Drought still isn’t over
An April 9 blog post by Denver Water was headlined, "It's raining, it's snowing, the drought is still going." The post notes that it would take about six feet of new snow over the next couple of weeks in the mountain watersheds Denver relies on to have a normal snowpack, and even if the snowpack were normal, they would still be in drought because of low reservoir levels left over from last year.
Private landowner can help state monitor forest health
This month, private forest landowners around the state will be receiving letters from the Colorado State Forest Service to request property access to collect essential data about forest health conditions in Colorado. The requests are part of the National Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program — the principal source of information used to assess the status of America's forests.
BLM begins Bull Mountain review
The Bureau of Land Management's Uncompahgre Field Office will initiate an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposal to drill up to 146 natural gas wells and four water disposal wells in the Bull Mountain Unit, and construct associated access roads and pipelines.
The proposal for the Bull Mountain Unit Master Development Plan is located on about 19,645 acres of federal and private subsurface mineral estate in the upper North Fork Valley 30 miles northeast of the Town of Paonia and bisected by Colorado State Highway 133.
Leasing water for streams is new tool
With the statewide snowpack sitting at 73 percent of average on April 1, and reservoir storage at 71 percent of average — a mere 39 percent of full capacity — this is going to be a difficult year for all water users in the state.
In eastern Colorado, farmers are talking about cutting back the acreage they will plant, and Denver has already announced two days per week watering restrictions.
Specialty crops eligible for grants
Colorado specialty crops range from perennial favorites like potatoes and onions to exciting innovators such as lavender and hops. To help develop and promote the state's specialty crops, the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is seeking proposals for the Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.