From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Fort Lyon Canal shareholders learned Monday that about 6,700 acres will be permanently dried up to support wells on farm ground not on the ditch.
Arkansas River Farms, which purchased 18,400 Fort Lyon shares — about one-fifth of the total — earlier this year also plans to convert 5,700 acres on the Fort Lyon Canal to sprinklers, flood irrigate the remaining acres and leave some of its water behind to maintain flows on shared laterals.
Karl Nyquist, Bill Grasmick and other Arkansas River Farms officials gave a brief summary of the plans at the annual Fort Lyon shareholders meeting. While ending speculation about what their plans are, they left many questions unanswered, particularly the sufficiency of efforts to protect other shareholders on the canal.
But shareholders will have the opportunity to review a written report and ask all the questions they want at a Jan. 28-29 hearing in Las Animas, said board member Dale Mauch.
It will be similar to the hearing in 2003 for High Plains A&M, which originally purchased and consolidated the 84 farms on more than 14,000 acres now owned by Arkansas River Farms. The hearing will be to answer Fort Lyon questions in advance of a water court filing that would change the use of the water.
High Plains sold it to Pure Cycle Corp., which sold it to Arkansas River Farms for $53 million in August. All three have had plans in the past to move water to the Front Range.
Engineer Duane Helton, who worked for Fort Lyon on the High Plains case, explained the details of the new plan to shareholders Monday.
Curtis Tempel of the Bent County Conservation District said the restoration of land to avoid weed, blowing dirt and other problems is critical. Teaming up with the Prowers County Conservation District, he plans to meet with commissioners in both counties to explore what type of revegetation program is needed.
“What we’d like to do is work through the canal company at the hearing in January to make sure revegetation is done the right way,” Nyquist said.
