park to kick off in November

From The Durango Herald (Jim Haug):

By using berms or coffer dams, sections of the river will be split into dry and wet sides to allow workers to get to the river bottom of the whitewater park, also known as Smelter Rapid, by Santa Rita Park and Durango’s wastewater-treatment plant.

Contractors then will do restoration and maintenance work, such as grouting boulders into place, as well as creating a new underwater structure to allow for gentler rapids and to accommodate beginner and intermediate ability levels.

The work is scheduled to begin in November and wrap up by next March, which also will result in a temporary diversion of the Animas River Trail to the other side of the wastewater-treatment plant and away from the river construction. This section of river trail is scheduled to get an upgrade, too, widening from 10 to 14 feet to accommodate an anticipated increase in traffic to the river.

Plans also call for a partial relocation of the equipment yard for the wastewater-treatment plant to create a more park-like setting by the river entrance. Erosion of the shoreline would be mitigated with boulders. Officials hope to create a more graded or level access to the river that would be in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The city’s hired mastermind is Scott Shipley, a World Cup champion kayaker who also competed in three Summer Olympics and whose firm, S2O Design, also developed the hydraulic features in the whitewater course for the London Olympics. The firm currently is a consultant for the whitewater course for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro…

Trying to place rocks strategically without knowledge of the river bottom was “always a roll of the dice,” Brennan said. “You’re not sure what the (rock) is hitting,” Brennan said. “You’re hoping it stays.” With this construction plan, “we’ll see how the rocks are touching each other. We’ll be able to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle.”[...]

The $1.3 million project is funded by a half-cent sales tax that voters approved in 2005 for parks and recreation purposes, but the project has ramifications bigger than minimizing maintenance and hopefully getting Durango “back on the map” as a destination for whitewater competitions. It fulfills a mandate of the city’s Recreational In-Channel Diversion right, which was granted by the Colorado Water Conservation Board about six years ago. “By completing the whitewater park, it gives us the right to protect the (river) forever,” said Cathy Metz, director of Parks and Recreation. “So we could never have a diversion of the Animas upstream or a dam on the Animas. It’s a big deal for our community, not only for paddling but for environmental reasons, as well.”[...]

“This is the flagship of the whitewater parks, or it was,” [Shipley] said. “It will be the flagship of whitewater parks again. So I hear from you. This is not a project we’re going to fall asleep on.”

More whitewater coverage here and here.

Arkansas River: Late season snowfall expected to give rafting revenue a shot in the arm #COdrought

Click on the thumbnail graphic to see the big spike in late season snow water equivalent in the Arkansas River Basin. Whitewater sports are a big business along the Arkansas River mainstem above Lake Pueblo so the snowfall translates to economic activity this summer.

Here’s a release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

A steady stream of March and April snowstorms in the high country have managers at Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) anticipating a good run-off this spring and steady flows for rafting throughout the summer.

“The snowpack in the Upper Arkansas River Basin is much better this year than at the same time last year,” said Rob White, AHRA Park Manager. “We are looking forward to a great spring and summer season for whitewater boating.”

White said that as of April 18, the snow levels in the upper Arkansas basin are more than double what they were at this time last year. “Last year we received very little if any precipitation in March and April, while this year we have been more fortunate. The mountains that surround the Arkansas River Valley are continuing to receive snow,” he said.

The Arkansas River is the most commercially rafted river in the United States and an abundant supply of whitewater and gorgeous scenery are just two of the reasons why the river is so popular. “Browns Canyon and the Royal Gorge provide two of the most spectacular stretches of scenery and whitewater that you can find. Also, with the spring snowpack increasing every day, we are very excited about this year’s whitewater season,” said White.

Not only will there be a good spring run-off, but the late season snowstorms also increase the possibility of a successful flow program for the multi-agency Voluntary Flow Management Program (VFMP). The VFMP maintains minimum flows for the fishery throughout the year and provides enhanced flows for rafting and kayaking from July 1 through mid-August.

“In a year like this, we potentially have the best of both worlds; the fishery on the Arkansas River is the best it’s been in years due to low flows last season, while the late season addition to the snowpack promises to provide an abundance of whitewater,” said White.

The AHRA is managed through a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In addition to AHRA, Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages 42 other state parks, more than 300 state wildlife areas, all of Colorado’s wildlife and a variety of outdoor recreation.

Here’s a report from Tracy Harmon writing for The Pueblo Chieftain:

Rafters are rejoicing at the late winter snowstorms that are bringing more water to the Arkansas River for rafting and kayaking this summer. The steady stream of snowstorms in the high country have extended through March and April, boosting snowpack totals to double what they were this time last year, said Rob White, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area park manager.

There is more than twice as much snow as at the same time last year, White said. “The spring snowstorms that the Arkansas River Valley have been receiving are of tremendous benefit to the agricultural, municipal and recreational communities,” he said. “We are looking forward to a great spring and summer season for whitewater boating.”

The Arkansas River is the most commercially rafted river in the United States, so an abundant supply of whitewater is just what rafters have been hoping for. That’s because not only will there be a good spring runoff, but the late season snowstorms also increase the possibility of a successful flow program through mid-August.

Last year, rafting outfitters experienced a nearly 19 percent dive in visitor numbers, making it the worst year since droughtand fire-stricken 2002. Arkansas River rafting customers went from 208,329 in 2011 to 169,486 in 2012, resulting in a nearly 16 percent drop in economic impact to the region.

Last summer, the rafting industry brought in $20.5 million in direct expenditures to the Arkansas River corridor and a total economic impact of $52.5 million when factors such as meals, lodging and gasoline are considered.

More whitewater coverage here and here.

FIBArk Festival seeking sponsors and advertisers

From The Mountain Mail:

FIBArk organizers are seeking sponsors and advertisers for the festival’s program guide before its April 1 sponsorship deadline. The 65th annual whitewater festival will take place June 13-16. “Many local businesses are back for this year’s festival, and we thank them,” Shaun Matusewicz, FIBArk event coordinator, said. “FIBArk is a huge undertaking and couldn’t happen without their support.”

The FIBArk board plans to print about 3,000 copies of the collectible program guide, which is distributed free around town during the festival. It features a schedule of events, historical information, band bios, maps and event descriptions. No format or pricing changes from last year are planned this year for the guide, board members said. “The guide is a must-have for anyone coming to the festival,” Matusewicz said. “It’s a very popular piece of information for out-of-town visitors and locals.”

Businesses interested in advertising in the guide may email FIBArk at fibark@gmail.com for information.

FIBArk is also planning two events in April and May. The FIBArk Youth Paddling program will host the second stop of the Rocky Mountain Whitewater Cup April 13-14 in Salida. The event will feature a wildwater race from Salida to Salida East, a slalom competition and a freestyle competition.

On May 18 FIBArk will host the 11th annual Cruiser Crit, which raises funds to provide music during the whitewater festival. The event draws costumed participants of all ages to race cruiser bicycles along downtown streets, alleys and paths.

More whitewater coverage here and here.

Grand County ponies up dough for instream water rights for whitewater park #coriver

From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

A manmade play wave, fashioned with rocks and concrete boulders in the river, would be the first whitewater park in Grand County. Such play waves attract paddlers from far and wide. It is planned to be located at Pumphouse, the popular Bureau of Land Management boating site on the Colorado River west of Kremmling off the Trough Road, between the Gore Canyon’s class 4-5 rapids and the splashy, family friendly class 2-3 section below Pumphouse. The Pumphouse site is already developed with a parking area and bathrooms, and is a strong location for boaters late in the season due to upstream reservoir releases…

Grand County is seeking water rights attached to the whitewater park at Pumphouse and a potential feature — someday in the future — at Hot Sulphur Springs, which the town has indicated it favors having as an attraction, according to Grand County Manager Lurline Underbrink Curran. The county, with help from hired Project Coordinator Caroline Bradford of Eagle, established these locations as most-preferred among actual users of the river by conducting a series of meetings and reaching out to boaters across the state. Bradford received more than 100 letters in favor of the park, she said…

The county is seeking river flows varying from 800-1,200 cfs, depending on the time of year between April and October, for recreational use on the Colorado River. The rights are still pending in District 5 Colorado Water Court, and Underbrink Curran said the county has satisfied the concerns of all but three objectors. Water attorneys for the county are “optimistic,” Underbrink Curran said. They have indicated they are “confident that they have a good opportunity to settle with the objectors,” two of which are Colorado Springs Utilities and Climax. The county has until April 2014 to settle…

Financing the $1.7 million project remains another hurdle. Grand County has pledged $600,000 and is using a chunk of that to pay for the legal process of obtaining water rights. Last week, Bradford announced a “a huge step forward” for the park when the Colorado Water Conservation Board committed a $500,000 grant toward the project from its Water Supply Reserve Account. Although more than $39 million has been awarded to hundreds of water projects across the state since the fund’s inception in 2007, it was the first time the board awarded money for a recreation project…

Meanwhile, fundraising continues to see the project to fruition. Bradford is charged with leading the effort to raise another $500,000 to $600,000 from within the boater community and from other partners, she said.

Work on the project will be overseen by both the Bureau of Land Management and the Army Corps of Engineers, according to Carey, and the county will be applying for appropriate permitting. The process will involve public comment periods.

Construction of the project would take place during a three to four month window, taking into account the sensitivity of the river, he said. The project would involve diverting the river channel around the work area.

More whitewater coverage here.

Pitkin County gets another 60 days to settle objectors to their Roaring Fork RICD application

From the Aspen Daily News (Brent Gardner-Smith):

The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), two major upstream diverters and three billionaires with property near Aspen have active statements of opposition on file against the county’s proposal.

On Feb. 1, Judge James B. Boyd of Division 5 water court in Glenwood Springs gave the parties in the case another 60 days to settle.

The county is seeking the right to run between 240 and 1,350 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water over two rock and concrete structures it plans to build in the river, at a cost of about $1 million, which includes a stairway to access the feature. The new water right would be what’s known as a “recreational in-channel diversion,” or RICD, which is a program that allows governments to obtain a water right for recreational purposes. It can have the added benefit of keeping more water in a river.

The structures would form two waves for kayakers and other boaters in the Fork, just across Two Rivers Road from the entrance to the Elk Run neighborhood.

The county so far has come to terms with three of the 14 parties that originally filed statements of opposition in the case — the city of Aspen, the Basalt Water Conservancy District and the Starwood Metropolitan District.

Of the remaining 11 entities, at least three are controlled by billionaires who own property upstream of the proposed “Pitkin County River Park.”

Bill Koch (via Elk Mountain Lodge LLC) and Penny Pritzker (via PT Ranch Barn LLC) each own property along Castle Creek, and Ed Bass (via Mountain Valley Cabin LLC) owns property on the banks of the upper Roaring Fork.

Another opposing entity is GRE II LLC, which is controlled by David Gerstenhaber of Argonaut Capital Management, a New York hedge fund. GRE II owns 37 acres of land, with water rights, on Star Mesa above McLain Flats Road.

Statements of opposition in water court are typically formulaic and it is not easy to discern a party’s true intent in filing them. Some parties file statements simply to monitor changes in a case…

The latest draft proposal from the county has the water right stepping up and then back down across a 142-day runoff season.

Beginning on April 15, the water right would run for 33 days at 240 cfs, another 24 days at 380 cfs, and then for 15 days at 1,530 cfs, ending June 25.

Then the flows step down from the peak — with 56 days flowing at 380 cfs and another 14 days at 240 cfs, ending Labor Day.

More Roaring Fork Watershed coverage here.

Colorado’s rafting industry hopes this season will beat 2012 #codrought

From The Aspen Times (Janet Urquhart):

The Colorado River Outfitters Association held its annual convention earlier this month in Grand Junction. The organization, which represents about 50 licensed rafting outfitters across the state, said last year’s drop in user days — defined as a paying guest on a river for any part of a day — was the second-highest decline since the association began tracking the numbers in 1990. The biggest drop came in 2002, a season marked by drought and fire in Colorado; it also came in the wake of the 9/11 economic downturn. That year, user days were down 40 percent, according to the association.

The association’s annual report indicates that user days on the upper Roaring Fork River, a stretch that includes Slaughterhouse Falls below Aspen, plummeted from 6,672 in 2011 (a bountiful year for spring snowpack and river flows) to 112 last year. The decline on the Roaring Fork below Basalt was somewhat less pronounced — user days dropped from 912 in 2011 to 736 last year, the report said.

The upper Colorado River, including the popular stretch through Glenwood Canyon that includes the Shoshone rapid, actually saw an uptick in user days — from 32,842 in 2011 to 39,645 last year. Senior water calls on the Colorado kept the river flowing at decent levels throughout the season and attracted boaters who were displaced from other rivers…

Both the Colorado and Green rivers came through the 2012 season “unscathed,” according to the outfitters group.

The Arkansas River, on the far side of Independence Pass from Aspen and a destination for some local rafting companies, was also down in boater traffic last season, with 169,486 user days, compared with 208,329 in 2011…

Across Colorado, user days for rafting outfitters that are members of the statewide group numbered 411,100 last year. That translated to an economic impact of $127.5 million, down 15.7 percent from 2011, the Colorado River Outfitters Association calculated. The sum reflects user days, their direct expenditures on a rafting trip and the number of times those dollars are spent in a local area (2.56 times, according to the Colorado Tourism Board). Direct expenditures last year totaled $49.8 million, the outfitters association said.

The Arkansas River was the biggest economic generator in the Colorado rafting industry, with $20.5 million in direct expenditures last year, the association reported. The Colorado River in Glenwood was next, at $7.7 million. The Roaring Fork, including trips on all stretches of the river, generated about $102,000 in direct spending last year.

Rafting companies saw big drop in revenue in 2012 #codrought

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Tracy Harmon):

Arkansas River rafting and summer tourism at the Royal Gorge Bridge took a huge hit in 2012. Rafting companies and the gorge posted double­digit drops in visitors in a year marked by the summertime Waldo Canyon wildfire and low Arkansas River flow. Rafting took a nearly 19 percent dive, the worst year since drought­stricken 2002.

The number of boaters went from 208,329 in 2011 to 169,486 in 2012, according to a report by Colorado River Outfitters Association members Joe Greiner and Jody Werner. The decline in economic impact was not quite as harsh: about 16 percent. The drop­off in boating came during a summer marked by a weak economy, low water levels due to a drought and the wildfire. In 2002, visitation sank to 139,178. The rafting industry credits last year’s better numbers to a marketing push promoting the benefits of lower­flow rafting for first­timers and families.

The industry’s outlook for this summer is brighter due to a slight upturn in the economy. However, the potential for continuing drought “weighs on the possibility of a full recovery,” the association reported.
According to the group’s 2012 report: Last summer, the rafting industry brought in $20.5 million in direct expenditures to the Arkansas River corridor and a total economic impact of $52.5 million when factors such as meals, lodging and gasoline are considered. In 2011, the industry created $23.8 million in direct expenditures and $60.9 million in economic impact.

“Colorado’s whitewater rafting industry took a solid hit in 2012. It was the largest drop we’ve seen since 2002 following similar drought and fire conditions throughout the state,” Greiner said in the executive summary. “The proactive education of consumers regarding the quality of lower water conditions helped improve river use over drought stricken 2002 levels.

“Many families were able to experience rafting for the first time and consumer reviews were extremely positive regarding the quality of the experience. Although the Arkansas River has guaranteed flow targets that are augmented by large upstream reservoirs, river use was affected by the Colorado Springs (Waldo Canyon) fire,” Greiner reported.

More whitewater coverage here.

Montrose County ponies up $50,000 for whitewater park engineering

From the Montrose Daily Press (Will Hearst):

The greater Montrose community came one step closer to a collaborative application for a Great Outdoors Colorado grant Tuesday, after the city locked in an agreement with Montrose County for $50,000 toward the engineering of the whitewater park project.

All five city council members voted to accept the $50,000 offered, which will not only help cover the upfront design costs, but make for a much stronger application to GOCO because of the multi-agency participation. In exchange, the county asked that the city contribute an equal amount to an improvement project in the future to the fairgrounds or other county asset.

Councilor Bob Nicholson, while on board with the plan, hesitated at the way a letter worded the county’s agreement. Nicholson said he was more than willing to keep the city’s side of the bargain, but had assumed the county would ask for repayment only for fairgrounds improvements.

More Uncompahgre River coverage here and here.

Rafting season numbers down due to drought and wildfires

From the Grand Junction Free Press (Caitlin Row):

Outfitters said the statewide drought, below-average snowpack levels and Colorado’s many fires all attributed to a depressed rafting season in 2012. “We definitely saw an impact in numbers of people who came to play with us this year,” owner/operator of Grand Junction-based Adventure Bound River Expeditions Tom Kleinschnitz said…

Having a drought year, compounded by an impactful Colorado fire season, packed a “1-2 punch,” Kleinschnitz said, also noting that fires can be more harmful than drought to business regionally. It can be difficult for someone in Virginia, for example, to understand where Front Range fires are in relation to a Colorado rafting trip on the West Slope if they’re unfamiliar with the state, he explained.

Gateway Canyons Adventure Center also saw a deep dip in rafting trips on the Dolores River this summer. Adventure Center guide Nick Kroger said the outfitter normally hosts upwards of 30-40 trips a season, but this year it only hosted two commercial trips. “The season lasted a couple days this year for the Dolores River,” Kroger said. “Typically, the season lasts from mid-April into July if we’re lucky.”

More whitewater coverage here.

‘Recreation is one of the few uses of water that doesn’t require pumping water out of our rivers’ — Zak Podmore

From the Huffington Post (Zak Podmore):

When we talk about reasons to keep water in our rivers — as opposed to sinking it deep into fracking wells, spreading it on the lawns of new subdivisions, or sending it over the Rockies to other river basins — recreation is often found near the top of the list. Recreation is one of the few uses of water that doesn’t require pumping water out of our rivers. Instead, it encourages making our rivers as accessible, clean, and as naturally beautiful as possible.

In an election year like this one some candidates would like us to believe that to be pro-economy you have to be pro-growth, pro-drilling and in favor of new water projects such as reservoirs and diversions. According to this mentality, anything that’s going to protect our state’s natural resources is going to kill jobs and hurt our wallets. But there are other voices speaking up to say the direct opposite: that a strong, stable economy in Western Colorado is going to be built not on the booming and busting cycles of resource extraction, but on the seasonal, sustainable cycles of resource preservation. People who come to enjoy the Western Slope of Colorado to raft, fish, hunt, bike, camp, or simply to sightsee are drawn by the recreational opportunities the mountains and rivers have to offer as intact mountains and rivers.

As our expedition team floated down the length of the Colorado, we met with many river experts who commented on value of river recreation. First was Molly Mugglestone, the project coordinator for river-advocacy group Protect the Flows, who met with us to explain the river’s contribution to the regional economy. Mugglestone has spent the last year creating a coalition of over 500 businesses in the Colorado River Basin who rely on a healthy river for their livelihoods. Coalition members range from the obvious rafting and fishing companies to small businesses in tourist towns who need the yearly influx of people to stay in business. Together Protect the Flows and the businesses they represent have been speaking up for the needs of a recreation economy.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here and here.

Montrose: The Montrose County Commissioners endorse the the town’s whitewater park application

From The Telluride Watch (Katie O’Hare):

City Councilors and the Montrose Recreation District board asked county commissioners to the table on July 31 to discuss if the county was willing – and at what cost – to support a project that would include creating a whitewater park along the Uncompaghre River at Riverbottom Park.

The city teamed up with MRD hoping to submit a Great Outdoors Colorado grant application by Aug. 29 that could provide $350,000 toward the project, which includes improvements to the MRD’s ball fields and surrounding areas, also in Riverbottom Park.

“In principal, it’s all about improving the community for all of us,” said Kerwin Jensen, City of Montrose community development director.

After a two-hour meeting, commissioners David White and Gary Ellis – who did most of the talking for the county – agreed to put the request for funding help on their regular commissioner meeting agenda for Monday, Aug. 6…

The city staff stressed the economic benefits the county could see from having a whitewater park in Montrose, which included increased tourism and new businesses to cater to those visitors, as well as the recreational opportunity it would provide county residents.

“Economic development is number one in our strategic plan, and things like this contribute to that,” Commissioner David White said.

Drought/runoff news: Rafting companies can do OK in low water years #CODrought

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Jon Mitchell):

“Our best years have been the hot years,” said 52-year-old Kevin Schneider, president and owner of Glenwood Resorts. “We’re really a family business, and moms aren’t interested in taking their kids out on the water when it’s really high and rough.”

That was definitely the case a year ago, when a massive late-season snowmelt caused high, rough waters and dangerous conditions in Glenwood Canyon and downriver. Now, with the winter snowpack long gone and temperatures routinely flirting with triple digits, water levels are at much more manageable levels.

What’s followed, as a result, is a trickle-down effect that’s helped the bottom line of local rafting companies in a big way…

There’s an obvious difference in the water flows, but the biggest difference is in the overall water-flow measurements. According to figures provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), river flows on June 27, 2011, measured 24,400 cubic feet per second (cfs) on the Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, reached water levels of 11.77 feet near Dotsero and were flowing at 7,220 cfs where the Roaring Fork River flows into Glenwood.

There’s a stark contrast in water levels and flows this year. As of Tuesday, the USGS reported that the Colorado River below Glenwood was flowing at 2,150 cfs, was 2.80 feet deep at Dotsero and was flowing at 727 cfs where the Roaring Fork flows into Glenwood…

The water flow from 2011, though long gone, still left an impression on the routes rafting companies take while business picks up this year. Rocks and boulders were moved by the water flow all around Glenwood Canyon, but especially around the area where Grizzly Creek meets the Colorado. In a spot guides call “Tombstone,” a new boulder moved by last year’s river flow has narrowed the water-flow gap to around 16 feet wide, upgrading the move from a Class III (moderate) move to a Class IV (difficult) move.

More whitewater coverage here.

FIBArk results: ‘Demon Pride’ takes home the Hooligan Race trophy, Best-In-Show — ‘Chinese Takeout’

Click here for race results from The Pueblo Chieftain.

More coverage from Tracy Harmon writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Isaac Schmidt of Arizona was all smiles as he sported a pink helmet and paddled his Andy Warhol-inspired “God Bless America” canoe with alternating pink and turquoise stripes. Dave Curran, 54, of Fruita gave a nod to the race’s “Oldest and Boldest” theme by wearing a 1973 helmet and an equally antique French-made life vest as he paddled a 1975 version of a kayak…

The river was running at 400 cubic feet per second Saturday, when it is usually flowing at about 2,000 cfs this time of year.

More Whitewater coverage here.

Chaffee County officials are trying to get increased flows for the FIBArk festival this weekend

From The Mountain Mail (Joe Stone):

Kara Lamb, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regional public information officer, said the bureau had not to planned to supplement river flows during FIBArk. The Bureau of Reclamation manages the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project, which diverts West Slope water into the Arkansas Basin and stores it in reservoirs like Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes Reservoir. The bureau also administers the Voluntary Flow Management Program, and Lamb said the program does not take effect until July 1. She said other entities with water in storage are not likely to release any because of the drought and lack of runoff from winter snowpack…

Chaffee County Commissioner Dennis Giese told The Mountain Mail that local officials have been in contact with municipal water providers in Colorado Springs, Aurora and Pueblo West, all of which have water stored upstream.
Giese said officials received no firm commitments but that the municipal water providers “have always been cooperative.”

More Arkansas River basin coverage here.

Colorado River Cooperative Agreement: Parties to the agreement flip the switch on the Shoshone Outage Protocol

Here’s the release from the Colorado River District (Jim Pokrandt):

In this year of historically low runoff, the Colorado River District, Denver Water and the Bureau of Reclamation are cooperating to add flows to the Colorado River through the Shoshone Outage Protocol for the benefit of fish, rafting and crop irrigation along the entire stretch of the mainstem from Parshall in Grand County to Grand Junction in Mesa County.

The extra water is the result of the Shoshone Outage Protocol, a part of the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement that was hammered out over the last six years by 42 West Slope entities and Denver Water.

The three reservoir operators are increasing river flows by about 450 cubic feet a second (cfs) through releases from Wolford Mountain Reservoir, Williams Fork Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir, respectively. Through the weekend and early next week, flows in Glenwood Canyon should hover around 1,100 cfs, to improve rafting and to aid farmers and ranchers in the Grand Valley, helping to boost flows that are too low. The 71-year average of flows for this time of the year in Glenwood Canyon is more than 6,000 cfs.

Additionally, the flows are helping to lower water temperature levels in the river along the Pumphouse area of the river in Grand County to help trout survive.

“This makes a real difference in the river,” said Colorado River District General Manager Eric Kuhn. “Since we started, you can see by the gage that the temperature of the water has come down 4 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The Protocol is designed to add water to the Colorado River when the Shoshone Hydro Plant in Glenwood Canyon is down for maintenance and not using its senior water right, which normally would have the river flowing at about 1,250 cfs through the canyon, absent the usual runoff flows. The Protocol is taking place even though all the parties have yet to sign the agreement.

“This is a good example of how the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement can work when everybody is pitching in to help the river in a time of need,” said Lurline Underbrink Curran, the Grand County Manager.

Said Jim Lochhead, CEO/Manager of Denver Water, “This is exactly why we all came together to sign the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement – to provide benefit to the Colorado River. Denver Water is proud to be part of an effort that fulfills our goal to operate our system in a way that benefits the environment.”

Currently, the Shoshone Hydro Plant is operating at about half capacity, which requires about 700 cfs of water. Xcel Energy is unable to run Shoshone at full capacity while it works on repairs to the tunnel that runs about two miles from the Hanging Lakes power plant dam to the power plant itself. The work could last until early September.

A call on the river, such as the Shoshone 1,250 cfs water right, forces junior water rights holders to replace diverted water from reservoir storage or to stop diverting, thus boosting flows as they decline with the natural drop of the runoff throughout the summer.

From the Associated Press via The Columbus Republic:

The Colorado River District, Denver Water and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are increasing river flows by about 450 cubic feet a second through releases from the Wolford Mountain, Williams Fork and Green Mountain reservoirs. That should boost flows in Glenwood Canyon to around 1,100 cfs through early next week. The river district says the 71-year average of flows for this time of the year in Glenwood Canyon is more than 6,000 cfs. The extra flows will help reduce water temperatures in Grand County to help trout survive.

More Colorado River Cooperative Agreement coverage here.

Western Governors’ Association: Outdoor recreation in western states = $255.6 billion

Here’s the release from the Western Governors’ Association website (Chris McKinnon/I Ling Thompson/Kathy Van Kleeck/Thom Dammrich)

The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and a coalition of outdoor industry groups today released a joint study documenting the continued growth and importance of outdoor recreation to the economies of the Western states and the nation. The recreation economy was the topic of discussion at the opening session of WGA’s Annual Meeting being held here.

“The numbers are better than expected,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire (Wash.), WGA’s Chair. “We knew that outdoor recreation was a growth sector and that it creates jobs, but this study documents just how important it is to our national and Western economies.”

Joining the Governors to discuss ways state and local governments can work with industry to grow the outdoor recreation economy were: Michael Caldwell, Mayor of Ogden, Utah; Sally Jewell, President and CEO of REI; Bennett Morgan, President and COO of Polaris Industries, Inc.; and Dusty McCoy, Chairman and CEO of the Brunswick Corporation.

“WGA will continue working with our industry partners to release state-by-state data later this year on the economic impact of outdoor recreation,” said Gov. Gary Herbert (Utah), WGA Vice Chair. “With this information states can consider policy that will help to create more businesses, jobs and income related to outdoor recreation.”

Outdoor recreation is an overlooked economic giant. With $646 billion in national sales and services in 2011, recreation dollars are nearly double the size of pharmaceuticals ($331 billion) and motor vehicles/parts ($340 billion). As another comparison, it powers the economy in a manner comparable to the financial services and insurance industry ($780 billion) and outpatient health care ($767 billion). The full report can be found on the WGA Web site at www.westgov.org/reports.

This study marks the first time both the motorized and non-motorized sectors of the outdoor recreation industry have worked together to document the total size of the outdoor recreation economy. The study, commissioned by the WGA, was conducted by Southwick and Associates. Southwick surveyed households on actual expenditures on outdoor recreation then, based upon that data and modeling, generated the jobs, taxes, payroll and total economic impact.

The Outdoor Industry Association, Outdoor Foundation, Motorcycle Industry Council, Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and National Marine Manufacturers Association contributed funding for the study.

From the report:

Western States — Tax Revenue
Spending on outdoor recreation generates significant tax revenues for local and state governments. In westernstates in 2011 it generated an estimated:

$15.41 billion in Federal tax receipts
$15.38 billion in state and local tax receipts

Whitewater Stand-Up Paddling Championship recap: ‘We just wanted to make a cool course’ — Paul Tefft

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Dave Shively):

At Sunday’s conclusion to the championship — part of the fourth annual Rocky Mountain Surf Festival hosted at the park — Tefft had a far different concern. That is, how to give the 30-some stand-up paddlers who turned out for this year’s festival a surf event when the flow numbers were much closer to 2,600 cfs. Instead of the scheduled SUP-surf event, organizers opted for a “circleSUP” contest, where paddlers in three divisions (men’s, women’s and kids) were broken up into smaller groups of five paddlers or less for a short, sprint course routed around an upstream buoy, then through the park’s wave with two more turns in an S-shape after the wave. “It was like yesterday’s SUPcross race, but it was a better course,” said racer Mike Tavares. “There’s more turns and it’s more technical.”[...]

In the most exciting heat of the day, the women’s final, local Glenwood Springs paddler Brittany Parker — one of the few, if not only, locals participating in the weekend’s three events — made a run to pass river-SUP competition stalwarts Jenny MacArthur and Nikki Gregg, winners of Saturday’s SUPcross and downriver events, respectively. After some board jostling and contact, Parker fell behind. After judges adjusted the times according to the contact, Parker finished in second place behind Gregg. The 22-year-old, who instructs SUP lessons for the Glenwood Adventure Co., also took third place in Saturday’s SUPcross. Aspen’s Clark Tefft, 13, won the circleSUP kids division. And on the men’s side, Dan Gavere beat out Tavares again, repeating the result of Saturday’s heated SUPcross final.

More Whitewater coverage here.

Whitewater sports help drive the Colorado economy

From the Summit Daily News (Neal Schwieterman):

In the rural Colorado we all love, it is often difficult to make a living. Many of us know ranchers and farmers whose spouses work “regular” jobs to keep the family afloat in the agricultural life style. Even when we work “regular” jobs, our pay is well below Front Range rates. So how do we make a rural economy work? Diversify. The more veins feeding the aorta, the quicker it fills. On the Western Slope, few of us want to make it rich, but we sure would like our children to be able to return after college and make a go of it.

Recreational rafting does not drive the economy, but is another feeder vein. The Taylor River accounts for two-thirds of the boating user days in the Gunnison Basin. The $4 million in economic activity this generates helps fill restaurants and rental houses and keeps energetic ski area workers employed off season. In the Colorado Basin, including the Blue, Eagle and Roaring Fork rivers, direct spending totals over $12 million, generating a total of over $31 million in economic activity. Of that, boating on the Blue River contributed over $750,000 in direct spending and nearly $2 million in economic impact. These numbers from the Colorado River Outfitters Association 2001 report do not include economic activity generated from fishing, pleasure boating on reservoirs or “private boaters,” who like the sport enough to purchase the gear to raft, kayak or canoe rivers on their own. They are not confined to the commercially run sections of rivers.

More whitewater coverage here.

Runoff/snowpack/drought news: ‘We really live on snowpack, that’s what it comes down to’ — Richard Ferguson

From the Associated Press (Thomas Peipert) via The Denver Post:

The first impact has been an early paddling season and lower flowing rivers. “We really live on snowpack. That’s what it comes down to,” said Richard Ferguson, a trip coordinator for the Poudre Paddlers Canoe and Kayak Club, which serves northern Colorado.

He said low river flows already have forced him to cancel one trip scheduled in July on the Yampa River. A group outing that had been planned for Memorial Day had to be moved. “A light snowpack means that the peak is very early,” Ferguson said. “What happens is the season just disappears very quickly. What you have, essentially, is no water to paddle in.”

Although he still plans to hit the rapids just about every other week for the time being, Ferguson predicts there won’t be any paddling on the Poudre River by midsummer…

Mage Skordahl, the NRCS’s assistant snow survey supervisor, said the snowpack peaked around March 12, a month ahead of average, and current conditions match those recorded during the record-setting drought of 2002, one of the toughest years for river guides in the state…

Jon Donaldson, co-owner of River Runners, a rafting guide company based in Buena Vista, said, “We’re going ahead full bore like there won’t be an effect.” High water last season — especially in the Royal Gorge area near Cañon City — closed parts of the popular Arkansas River because they were too dangerous to navigate. Donaldson predicts those same sections will remain open the entire season this year, which means the possibility of more trips — and more business.

From the Aspen Daily News (Dorothy Atkins):

Local fishing outfitters are counting on an active monsoon season and a surplus of water from Ruedi Reservoir to keep the stock healthy. [Jarrod Hollinger, owner of the fly-fishing guide company, Aspen Outfitting Co.] is advising locals to follow fishing protocol to protect the stock. Use rubber nets, barbless hooks and be sure to only have fish out of the water for under 30 seconds, said Hollinger…

Low-water levels are going to be a boon for the recreational fishing industry in June and July when the river usually peaks. During those months, high-stream flows typically push fishermen upstream where the flows aren’t as powerful. At lower stream flow levels, there are more options available to fishermen, and tourists opt to fish rather than raft.

From the Delta County Independent (Hank Lohmeyer):

As of [Orchard City trustee Jimmie Boyd's] report last week, Little Gem and Park reservoirs were full and spilling, and most Grand Mesa reservoirs still had ice cover. The town is expected to have 160 to 170 acre-feet of reservoir water available. Orchard City’s water utility used 120 to 125 acre-feet in 2002, Boyd said. That will leave some 40 acre-feet for the town to rent to valley irrigators.

From the Colorado River District via the Delta County Independent:

However, unlike 2012, Colorado reservoirs this year are relatively in good shape, although Green Mountain, Ruedi, Taylor Park, and Aspinall Unit reservoirs on the Western Slope stand a good chance of not filling.

Those assessments of the state of water reserves was delivered to the Colorado River District board of directors meeting in April.

The report included the following points:

• Wolford Mountain Reservoir has already filled.

• The net effect is that water storage in 2012 puts water users in a better position than 2002, although supplies will have to be closely gauged and steps taken to mitigate anticipated shortages.

• Entities holding contracts in Ruedi Reservoir will be receiving a letter asking if they have excess water to pledge in a pool for use by irrigators if needed this year.

• The Colorado River District itself will be dedicating water it holds in Ruedi, as well as supplies in Wolford Mountain Reservoir to the pool.

Drought/runoff/snowpack news: May 22, 2012 drought update from the CWCB

Here’s the drought update from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Veva DeHeza):

April 2012 was the fourth warmest on record (records date back to 1895). While May has been slightly cooler, temperatures remain above average, exacerbating persistently dry conditions on the west slope and throughout the San Luis Valley. May precipitation along the Front Range corridor has improved. However, municipalities are reporting increased demand and expect to see storage levels drop if conditions persist. Evapotranspiration rates on the Eastern Plains resemble levels expected for mid-summer months. Many irrigators are using more water than normal for this time of year. All major basins have seen significant declines in snowpack. All continue to be below normal for the year. Extreme drought conditions have been introduced in the Yampa, Colorado and Gunnison River basins per the U.S. Drought Monitor. Governor Hickenlooper has expanded Drought Mitigation and Response Plan to include this region.

 The last two months temperatures have been five degrees above average for most of Colorado, with some areas experiencing temperatures 6-10 degrees above normal.

 The Colorado and Yampa River basins both have the lowest May 1st snowpack on record (45 year record), with 21% and 17% of average respectively. Both were also near record high this time last year.

 Reservoir storage remains strong throughout most of the state, at 112% of average. The Gunnison River Bain has thehighest percent of average storage at 124%, while the Rio Grande has the lowest at 70% of average.

 As of the May 22, 2012 US Drought Monitor, 96% of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought classification.D1, moderate drought, conditions remain in much of the southern Colorado, while the northern and central mountains are now classified as D2, severe, and D3 extreme drought conditions. Pockets of D2 also exist in the San Luis Valley and Crowley County.

 The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) values range from -4 in the North Platte headwaters to -1.93 in the Big Thompson. The South Platte River Basin, which encompasses the Big Thompson sub-basin, is the only river basin that is predominantly weighted with reservoir storage this time of the year. With storage strong values appear slightly higher. All SWSI values throughout the state, utilizing the revised methodology, are negative.

 Some drought indicators, in portions of the state, show conditions worse than 2002, such as the SWSI for Yampa/White and Arkansas basins, which indicates less surface water supply in 2012 than 2002.

 La Niña conditions weakened to neutral. A full transition to El Niño is not expected this spring, but could occur later this summer. El Niño conditions would favor more moisture for the state.

 The long term forecast for late summer (July-September) shows a tilt towards wet conditions covering most of southern Colorado, near-normal moisture over the northwestern portion of our state, and a slight tilt towards wetness in northeast Colorado.

 Producers are already anticipating a low wheat harvest and rangeland conditions are poor. Dry land farmers are the most impacted at this time, although irrigators are reporting needing more water than normal for this time of year.

 Fire danger remains above normal for the western portion of the state.

From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):

In response to conditions, Gov, John Hickenlooper has ordered expanded activation of the statewide drought mitigation and response plan. Counties in the Yampa, White, Colorado and Gunnison basins could see severe drought-related economic impacts, and other sectors of the state’s economy may also be affected if current weather trends continue, Hickenlooper wrote in a May 21 memo the heads all state government agencies.

Based on Hickenlooper’s order, a drought task force will start to meet regularly and state departments will assign senior-level managers to coordinate the drought response. More information on Colorado’s drought plans are online at the Colorado Water Conservation Board website.

A May 21 update from the Colorado Water Availability Task Force outlines other effects of the warm, dry spring, including evapotranspiration rates on the eastern plains that are normally seen in mid-summer. That means the soil is losing moisture fast, upping demand from irrigators. Some drought indicators, including water supply and runoff forecasts, are worse than in 2002, the last significant drought in the state. Producers in the agricultural sector are already anticipating a low wheat harvest and rangeland conditions are poor. Dry land farmers are the most impacted at this time, although irrigators are reporting needing more water than normal for this time of year.

Here’s a release from the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District (Diane Johnson):

Eagle River Water and Sanitation District customers are reminded that the normal Water Use Regulations apply year-round. The regulations govern how water is used, particularly outdoors, within Eagle River Water & Sanitation District’s service area.

“The district is responsible for protecting an adequate supply of water to its customers,” said General Manager Linn Brooks. “We promote efficient use of water at all times, but given this year’s potential water supply challenges, every customer can lessen the impact of the drought to our community by carefully considering their outdoor water needs.”

As part of the district’s general rules and regulations, the Water Use Regulations are rooted in Colorado water law and state that “water shall be used for beneficial purposes only and shall not be wasted.” This is primarily achieved by watering no more than three days per week and avoiding outdoor water use during hot and windy times of day, when water is lost to evaporation.

The complete Water Use Regulations are available at www.erwsd.org…

The district encourages customers to have their irrigation systems properly maintained because water is wasted if sprinkler heads or lines are broken or are spraying onto driveways or roads.

From The Norwood Post (Ellen Metrick):

“We’re getting customers ready for whatever’s coming down the pike,” said Town of Norwood Administrator Patti Grafmyer. The water situation this year isn’t much different from 2002, the year of the Burn Canyon Fire and town water restrictions that eventually allowed only indoor water use. That summer, the town pulled water from the San Miguel River under its conditional water right, and trucked it up to the mesa, where customers could fill tanks to water trees and shrubs.

As for gardeners in this dry year, Grafmyer said, “Hopefully they will think about how and what they plant.”

From the Snowmass Sun (Jill Beathard):

With the low amount of snow this year, it’s a bit early to run commercial rafting trips on area rivers fed by runoff. But Snowmass-based Blazing Adventures is taking trips on the Colorado River, which has the best whitewater in the state right now, according to rafting guide Ben Whitaker. “Because it’s dam-controlled they can release the water,” Whitaker said. “They get it to a decent flow, and they can maintain that flow.”

From the Associated Press via Steamboat Today:

Matthew Aleksa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction forecast office, said a strong low-pressure system that moved through Nevada and into northern Utah before pushing its way toward Idaho overnight Saturday brought the strong and sustained winds that plagued much of Colorado, including Routt County, on Saturday. Those winds also blew dust into the sky, significantly reducing visibility in cities like Steamboat Springs. Aleksa said smoke from wildfires in neighboring states could have contributed to the haze but that the primary cause is airborne dust.

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Scott N. Miller):

Diane Johnson, communications manager for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, said people in her office have said Gore Creek through Vail seems to have peaked for the season. The same is true farther down the Colorado River system. Eagle County Public Works Director Tom Johnson has been told the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs peaked earlier in May. Rivers are running at a relative trickle for this time of year across Western Colorado. In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey’s streamflow map showed just one local stream — Homestake Creek — running above its normal flow for May 25.

Streamflow is important for Eagle County, since there are only a few high-elevation reservoirs for use later in the season. That’s why water managers are keeping a close eye on streamflows.

From Steamboat Today (Tom Ross):

Steamboat weather observer Art Judson said Thursday that he has recorded 0.62 inches of precipitation in May at his weather station between downtown and the ski area. That leaves a little less than a week to catch up to the average May precipitation of 2.08 inches. In a typical month of May, a little snow on Mount Werner translates into cold rain at lower elevations and hits the sweet spot for the grass hay that dominates the meadows of the Yampa Valley. This year is a little different.

“The soil temperatures have climbed to the point that the growth pattern is different this year,” Hagenbuch said. The hay is further along in its growth cycle than normal, and farmers and ranchers are scrambling to irrigate earlier than they typically would. Water is in the creeks and rivers now, but it won’t be for much longer.

If there’s a silver lining, Hagenbuch said, it’s that calving season was easy this spring and the fences didn’t need mending because of the scarcity of the snowpack. That gives hay growers more time to monitor their irrigation ditches…

He is wary that a little later in the summer, the return flows from hay fields that replenish the river in most seasons won’t restore enough water to the stream for each successive hay grower down the chain to get the water their fields need.

Buena Vista: Paddle Fest is coming up this weekend

Here’s the link to the Paddle Fest website.

More whitewater coverage here.

Colorado Mesa University forum — ‘Value of the Colorado River to Western Colorado Economies’ May 22

From email from the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University (Hannah Holm):

Value of the Colorado River to Western Colorado Economies

Hosted by the Mesa County Conservation Forum, Colorado Mesa University Water Center, Protect the Flows Project

Opening Comments by Al White Colorado Tourism Office Director, Denver

Steve Acquafresca, Mesa County’s Director to the Colorado River Water District
Tom Kleinschnitz, Adventure Bound Outfitters, Club 20 Tourism Chair
Max Schmidt, Manager, Orchard Mesa Irrigation District
Kurt Mill, Regional Manager, Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Bruce Talbott, Local Grower and representative of local growers

Moderator: Hannah Holm, CMU Water Center

Join in the dialogue about how many different uses of the Colorado River impact our local economy.

Tues May 22nd 6-8:00pm, CMU Center Ballroom

More Colorado River basin coverage here.