Colorado Conservation Board Awards $1.5 Million in Matching Funds for the Rio Grande Initiative

On March 19th, 2008, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) voted unanimously to award $1.5 million from the state’s Water Supply Reserve Account to the Rio Grande Initiative, to match the GOCO Legacy grant mentioned above.  Thanks to the support of the Rio Grande Basin Round Table, this award represents a new level of collaboration between the conservation and water interests in Colorado. These funds will help secure senior water rights along the Rio Grande through conservation easements. Mike Sullivan, Division of Water Resources, Division 3 Engineer, said  in his letter of support, The protection of the hydraulic characteristics of the alluvial corridor of the Rio Grande is important to providing for a functional river system. This protection includes continued operation of the irrigation systems along the river; systems which were in place when the Rio Grande Compact was negotiated and are thus a part of the underlying physical framework and assumptions of the Compact.

RiGHT Accomplishes a Major Milestone for the Rio Grande

In December, RiGHT was awarded $7.4 million dollars to protect six ranches along the Rio Grande river as part of our Rio Grande Initiative.  Grant announcement were made by Governor Ritter.  This funding is a major milestone in our ability to provide landowners incentive to protect their land for its agricultural productivity, scenic beauty and wildlife habitat. 

The Rio Grande Initiative

The Rio Grande is Colorado's last major mountain river corridor that still has a significant amount of intact private lands in farming and ranching along its banks. At a length of 1,885 miles, the river is also the fourth longest in the United States and has played a major part in defining the Southwest's history and modern-day demands.

The Rio Grande Initiative (RGI) is a community projects in the San Luis Valley to protect the strategic and critical private lands along Colorado's 175 mile reach of the Rio Grande corridor with voluntary conservation easements. 

Why Protect the Rio Grande:

Land and water conversion from open space and agriculture to development of subdivisions on private lands threatens the integrity of the Rio Grande including: loss or degradation of wildlife habitat (including the South Western Willow Flycatcher, listed as Endangered), fragmentation and development of corridors for residential and commercial uses and transportation, increased sedimentation and pollution, introduction of invasive and exotic species, loss of agricultural productivity and its economic contributions, water table reductions and changing return flows, to name a few.

Why Now:

The Rio Grande corridor in Colorado is still relatively intact, but the threats to it are increasing at an alarming pace.  Currently there are 10,700 acres of private land protected along the Rio Grande by either RiGHT, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited or the National Resources Conservation Service.  However, nearly 40,000 acres of intact private land remains unprotected and susceptible to development.  This combined with the frenzied pace of growth along the Rio Grande means we need to take action now.  As the American Farmland Trust report "Farming on the Edge" states, "We are losing our best land - most fertile and productive - the fastest.

Read More: download the Rio Grande Initiative Newsletters:

   Rio Grande Initiative Newsletter Vol I.

    Rio Grande Initiative Newsletter Vol II.

    Rio Grande Initiative Newsletter Vol III.

    Rio Grande Initiative Newsletter Vol IV.