According to a Denver Post examination, Colorado could increase its water storage capacity by the equivalent of four Chatfield Reservoir’s if the state’s water project funds were adequate. Many dams in the state are far from full capacity, limited by safety concerns from the Department of Natural Resources. The department says it lacks the funds [...]
Archive for the ‘Water’ Category
2 Feb
CWCB Releases 2010 Water Report
The Colorado Water Conservation Board released Wednesday its Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) 2010 report. The SWSI report finds that if water use follows current trends, large supplies will inevitably be shifted away from agricultural uses, resulting in significant loss of farmlands, economic damage to the state’s agricultural regions and potential environmental harm. The report [...]
19 Jan
NISP Delayed Again
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is saying that the supplemental draft environmental impact statement for the Northern Colorado Integrated Supply Project — or NISP — is being pushed back into the latter part of this year. Army Corps Projects Manager Chandler Peter said more time is needed to weigh the complexity of NISP. “This [...]
22 Dec
Bartlett to Head CAWA
Charlie Bartlett, Merino area farmer and current board member of the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee, was recently elected Chair of the Colorado Ag Water Alliance (CAWA). John Stencel, former president of Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union, was elected Vice-Chair. Both will serve a one-year term. The CAWA is unique in that its membership is comprised of [...]
16 Dec
Governor Elect ‘Inclined’ to Support NISP
According to Bill Jackson at the Greeley Tribune While the state “needs serious conservation” efforts, the needs of agriculture also have to be met when it comes to water, Hickenlooper told a crowd of close to 200 at the 2010 Colorado Ag Classic at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. The soon-to-be governor was asked where [...]
1 Nov
Colorado Water Official Blasts Flaming Gorge Project
A veteran Colorado engineer said last week that entrepreneur Aaron Million’s hopes to move 250,000 acre feet of water from the Flaming Gorge to Colorado’s thirsty Front Range are dubious at best. According to estimates, if the pipeline is approved, municipal and other entities in southwest Wyoming and western Colorado that rely on the Green [...]
28 Oct
Farm Bureau Asks Senate to Oppose Federal Water Control Bill
Farmers and ranchers would face burdensome federal regulatory control if provisions of a restrictive Senate water bill make it through the “lame duck” session of Congress, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF and a coalition of other groups are vowing to oppose any effort to attach the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration [...]
27 Sep
Pueblo Chieftain: Arkansas Water at Risk
Transfers from 1950 to the present could take water off one-third of historically irrigated land in the Arkansas River basin — nearly 150,000 of 450,000 acres, according to information compiled by The Pueblo Chieftain today. The paper notes that an additional 63,000 acres could be taken out of production in the next 40 years to [...]
7 Sep
Ag School Dean on Water in Colorado
The Dean of the College of Agriculture at CSU, Craig Beyrouty, has written an editorial for the Greeley Tribune commenting on the importance of water in Colorado and the university’s efforts to address the future problems related to the resource. “For agriculture to continue to be a dominant force in the landscape of Colorado, we [...]
30 Aug
CFB Releases South Platte Task Force Report
The Colorado Farm Bureau has released its final report of the South Platte River Task Force. The South Platte Task Force was charged with the following: to recommend and report to the CFB Board of Directors what can be done from a public policy perspective to increase water usage in the South Platte River Basin [...]
26 Jul
NISP Rally a Successful Effort
Last week, CFB and other participants in the 2010 Farmers for NISP Rally recieved an email from Floyd Ciruli, noted Colorado pollster and political commentator who also works in support of the NISP project. Mr. Ciruli’s letter is below. NISP may be the first proposed major water project in Colorado history that has taken the [...]
6 Jul
Ag Rally for Northern Colorado Water Project Set for July 15th
Northern Colorado farm and ranch organizations and public officials have announced an ag rally to show support for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, a proposed water storage project that is a cooperative venture between agricultural ditch companies and growing northern Front Range communities. NISP would help prevent the aggressive dry up of thousands of additional [...]
23 Jun
Lucas, Others Seek Hearings on Commitment to Clean Water Act
Republican Reps. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Sam Graves of Missouri and Doc Hastings of Washington, the co-chairs of the Rural American Solutions Group, wrote to the chairs of four House committees on Tuesday seeking hearings on America’s Commitment to the Clean Water Act. This bill greatly expands the scope of the Clean Water Act by [...]
23 Jun
NISP Rally Scheduled
The Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) has scheduled a rally for all supporters of NISP. Thursday, July 15 farmers, residents and public officials will gather to show support for NISP and for a barbecue! Individuals from the agriculture community and elected officials will be key speakers at the event. The event will be held at [...]
15 Jun
Compromise Reached on Rafting Proposals
An agreement has been reached today between commercial rafting outfitters and private property owners along the Taylor River. The compromise clears the way for sponsors of 24 competing ballot measures to withdraw their respective proposals from the November ballot, averting an expensive and divisive election fight. Both parties have reached a settlement privately, avoiding possible [...]
11 Jun
EPA Clean Water Act Permit Costly to Farmers and Ranchers
EPA is proposing a new Clean Water Act permit for pesticide use near waterways that could lead to problems for farmers and ranchers. “There are four categories that it’s going to apply to,” said Tyler Wegmeyer, AFBF regulatory specialist. “Mosquito and other flying insect pest control, aquatic weed and algae control, aquatic nuisance animal control [...]
10 Jun
Response to new EPA Permit Requirement: Swift and Negative
Response from the agricultural community regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s release this week of a draft version of the permit farmers will be required to obtain to apply pesticides on crops under the Clean Water Act has been swift and negative. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) denounced the release of the draft permit and described it [...]
14 May
Jackson-Shaw Grants Taylor River Rafting Companies Permission To Float
Jackson-Shaw, owner of the Wilder on the Taylor fishing reserve, announced today that it is granting the two Taylor River rafting companies, Three Rivers Outfitting and Scenic River Tours, permission to float through its property this summer. Conflicts between fishermen and commercial rafting on the Taylor River gave rise earlier this year to Colorado House [...]
29 Apr
NRI Shows Increased Ag Productivity, Improved Environment
The Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service released a major report Tuesday that illustrates how agricultural productivity has increased while farming’s impact on the environment has shrunk. USDA released the 2007 National Resources Inventory (NRI) for Non-Federal Lands at an event marking the 75th Anniversary of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The report is science-based [...]
26 Apr
Oberstar’s Version of Clean Water Act Draws Attention
Investors Business Daily had a lead editorial last week highlighting Rep. James Oberstar’s new rewrite of the Clean Water Act and calling it an “existential threat to farms” across the country. Fox News also picked up the Earth Day story with the report below.
22 Apr
Removing ‘Navigable’ From Clean Water Goes Too Far
Farm Bureau opposes “America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act,” introduced Wednesday by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), due to concerns that the measure would regulate all waters in the United States, not just real “navigable” waters, as Congress clearly intended when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. “Farm Bureau has always supported the Clean [...]
26 Mar
AFBF Files Suit Against Corps of Engineers in CWA Case
The American Farm Bureau Federation has filed an action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for what the organization calls another example of regulatory overreach. The suit, filed by AFBF and the U.S. Sugar Corporation in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., takes the Corps to task for non-compliance with its own rules [...]
25 Mar
2nd Flaming Gorge Project gets Feasibility Study
A coalition of Colorado and Wyoming public water providers will study the feasibility of building a pipeline more than 500 miles long, at a cost of $3 billion, to carry water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, on the border of Wyoming and Utah, to the eastern, more populated areas of the two states. The study [...]
3 Mar
More Opposition to HB 1188
Two more op-eds were published in Colorado newspapers opposing HB 1188. Opposition to the measure has been slowly growing across the state as more and more people realize that the bill goes far beyond simply clarifying the current system of floating on Colorado’s rivers. Larimer County Farm Bureau President Bob Bee was published in the [...]
23 Feb
Opposition to HB 1188 Grows
Yesterday the editorial boards of both the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Pueblo Chieftain came out against the ‘Right to Trespass’ bill, HB 1188. In the case of the Chieftain, the board switched from their original position of supporting the measure, to opposing it, saying… …the bill does not preserve the status quo, nor clarify [...]
11 Feb
A Water Blog Worth Reading
One of the most important issues in Colorado agriculture is water and one of the best places to go online for information and news related to Colorado water issues is Coyote Gulch. The site is a clearinghouse for just about every news story and water update from across the state. Visit it often.
22 Jan
2010 Legislative Conference
TENTATIVE AGENDA February 2-3, 2010 Crowne Plaza Downtown 1450 Glenarm Place Denver, Colorado Tuesday, February 2 9:30 a.m. Advisory Committee Meetings (Animal Ag, Crops, Specialty Ag, Water, & Wildlife/Environment) 12:00 p.m. Break for Lunch 1:30 p.m. CFB Legislative Conference Welcome Former Congressman Scott McInnis, Candidate for Governor Legislative Updates [...]
20 Jan
South Platte Task Force Holds First Meeting
Members of the newly formed South Platte Task Force held their first official meeting Monday. Lee Miller, a water lawyer from the firm Burns, Figa and Will gave a presentation about the history of water law in the state of Colorado. Background on the Task Force – At the Annual Delegate Meeting in November a [...]
22 Dec
Fox News Story Explores Clean Water Restoration Act
How passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act would affect farmers and ranchers was the subject of a Fox News broadcast story on Sunday. Don Parrish, water expert with the American Farm Bureau Federation, appeared live on a segment about the issue. Parrish explained that removing the word “navigable” from the Clean Water Act would [...]
4 Dec
Summit Considers Water Issues
Pat O’Toole of the Family Farm Alliance provided the keynote address for the recent Colorado Ag Water Summit held Monday at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. O’Toole touched on many water issues that producers are facing all over the West. “We are in an inevitable decline of our culture if we keep taking water away from [...]
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