December Update

From the Executive Director:
The past few months have been fairly busy at the NFRIA office. I can't explain why I seem to open every update with this description, other than to assert that it's true. But it's the time of year when major grant proposals are due, so we've been working steadily and earnestly on them with an eye to NFRIA's future. One major grant request, due in January, will seek funding to pretty much complete the Phase I of the Paonia River Park. Phase I is what we have dubbed that portion of the park west of and including Minnesota Creek. Even without additional funding, however, we will use the balance of our GOCO grant with the Town of Paonia to install benches, picnic tables, and some educational signage, although most of this won't show up until next spring. Phase II, upriver from Minnesota Creek, requires substantially more planning, because we can't do much until the river's course through the former in-stream gravel mine is stabilized. We hope to attract funding for that engineering work in the year ahead and follow that with more infrastructure improvements.

Other grant proposals going out the door address more river restoration work in the Midway reach between Paonia and Hotchkiss. The Midway area saw considerable restoration about five or six years ago, but the job isn't finished. When it is, we hope and expect the river to stabilize, for the intermediate future at least, as a single-thread meandering channel. This will allow river bank stabilization, floodplain revegetation, and a substantially improved aquatic and fishery habitat.

Another proposal we hope to fund, beginning in late 2010, is to assist the Colorado River Water Conservation District, U.S. Geological Survey, and Gunnison Basin Selenium Task Force in a major data acquisition project in and around the North Fork. The project will entail collecting geospatial and water quality data on tributaries and irrigation ditch and turnout locations and flows. Key to this endeavor will be recruiting NFRIA members to volunteer for light field work, much as our vaunted water quality monitoring crew has done for the past nine years. NFRIA's board of directors decided in late 2008 to include water quality improvement as a worthy goal. Since then, we've been focusing more sharply on factors and sources that may affect water quality in the North Fork watershed. Certainly, selenium and salinity match this objective. Gaining funding for this proposal will go a long way toward keeping North Fork water as clean as it is currently.

Lastly, I hope members will respond favorably and generously this month when they receive our year-end fund-raising request in the mail. Economic times are tough everywhere, but especially for small non-profits like NFRIA. Your memberships are especially valued and welcome, but I hope everyone can reach a little bit deeper for NFRIA so we can achieve our year-end goal.

As always, if anyone has questions or suggestions, feel free to call, email or drop by the office. Many thanks.

Dave

Volunteer of the month Bill Crank:
Bill Crank has been on the board of directors for a year now. He helped organize last year’s river awareness float and has been very involved with the current improvements at the Paonia River Park as a member of the River Park Committee. Much thanks to Mr. Crank and all of his efforts with NFRIA.

Drilling impacts, private property issues, and the health of the North Fork River ecosystem are among topics to be discussed at a public meeting hosted by the North Fork River Improvement Association.

The North Fork River Improvement Association (NFRIA) is continuing the process to update the original 2000 Watershed Action Plan for the North Fork of the Gunnison. This is another chance for you to take action in addressing the foremost issues concerning your river. A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9, 2009, at the Paonia Public Library in Paonia, CO from 4:00 to 6:00pm.

NFRIA wants to assess how the public perception of the watershed has changed during the last nine years. Participation in this meeting will prove valuable in pursuing the goals of all stakeholders in the watershed. We hope to come away with an inclusive list of public concerns allowing us to optimize our efforts. NFRIA has completed many projects since the original Watershed Plan was released, including the Short and Sheppard-Wilmot Ditch diversions and the Chipeta Dam removal. In order to better serve all stakeholders, NFRIA welcomes critique of how well we have executed the initial action plan and suggested elements to focus on in the coming years.

This meeting is the second of two public meetings that constitute the first task in updating the watershed plan. The update process will review the science, the state of the watershed, sources of water quality impairment, and public concerns, and will set goals for the next 10 years. The Colorado Water Conservation Board is funding this project.

The original 2000 Watershed Action Plan can be found at www.nfria.org. Please feel free to contact the NFRIA office with any questions at 970.872.4614.