Western Slope lawmakers spearhead conservation reform

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/06/07/6_7_enviro_scorecard.html

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Western Slope lawmakers helped spearhead “the most pro-conservation legislative session in our state’s history,” according to a Colorado Conservation Voters report released Wednesday.

The “2007 Conservation Scorecard,” which tracks House and Senate votes on environmental, energy, water and wildlife reforms, shows that more than half of the region’s 11 lawmakers were strong supporters of conservation values throughout the legislative session.

“I think Western Slope lawmakers have showed real leadership on conservation issues,” said Carrie Doyle, executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters. “That leadership happened for a reason: Western Slope districts were on the front lines of many of the conservation issues being debated this year.”

The report card highlights the roles Western Slope lawmakers played in pushing conservation measures, including Reps. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, Al White, R-Winter Park, and Sens. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, and Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. Each lawmaker, according to the report, had conservation scores of 70 or more on a 100-point scale. Buescher, Curry, Gibbs and Schwartz recorded perfect scores.

The report says they played crucial roles in pushing surface-rights legislation, open-space protections, oil and gas drilling reforms, and water-quality protections this year.

“In 2007 we saw … what happens when strong policy is aligned with bold political leadership,” the report said. “We believe that 2007 marks the beginning of a new conversation about how we work together to protect what is most precious about Colorado.”

Duke Cox, president of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance, attributed the session’s conservation credentials to the leadership of Gov. Bill Ritter in pushing energy reform as a priority and the Legislature’s willingness to work with him.

“The big difference is Bill Ritter,” Cox said. “And the Democratic Legislature weas not afraid to take on the oil and gas lobby because they knew they had the people behind them.”

Cox said the session was a victory for Colorado “grass-roots” who pushed, particularly on the Western Slope, for more energy-industry oversight.

“The government, oddly enough, listened to the will of the voters and changed things,” he said.

The report is not so glowing for every Western Slope lawmaker.

The report singles out an amendment Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, offered during an April 23 debate on House Bill 1037, which directs the Public Utilities Commission to develop rules for a program promoting energy efficiency for natural gas distributors.

Penry’s amendment, which failed in a 17-18 vote, would have capped the amount of energy efficiency that the bill could achieve, according to the report.

Based on this and other floor votes, the report ranks Reps. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and Ray Rose, R-Montrose, with scores of 50.

Penry and Sen. Jack Taylor, R-Steamboat Springs, received scores of 60, according to the report.

Penry, however, discounted the report.

“Colorado Conservation Voters are very nice people, but they are a blatantly partisan organization focused on electing Democrats, so I don’t put a lot of stock in their report,” Penry said. “I think my values on the environment are probably a lot more in line with Western Slope voters than the Colorado Conservation Voters.”

CTU 2007 Legislative Report

Attached is Jen's Final Legislative Report, as presented in the CTU ExComm meeting tonight.CTU 2007 Legislative Report

HABITAT STAMP SALES FINANCE PERPETUAL FISHING EASEMENT

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has announced the first project funded by sales of the Colorado Habitat Stamp.  "We are pleased to announce the acquisition of a perpetual easement to a mile and half stretch of the Arkansas River in Lake County," said DOW Director Bruce McCloskey. The easement, known as the Hardeman Property, runs along both sides of the Arkansas just north of the current site of the Granite State Wildlife Area.

Previously, the Hardeman section was open to public access through a short term lease.  The availability of funds from the sale of Habitat Stamps made it possible to secure a perpetual easement to ensure public access forever.

The cost of the perpetual easement was $99,000.  Funds collected from the sale of the habitat stamp covered $89,000 and Trout Unlimited pitched in $10,000.

"The addition of the Hardeman Property to existing State Wildlife Areas along the river creates a terrific destination for anglers heading to Lake and Chaffee Counties," said Salida resident Dan Larkin, chairman of the citizen's committee that reviews Habitat Stamp projects.

"Lake County has been fully supportive of this project," said Lake County Commissioner Ken Olsen.  "I have nothing but praise to the Division of Wildlife and their efforts to ensure public access to a critical stretch of river that just keeps getting better and better," he said.

The upper Arkansas River is one of the finest brown trout fisheries in Colorado.  Throw in a wild rainbow or two, and anglers can look forward to perpetual public access to a stretch of water that is open year around.

"The Hardeman property is one of the few sections of the upper Arkansas that doesn't ice over in the winter," said Mark Cole, the president of the Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  "TU is proud to help fund a portion of this project to keep public a very productive fishery," Cole said.

"It's gratifying to have the first parcel preserved with habitat stamp funds located along the Arkansas River," said Colorado Wildlife Commissioner Tim Glenn who lives in Chaffee County.  "The Habitat stamp program is an absolutely wonderful program.  This purchase represents an excellent opportunity for public fishing access and to preserve the wildlife related habitat along the river.  It is a huge benefit to the state of Colorado as well as Lake and Chaffee Counties," Glenn said.

The Hardeman easement is divided into two sections along both sides of the Arkansas River.  The lower section begins at the Lake-Chaffee County line and runs north for one mile.  There is a small section of private land, and then public access starts again and runs north for a third of a mile.  The public access portions are marked with green and white Division of Wildlife signs.

The Colorado Habitat Stamp concept was developed by concerned hunters, anglers and conservation organizations, and approved by the Colorado State Legislature in 2005.

Funds are raised through the sale of a $5 mandatory habitat stamp purchased by hunters and anglers for the first two licenses they purchase during each calendar year. The maximum sportsmen are required to pay is $10 a year.

People who do not buy a hunting or fishing license, but want to support efforts to preserve wildlife habitat, can purchase a Colorado Habitat stamp wherever hunting or fishing licenses are sold. 

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

This Blog Site

Hey there, It has been a couple months since I set up this blog site, and it seems (to me) to be going pretty well...here are some stats...

To date - there have been 512 viewings of the site, the best day (May 29) had 48 viewings (for whatever reason).  There are currently 39 posts within the site, and I have 14 different categories that articles have been listed under.

So, you tell me - is this helpful?  Has it been informative?  Our vision was that it would be an easy way to broadcast information that may or may not have been previously available.

Use the comments box below and let me know what you think - all opinions are welcome, generous or harsh, they are all fine.  If there are gripes or complaints (that I can fix) I will be happy to consider it.

Thanks!

Sinjin

Neighboring states face irrigation well problems

“…which also included an overview of problems in other western states by Melinda Kassen, Western Water Project director for Trout Unlimited.”

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20070605/NEWS/106050077

June 5, 2007 ESTES PARK -- Colorado is not the only state dealing with the shutdown or curtailment of irrigation wells.

But neighboring states are addressing the problem at the state level and finding ways to mitigate present and future problems for the advantage of both surface and ground water users.

That was the emphasis Monday at the summer conference of the Groundwater Management Districts Association at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. About 125 water users from Colorado as well as Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Idaho registered for the three-day conference, which concludes today.

Monday's sessions concentrated on irrigation well shutdowns or curtailment of irrigation wells in Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado, which also included an overview of problems in other western states by Melinda Kassen, Western Water Project director for Trout Unlimited.

Kassen said ground water in the 1950s was seen as a new source of water, but only recently have Western states come to the realization that ground and surface water are connected and that pumping of wells has an effect on river flows. In Colorado, only 22 percent of the state's population depends on ground water for domestic needs, but in New Mexico, 90 percent of the population depends on that source while 96 percent of Idaho's residents use ground water.

That, combined with a drought that signaled the start of the 21st century, has led to the shutdown of wells, such as those along the South Platte River last year.

"Colorado's regulatory system should have prevented that catastrophe, but it did not," Kassen said. "That was an extraordinary wake-up call."

The over-use of ground water supplies is creating problems for many states west of the Mississippi River. Kassen said one river in Arizona has lost all but two of 13 native fish species, while in northern Montana, a developer was denied a permit for a golf resort along the Gallatin River until it could come up with a water replacement plan for the wells it wanted. That led to the Montana legislature passing a new ground water measure this year.

In Nebraska, where the number of high capacity wells increased from about 6,000 in 1975, to more than 103,000 by this year, many areas are facing moratoriums, said Jim Goecke with the University of Nebraska.

"Nobody wants moratoriums," he said, but as water levels continue to decline in major aquifers, that may happen.

In southern New Mexico, along the Rio Grande, the state legislature is helping to developing surface water treatment plants for use by municipalities and industry to ensure the continued use of wells in a highly productive agricultural area, said Gary Esslinger, manager of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District of Las Cruces.

While no wells have been shut down in Nebraska, Goecke summed the problem.

"Droughts become teachable moments," he said.

Lighten Up!

By Adam Armold

At last, winter has relented and it seems as if everyone is out and about. From early morning runs and evening walks, to bike rides and barbeques, we are enjoying the warmth of extended daylight again.

It’s also the beginning of a new social season and many of us are naturally interested in looking our best. After shaking off the doldrums of a particularly nasty winter, it is natural that we harbor thoughts of lightening up. Although the shelves of our favorite bookstores are filled with volumes of the latest guaranteed weight loss diets, it is no secret that consumption and weight go hand in hand.

Have you weighed in lately? I’m not inquiring as to the numbers that register with a “creak” when you ease onto the scale. But rather, the concern is with your footprint; specifically, your carbon footprint. Every one of us leaves a personal imprint as we go about our daily lives, and the effects of our actions can be transcribed and measured by the size of our carbon emissions….our personal footprint.

The weight of our footprint is directly linked to the daily choices we make between our “wants and needs.” For example, consider the following scenarios:

• Vehicle choices: Large, macho, gas sucking vehicles that can transport our fishing buds over any landscape to remote destinations…or transportation that meets our needs and reduces the weight of our impact.

• Landscaping choices: An opulent, flowing, water fountain to accessorize the law, or a pleasant photograph of an appealing waterfall to decorate the interior of our homes.

• Lighting choices: The high wattage yard light that burns all night or the efficient fluorescent fixture on a motion sensor.

Does your footprint resemble the proverbial 600 hundred pound gorilla or the sleek track of a fit and informed angler with a lifestyle sensitive to the impacts upon trout habitat? If you suspect that you may be carrying more weight than is healthy, take heart, you have the power to make the change….one pound at a time.

The BFC Flagship Project

On May 15, 2007 a presentation was made to the Department of Wildlife Fishing is Fun Committee for a $169,330 grant on the $235,030 project to restore one-half mile of Middle Boulder Creek nine miles from the City of Boulder and four miles from Nederland. The presentation can be seen on our website.

Fishing Is Fun program funds come from federal excise taxes collected on the purchase of fishing equipment, boats, motor boat and vehicle fuels. Those funds are subsequently distributed back to the states for sportfish programs.

According to the DOW, projects totaling more than $20 million have been selected through the Fishing Is Fun program to receive grants ranging from $1,000 to $400,000. The 250 FIF projects in nearly every county in Colorado have increased annual angler recreation days by an estimated 1,800,000 days.

The Project committee headed by Roger Svendsen has expended a considerable amount of time on bringing this project forward. The partnership with the City of Boulder, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, and the Colorado Department of Transportation has been of significant help.

We believe our chances for approval in June with a 2008 start date are excellent.

In our recent membership survey there was a fair amount of input concerning the BFC commitment to improving local fisheries. For those of you who are concerned about this issue and want to make a difference on both Middle and South Boulder Creek I’d suggest you get in touch with me to translate that concern into action.

Remember that getting DOW approval is only part of the way – there are significant funds that will need to be raised.

I think that the same Chapter that made the Boulder Creek Path happen, can step up to the challenge and get the community at large behind this phase of improving Boulder Creek.

Paul Prentiss

'He was one of a kind'

Leo Gomolchak’s conservation efforts are still being felt today

It was Gomolchak, along with the late Jim Belsey and Steve Lundy, who really gave Colorado Trout Unlimited its boost toward its present standing of being a major player in the state’s conservation scene.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2007/06/03/6_3_OUT_sunday_column_WWW.html

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Every time an angler catches a healthy trout from Colorado’s rivers and streams, a small voice of thanks ought to go to Leo Gomolchak, the ardent coldwater conservationist who died on May 23.

A career military man who was proud but not prideful about his service to his country, Gomolchak, 81, rarely mentioned those times. Instead, he preferred to focus on whatever conservation battle was at hand, which more often than not was protecting this state’s coldwater fisheries for the future.

And some of the battles, notably about the state’s decision to stock whirling disease-infected trout, were memorable, indeed.

David Nickum, executive director for Colorado Trout Unlimited, recalls a wildlife commission meeting in 1994 when the panel was discussing whether or not to continue stocking whirling-disease infected fish in certain closed-basin waters.

Gomolchak ardently was opposed to stocking more WD-positive fish, particularly on the Western Slope, but the commission went ahead and approved a limited stocking plan that left Gomolchak red-faced.

“He always was frustrated that they didn’t come around faster on whirling disease and didn’t get a handle on it before it affected so many rivers,” said Nickum.

Rebecca Frank of Grand Junction was on the wildlife commission at the time and remembers that particular vote as one of the most-difficult she faced during her 12-year tenure.

“Leo was a key person in leading the charge” to do something about whirling disease, Frank remembers. “Early on, he wanted nothing to do with whirling disease and we should have listened to him.

“The good thing that came out it is we finally got a (whirling disease) policy adopted and the money (around $8 million) to clean up our hatcheries and get them ready for this century.”

That day was only one of the times the commission and state biologists were on the receiving end of Gomolchak’s pro-conservation scoldings.

Former state fisheries manager Eddie Kochman, one of those who felt the sting from Gomolchak’s arguments, called Gomolchak’s persistence “truly exceptional” while never showing a lack of respect for his opponents.

“Some of our greatest, more bitter arguments were about whirling disease,” Kochman remembered. “And in the end, we have to say Leo was right. He was one of a kind. I have never seen anyone so dedicated and persistent.”

Frank said Gomolchak remained receptive even during the most-heated discussions.

“He was so tenacious but he also was so gentlemanly,” Frank said. “At the end of the day, no matter how heated things got, you wanted to sit down with him and drink a beer and mull over the day.”

That tenacity earned Gomolchak the nickname “Pit Bull,” and his adversaries, nearly all of who became his friends, too, said he never let go of his main cause, conserving coldwater fisheries.

“You always knew that when Leo got up in front of the wildlife commission, he always was speaking on behalf of the resource,” Frank said. “There was no other agenda.”

It was Gomolchak, along with the late Jim Belsey and Steve Lundy, who really gave Colorado Trout Unlimited its boost toward its present standing of being a major player in the state’s conservation scene.

As a continuation of Gomolchak’s legacy, CTU recently established the “Gomo Grant” program to provide seed money grants for chapter conservation projects.

“He was one of the few folks who understood that to have a presence, you need to be present,” Nickum said. “We still miss having someone who has that fire and drive.”

Kochman agrees.

“I don’t see that today as much,” he said. “Between Leo and Belsey and Lundy, there was a level of accomplishment I had never seen before and probably never will see again.”

Among Gomolchak’s triumphs, including the state’s reversal on its whirling disease policy, are the roles he played in defeating Two Forks Dam, obtaining miles of public fishing waters in South Park and easing the “Row vs. Wade” controversy on the Arkansas River, when it was being debated whether water flows should be managed for anglers or recreational boaters.

“He would always ask us, ‘You guys sure you’re doing the right thing?’ ” recalled Doug Krieger, senior fisheries biologist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Southeast Region. “He was one of the few guys eager to find out the details and go over the data and he really kept an open mind that way.”

While Gomolchak was a skillful negotiator, “There were some areas he felt there was no room for compromise,” Krieger said.

That including whirling disease, but he wasn’t hesitant to applaud the DOW when it adopted what Gomolchak thought was the right policies.

“He told me, ‘Kochman, you’re a slow learner but at least you learned,’ ” Kochman said.

It’s rare that a single voice can have such an impact, particularly one that rarely grabbed the spotlight and in fact purposely avoided being the center of attention.

Government agencies at all levels have much inertia to overcome, but like a small tugboat guiding a battleship into harbor, one persistent voice can help an entire agency change direction.

“His greatest attribute was his persistence,” Kochman said. “When it’s all over, if you look back and can say you made a difference, that’s all that matters. In Leo’s case, it was a big one.”

At 45, Fry-Ark not so golden

Drew Peternell, director of the Trout Unlimited Colorado Water Project, called for a programmatic environmental impact statement on the Fry-Ark Project to look at how it has changed over the years.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1180771084/1

Concerns for the future of the project are weighed down by the need for water for growth.

By CHRIS WOODKA THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

A congressional hearing Friday began with a film of President John F. Kennedy at Dutch Clark Stadium on a hot August day in 1962, heralding the cooperative spirit of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.

The hearing ended in a less cooperative spirit after a morning that proved the testimony of one witness who said Colorado water is a geographic, rather than political concern.

“To make life better for some of the people is to make life better for all of the people,” Kennedy said, outlining the benefits of the project for the farms and cities of the Arkansas Valley in his riveting speech.

The words drew applause from a crowd 45 years later as a field hearing of the water and power subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee opened at Pueblo Community College.

“This is our future,” said committee chairwoman Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif. “It was just as evident and true then as it is today.”

Napolitano said the hearing in Pueblo is the second she has held - the first was last year in Pomona, Calif. - to assess the water needs of Western states. About 150 people attended the 3-hour event.

People from Leadville, the Lower Arkansas Valley, Colorado Springs, Aurora and Pueblo came to hear public statements on rating the success of the Fry-Ark Project.

The hearing took on shades of partisanship, more from a geographic standpoint than by political parties, as described by Wally Stealey, former president of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, who told the committee water is a geographic issue.

Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., promoted his version of a Fryingpan-Arkansas bill through his statements and questions of witnesses throughout the hearing, making no bones about his defense of agriculture and small communities.

“I believe it is immoral for large cities to rob small towns for the sake of growth,” said Salazar, who represents Pueblo, the San Luis Valley and the Western Slope. “To add insult to injury, the Bureau of Reclamation has not made the case that it can contract with entities outside the basin.”

Holding a golden frying pan, he told the story of John Singletary, chairman of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, who helped his parents sell the pans to promote the project in the 1950s.

“John Singletary didn’t help his parents sell golden frying pans so the water could be sold out of the Arkansas Valley,” Salazar said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Doug Lamborn, the lone Republican on the committee, was equally vigorous in promoting the interests of Colorado Springs, which he represents. He is sponsoring competing legislation that adheres to past intergovernmental agreements for the Preferred Storage Options Plan.

At one point Lamborn labeled the negotiations over PSOP as being stalled by “a few obstructionists” and promoted the view that the Fry-Ark Project should focus on future growth.

“The old adage of build it and they will come no longer applies to Colorado. They’ll come anyway,” Lamborn said.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Salazar’s Democratic colleague, disagreed with Salazar’s view that the Fry-Ark Project originally was intended primarily to benefit agriculture. Perlmutter, who represents Aurora and other growing areas in the Denver suburbs, focused on Kennedy’s statement that Fry-Ark was an “investment in the growth of the West.”

“I believe there is a real opportunity to find a compromise. I would love to see a solution,” Perlmutter said.

Finally, Democratic Senate Candidate Mark Udall gave a nod to Western Slope interests in the Fry-Ark Project, but generally took the high road in his comments and questions.

“Nothing is more important to us in the West - it is our lifeblood - than water,” Udall said.

Testimony followed lines of self-interest as well, as most of the 11 witnesses struggled to conform to guidelines that allowed only five minutes of testimony.

Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Ark district, drew spontaneous applause for his testimony lamenting the decline of agriculture and the increasing burden of small communities in dealing with water quality as the Fry-Ark Project has aged.

Colorado Springs has worked for its own benefit, rather than with Fry-Ark partners and Aurora has “bullied its way into the valley,” Winner said.

The exchanges of the cities have hurt water quality, he said.

“When we talk about water quality, here’s a good example of what has happened,” Winner said, holding up jars of muddy water from the Lower Arkansas Valley and clean water from mountain lakes. “They bought this (the dirty) water and took this (the clean water). . . . I’m told over and over (by the cities) it’s too expensive to clean up the water, so the burden falls on the Lower Arkansas Valley.”

Mayors Lionel Rivera of Colorado Springs and Ed Tauer of Aurora urged the congressional delegation to look to the future and needs of growth, rather than dwelling on the past. Both emphasized their significant financial contribution to repayment of the project - Colorado Springs through taxes, Aurora through contracts.

“For all the rhetoric and misinformation that has been spread about our city, the truth is that Colorado Springs has historically sought to avoid relying on the transfer of agricultural water rights to provide a water supply for the city,” Rivera said.

Napolitano took Rivera to task, asking why the city has not dedicated more effort to reusing its supply.

Rivera responded that the city reuses 13 percent of its water supply for public landscapes and power plants and touted the city’s conservation efforts, sewage and stormwater control.

Tauer described the Fry-Ark Project as a “series of pipes, pumps and buckets that allow people to move water and defended Aurora’s right to contract with Reclamation for excess-capacity space. He praised intergovernmental agreements Aurora has made in the valley to attempt to address ill effects of water transfers.

“Aurora will continue to cooperate with all involved entities to promote the Bureau’s goals of maximum utilization of existing infrastructure,” Tauer said.

Napolitano asked Tauer if Aurora isn’t creating a situation in the Arkansas basin similar to the Owens Valley in California, which was dried up by Los Angeles. Tauer said the IGAs prevent Aurora from taking more water from the valley.

Bill Long, president of the Southeastern District, said the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit is the most important piece of the Fry-Ark Project that has yet to be developed.

The conduit was part of the 1962 legislation, but never built because communities could never afford it.

“If we don’t get the conduit, the project will ultimately be used to move water out of the valley,” Long said.

Terry Scanga, executive director of the Upper Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, said the project has changed over the years, providing water for the growth of a recreation industry and new growth in the upper end of the river.

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut said the major new challenge of the project is water quality.

“The quality can change as fast as the use,” Thiebaut said.

Drew Peternell, director of the Trout Unlimited Colorado Water Project, called for a programmatic environmental impact statement on the Fry-Ark Project to look at how it has changed over the years.

Chris Treese, manager of external affairs for the Colorado River Conservation District, said the original Fry-Ark Project was intended to market water to an oil shale industry that has not materialized. He asked Congress to look at the repayment plan for Ruedi Reservoir to avoid higher lease rates in the future as interest piles up.

Sandy White, a lawyer representing The Pueblo Chieftain and other valley water interests, challenged Reclamation’s authority to enter contracts with Aurora, saying Aurora circumvents state law with federal contracts.

“The Bureau essentially is on an adventure of its own,” White said.

Mike Ryan, Great Plains regional director for the Bureau of Reclamation, defended contract policies, saying the Fry-Ark Project is not harmed by the bureau’s actions.

Stealey, however, disagreed.

“The biggest danger we’ve got is diminishing the taxpayers’ role in the Fry-Ark Project by diluting the stock,” Stealey said. “When does it quit becoming the Bureau of Urban Development? Some of us are very angry.”

Hearing to look at Fry-Ark impacts

Congressional subcommittee meets today at Pueblo Community College.

Scheduled to testify at the hearing are: Drew Peternell, Boulder, director of the Colorado Trout Unlimited Colorado Water Project.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1180683495/2

A congressional subcommittee will meet today in Pueblo to review the 45-year history of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.

The water and power subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., will meet at 9 a.m. today in the Pueblo Community College Ballroom to look at the project that brought water from the Colorado River basin into the Arkansas River basin.

Two members of the subcommittee, Reps. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., will attend today’s hearing. Reps. John Salazar and Rep. Ed Perlmutter, both Colorado Democrats, also plan to be at the hearing.

The hearing is not intended to debate current legislation regarding the Fry-Ark Project, although most of the speakers intend to discuss projects of concern to them, such as the need for more storage, the Arkansas Valley Conduit and the Southern Delivery System.

In Congress, there are competing water storage bills.

Salazar’s Fryingpan-Arkansas legislation would authorize a $10 million state study of the impacts of Arkansas basin water transfers, as well as a $4 million feasibility study that would include looking at enlargement of Lake Pueblo.

Lamborn is sponsoring a different version of the bill, nearly identical to former Rep. Joel Hefley’s failed version of a PSOP bill in 2004. It would authorize the $4 million study along the lines of PSOP.

A fundamental difference in the two bills is the authority of the Bureau of Reclamation to enter contracts with out-of-basin entities such as Aurora. Salazar’s bill specifically prohibits such contracts, while Lamborn’s specifically allows them.

The public will not be given an opportunity to testify, but may observe.

Scheduled to testify at the hearing are:

Bill Long, president, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

Mike Ryan, Great Plains regional director for the Bureau of Reclamation.

Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

Lionel Rivera, mayor of Colorado Springs.

Terry Scanga, general manager, Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District.

Bill Thiebaut, Pueblo district attorney.

Jay Winner, general manager, Lower Arkansas Water Conservancy District.

Sandy White, La Veta water lawyer.

Ed Tauer, mayor of Aurora.

Drew Peternell, Boulder, director of the Colorado Trout Unlimited Colorado Water Project.

Chris Treese, external affairs manager of the Colorado River Conservation District.

Wally Stealey, rancher and former president, Southeastern district.