And the winner is….

The readers have spoken. After last issue’s vote, the newsletter name Nine Basins Bulletin won, so we’ll keep it! Thank you for your votes and name ideas.

The participation award goes to Barry Spear for sending the first original newsletter name for consideration. While the name didn’t win, Barry gets free admission to SWCD Southwest Water Seminar in 2023! Congrats Barry!

Photo credit: Town of Norwood Chamber of Commerce

The third largest collection of irrigated acres in southwest Colorado lie in the lower San Miguel Basin, many on Wrights Mesa where the Town of Norwood sits. There’s complex, costly water needs there—repairs on Lone Cone and Gurley Reservoirs to name a few.

Thanks to local leaders, a new Wrights Mesa coalition just won a grant to develop a collaborative, comprehensive water plan for the area!

In this piece she penned for the Nine Basins Bulletin, San Miguel County Commissioner Kris Holstrom said “the unique partnership of players that came together to support this grant bucks current political trends.”

Roundtable Roundup

Here’s a few highlights from the April 28th Southwest Basins Roundtable meeting:

Heads up! The Roundtable increased the cap on Water Supply Reserve Fund (WSRF) Basin Account requests from $25,000 to $100,000 and is now considering applications at every quarterly meeting. The Colorado Water Conservation Board is no longer accepting requests to the WSRF Statewide Account. The next WSRF application deadline is June 28th. Updated guidelines are on the Roundtable’s website.

Spread the word: The Roundtable needs a Recorder. Submissions are due June 15th. Read the full announcement on the Roundtable website.

Welcome new Roundtable members: Aimee Tooker (Montrose County) and Peter Butler (La Plata County)

WSRF Basin Account requests get Roundtable support: $25,000 for the Lone Cone Ditch and Reservoir Company’s engineering and outlet repairs and $20,000 for Colorado Trout Unlimited’s fish barrier installation on Fall Creek to support the San Juan lineage of cutthroat trout

Colorado Water Plan grants get letters of support: The Town of Pagosa Springs’ Gateway Project, the San Miguel Watershed Coalition’s hydrologic model, the Mancos Conservation District’s diversion improvement project, and Montezuma County’s phreatophyte removal project

New logo out, website coming soon: Check out the new Roundtable logo above! It shows our mountains to desert communities in the southwest corner of the state map. Stay tuned for the Southwest Basins Roundtable’s standalone website—a great new way to engage is coming to your browser soon!

Get ready to engage: As we speak, the Colorado Water Conservation Board is working to finalize the draft Colorado Water Plan update for public comment starting June 30th.

Water Info Program Partner Spotlight

This month, Buck Skillen talked with the Water Information Program about Five Rivers Trout Unlimited’s Animas River clean up this Saturday, May 21st and southwest Colorado water issues. Here’s a preview of our conversation:

Why does Five Rivers Trout Unlimited value water education? 

“It is vitally important for our young people as well as those folks moving to our wonderful area to understand from where our water comes and to understand the need for conservation.”

Read the full Q & A with Buck here.

Five Rivers Trout Unlimited is one of 28 local partners that support the Water Information Program, providing balanced water educational programs and content in southwest Colorado.

June 9th Webinar: Colorado Ute Tribal Water Rights and Access

Join Water Education Colorado on Thursday, June 9th at 1 p.m. to hear first-hand and learn about the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement and the negotiations and amendments that went with it; successes, challenges and the water stories today for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe; and work between the State of Colorado and the tribes to ensure inclusion in Colorado River Basin negotiations.

Webinar speakers:

• Chairman Manuel Heart, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

• Council Member Lorelei Cloud, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

• Amy Ostdiek, Colorado Water Conservation Board

• Mike Preston, Weenuch-u’ Development Corporation President

• Scott McElroy, Retired - McElroy, Walker, Meyer and Condon, P.C.

• Steve Wolff, Southwest Water Conservation District (moderator)

Career & Engagement Opportunities

Southwest Basins Roundtable: Recorder

The Colorado Water Trust is seeking a water professional or water rights owner or manager, who preferably either lives in or is familiar with the Rio Grande basin or Dolores and San Juan basins. If interested, please respond to John Currier preferably by June 1st.

Conservation Legacy: Student Internships (apply ASAP)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: West Slope Internships, Call Kara Hellige at 970-259-1604 x 1007

USDA Rural Development: Supervisory Loan Specialist (Cortez)

San Juan Mountains Association: Several Positions (Durango, Pagosa, Norwood)

Mountain Studies Institute: Several Positions

Four Corners Resource Management Program: Apprenticeships (Durango, Pagosa Springs)

Women in Water Scholarship: Applications Due July 1st

Colorado Water Center: Associate Director (Fort Collins)