Day: June 14, 2013

Stand up paddling is catching on

yampariverfestival05282011standuppaddling.jpg

From The Telluride Daily Planet (Heather Sackett):

While whitewater kayaking can be limiting because of its difficulty, stand up paddling is accessible to anyone. If you can stand up, you can SUP.

“It’s so appealing to so many demographics,” head buyer for Paragon/Bootdoctors and water sports enthusiast Galena Gleason said. “It’s for everyone really.”

Paddlers stand up on a large, hard foam surfboard and use a long-handled paddle (usually about 6-10 inches taller than the paddler for the best leverage) to propel themselves through the water. Between one and three removable fins jut out from the underside of the board, depending on whether paddlers want better tracking or better maneuvering. The body position is similar to skiing with eyes, knees and toes aligned forward…

Andy Bagnall, manager of Telluride’s Four Corners Whitewater, said SUP’s popularity has spiked, particularly over the last two years. Four Corners bought just one board for the guides to use four years ago, and is now up to a fleet of 14. In addition to tours of local waterways, the company also offers multi-day trips on the Gunnison River and the Ruby-Horsethief section of the Colorado River.

One of the most appealing parts of SUP is the sense of freedom that comes from paddling. Unlike rafting or kayaking, there are relatively few rules and little equipment. You can kneel, sit down, lay down, practice yoga poses or take your dog along on a SUP adventure. And it offers a new perspective. The scenery looks different from a standing vantage point than it does from water level in a boat.

“The one rule about paddle boarding is there are no rules,” Bagnall said. “You can’t just hop out of a kayak but you can with a paddle board. It’s a great way to go swimming.”

More whitewater coverage here.

Drought news: 12 Colorado Counties receive disaster declaration #COdrought

usdroughtmonitor06112013

seasonaldroughtoutlookjune62013

Here’s the release from Governor Hickenlooper’s office:

Gov. John Hickenlooper was notified this week by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that 12 counties qualify for federal disaster relief because of drought conditions. Six counties were declared primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought and an additional six were declared as contiguous disaster counties.

The primary counties are Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Montezuma, Ouray and San Miguel. The contiguous counties are Archuleta, Gunnison, Mineral, Montrose, Saguache and San Juan.

The federal disaster relief includes Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. FSA will consider each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses, security available and repayment ability.

Local FSA offices can provide farmers with more information.

Aspen: The city and the Colorado Water Trust work out a non-diversion agreement that will leave water in the Roaring Fork River

fryingpanarkansasproject

twinlakesdiversionsystem

From the Colorado Water Trust via the Aspen Business Journal:

For decades, large water diversions have reduced the amount of water flowing in the upper Roaring Fork River; only a fraction of the native flow reaches the City of Aspen. At times, more than ninety percent of the native flow of the Roaring Fork is diverted from the river for transmountain delivery to the Front Range and many local water diversions serving various beneficial uses. To begin exploring long-term streamflow solutions for the Roaring Fork, the City of Aspen is leading local efforts this year by using one of its senior water rights to benefit flows through a critical reach of the Roaring Fork River. On Monday, the Aspen City Council authorized a nondiversion agreement with the Colorado Water Trust to bypass some water that Aspen would otherwise divert from this reach of the Roaring Fork.

The agreement was the result of an effort last March when Aspen water officials analyzed the City’s water rights with the help of the Colorado Water Trust, a nonprofit organization with expertise in restoring and protecting streamflows. Aspen saw that it could increase flows through the City by adjusting the amount of water it takes from the Roaring Fork River at the Wheeler Ditch, one the three most senior water rights in a critical 2.5 mile reach of the Roaring Fork from just above Aspen to Castle Creek. Aspen determined that it can reduce its Wheeler Ditch diversions when the river falls below the 32 cfs instream flow. This could add as much as 8 cfs to the river. This water will help maintain parts of the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s six mile long instream flow water right which extends from Difficult Creek to Maroon Creek.

Aspen has a longstanding commitment to streamflow protection, as well as to providing both treated and untreated water for a wide range of municipal uses. In the summer, amenities such as Aspen’s parks, mall fountain, and ditch system contribute greatly to the beauty and tranquility of Aspen’s mountain community. To accommodate this project, Aspen will lease less water to third parties than it has in the past, reduce outdoor water use, and redirect other water supplies to meet the City’s critical needs. City Council agreed to pursue these actions and enter into a nondiversion agreement with the Colorado Water Trust, who will help monitor flows in the reach and help oversee the project. The nondiversion agreement specifies how Aspen will adjust the amount of water it takes from the Roaring Fork at the Wheeler Ditch.

“The City has long considered ways to add flow to the river, but was not finding a way to make an appreciable difference. Our [Roaring Fork] water rights are small in comparison to the amount of water that would flow through the stream under natural conditions,” said Dave Hornbacher, Aspen’s Director of Utilities and Environmental Initiatives. “After seeing the river suffer a hard year in 2012, a brainstorming group was formed in March to review the City’s water rights and to explore options for using those rights to benefit the Roaring Fork.”

“Leaving some of the City’s water in the Roaring Fork through this short-term nondiversion agreement will allow us to understand the benefits additional water can provide to the natural habitat,” added Hornbacher. “We see this project as a first step in crafting a broader, long-term solution for rewatering the Roaring Fork, an effort that will require the help of our entire community. This agreement allows Aspen to meet its water needs while providing as much water as possible to our river this year.”

Last year, during severe drought conditions, reaches of the Roaring Fork were nearly dry in parts of June, July, August, and October. While the outlook for this year is not as dire, Aspen is interested in temporarily changing its operations to improve flows through town and benefit the environment in the short-term as Aspen continues to look for long-term strategies to bolster the Roaring Fork River. Because of Aspen’s innovative thinking, commitment to the community, and leadership in improving streamflows, the river will be better off in 2013.

“Aspen was enthusiastic about weighing the options and pursuing the best strategy for putting its water rights in the Roaring Fork to benefit the river this year,” says Amy Beatie, executive director of the Colorado Water Trust. “Thanks to its pioneering attitude and incredible leadership, this agreement gives Aspen a mechanism for adding water to their river with both flexibility and accountability. It is inspiring to see a decade of discussions put into action, and we’re eager to see how this agreement benefits flows in the stream.”

By entering into a nondiversion agreement with the Colorado Water Trust, Aspen will be partnering with an organization that has a proven track record conducting water transactions for environmental and streamflow benefits in voluntary partnerships. Aspen hopes the anticipated benefit to the Roaring Fork from its nondiversion agreement with the Colorado Water Trust will help the City further its stream protection goals while still maintaining the summertime ambiance that makes Aspen such a great place to be.

More Roaring Fork Watershed coverage here and here.

Big Meadows Fire: Hard to fight with the potential to impact Colorado-Big Thompson facilities

bigmeadowsfireafternoonjune11

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

The team, which assumed command of firefighting efforts Thursday morning, can be only so aggressive because the Big Meadows Fire is burning through a “jacklegged” forest, he said. That’s the term foresters use for trees that have fallen on each other and are propped up by other trees, both living and dead. When the forest burns and the jacklegged trees shift, they fall, potentially crushing firefighters on the ground. The Big Meadows Fire is burning through a forest on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park that is 80 percent dead and fallen trees. It was hit early in the region’s bark beetle epidemic. The trees there died long ago, and many have been standing dead for nearly a decade. The roots have rotted away and the trees have fallen on each other, forming layer after layer of dead trees and creating a “ladder” of wildfire fuel from forest floor to canopy, Bobowski said.

If the fire spreads, it will be extremely hazardous to stop. And that means the town of Grand Lake and the reservoirs on the Colorado River that supply Fort Collins with nearly half of its water supply are threatened. “Even at 600 acres, we will see some impacts from this,” said Brian Werner, spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the manager of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, of which Horsetooth Reservoir is a part.

Tonahutu Creek spills directly into Grand Lake, which is where water the city takes from Horsetooth Reservoir is pumped beneath Rocky Mountain National Park. Small amounts of silt, ash and debris are likely to wash into Grand Lake and affect the level of sediment in the lake…

“This is not a panic situation,” Werner said, adding that Northern Water staff have met daily to assess how the Big Meadows Fire will affect the C-BT system, which is the supplemental water supply to more than 800,000 people on the Front Range.

‘Super Ditch has no contracts on either side, no end user and no firm supply’ — Terry Nelson

arkbasinditchsystem.jpg

Terry Scanga from the Upper Arkansas River Water Conservancy District called the Super Ditch the “Mother of all change cases” a couple of years ago. Here’s an update on a water court filing by objectors from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain:

Water users on the eastern end of the Lower Arkansas Valley want water judge Larry Schwartz to dismiss a court case that would allow the Arkansas Valley Super Ditch to exchange water upstream. The motion to dismiss was filed last month in Division 2 water court.

The Super Ditch envisions exchanging water upstream under leasefallowing programs that would allow farmers to sell water to cities temporarily while keeping ownership of the water rights.

But several large water interests below John Martin Reservoir say the proposal is speculative and claims too much water — the entire flows of six canal companies that amount to 58,000 acre-feet per year. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the Lower Arkansas Water Management Association, District 67 Ditch Association and the Amity Canal filed the motion to dismiss the application by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and Super District on May 22. The exchange is being sought before water rights on the canal have been changed to allow other uses, they say.

At the same time, the Lower Ark District and Super Ditch have sidestepped water court by lobbying for changes in state law that allow water to be moved under state water officials without court adjudication, they said. Two bills were passed by the state Legislature this year — HB1130 and HB 1248 — that give the state engineer or the Colorado Water Conservation Board direct authority over water transfers. The Lower Ark District backed HB1248, and Rocky Ford area farmers involved with the Super Ditch testified in favor of HB1130. The bills were actively opposed by Tri-State lobbyists.

“It scares the hell out of us that multiple thousands of acres could be dried up and the state’s the policeman,” said Colin Thompson, who farms near Holly and is a member of the Amity Canal board. “I don’t want to have to run up and down the valley and police 2,000 fields.”

“Super Ditch has no contracts on either side, no end user and no firm supply,” said Terry Nelson, a Tri-State executive. “They’ve taken every effort to sidestep the court process. They’re setting it up to make it easier for the municipalities to take water out of the Arkansas Valley.”

Jay Winner, manager of the Lower Ark District, defended the Super Ditch proposal, saying it protects water in agriculture. “What we’re trying to do is enhance the water options for agriculture,” Winner said. “The state now has a gap in municipal supplies. Super Ditch provides an alternative to permanent transfers.”

More Arkansas Valley Super Ditch coverage here and here.