|
|
Friday, December 23, 2005
|
|
| |
The Greeley Tribune editorial staff weighs in on the Poudre Heritage Area. They write, "With its abundance of ducks, geese, bald eagles, deer, foxes, coyotes, frogs, beavers and other creatures, the Poudre River supports one of the most diverse wildlife habitats in the southwestern U.S.
"It's hard to imagine a riparian area thriving in the midst of a region that is rapidly changing from rural to urban. That's why it's imperative that the Poudre River corridor between Fort Collins and Greeley maintain its wild and historic nature.
"Fortunately, Congress established 23 National Heritage areas in the U.S., including the Poudre. The 45-mile stretch of river snaking through Larimer and Weld counties was among the first heritage areas formed west of the Mississippi River..
"Former Colorado Sen. Hank Brown authored the original legislation to interpret the Poudre's cultural, historic and natural resources in a western water development theme.
"We support legislation recently introduced by Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., that would extend authorization for the Poudre Heritage Area. The bill would keep intact the Poudre Heritage Alliance, a group of area residents, until an official commission could be named. The commission would ultimately work with the National Parks Service to manage the corridor."
Category: Colorado Water
5:15:46 AM 
|
|
Developers of a kayak course on the Gunnison River have agreed to lower their request for in-stream flows at the high end, according to the Denver Post [December 23, 2005, "Accord reached on kayak course"]. From the article, "The park's developer, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, has agreed to reduce its request. Originally, the district had asked for flows that ranged from 270 cubic feet per second to 1,500 cubic feet per second. Under the settlement, the district has agreed to divert flows between 270 and 1,200 cubic feet per second. State water planners initially recommended a flat 250-cubic- feet-per-second decree...In addition to reducing the diverted flows, the district also agreed not to call for the recreational-in-channel diversion when the Gunnison Tunnel and Redlands Canal calls for its water rights."
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 23, 2005, "State, district reach deal over Gunnison white-water course"]. They write, "The case, the subject of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling last March, has garnered widespread attention in Colorado because the Gunnison River course was one of the first created under a groundbreaking 2001 law authorizing local governments to claim recreational water rights. The Colorado Water Conservation Board, charged with managing the state's streams and administering the 2001 law, has fought several proposed white-water courses, saying that some either claim too much water in the stream, threaten the state's ability to deliver water owed to other states, or could hamper the ability of others, such as cities and farmers, to claim additional water in the future. But communities that have sought to build white-water courses have argued successfully that this new use of water is justified and provides a secondary environmental benefit to the stream...The settlement comes nine months after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the Upper Gunnison District had a legitimate right to claim recreational flows in the stream and to determine the amount of water it needed for its course. But since that decision, the legal wrangling has continued as several other communities, including Silverthorne and Steamboat Springs, sought water for their white-water courses, too."
Category: Colorado Water
4:37:25 AM
|
|
|
|
© Copyright
2006
John Orr.
Last update:
12/29/06; 10:54:19 AM.
|
|
|
