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Mancos Conservation District outlines wildfire, watershed and irrigation projects
Summary
Danny Margolis of the Mancos Conservation District updated commissioners on planning for prescribed burns, Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART funding for diversion upgrades and telemetry, forest restoration projects and soil-health programming.
Danny Margolis, representing the Mancos Conservation District, told the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners at their Aug. 25 workshop that the district is moving forward on multiple wildfire-mitigation and watershed projects.
"We are moving forward with planning for it," Margolis said of a proposed prescribed burn program, and acknowledged the risks: "It is a concern, and it's a good tool to reduce wildfire risk." He said The Nature Conservancy is expected to assume liability for at least one planned prescribed burn and that the conservancy may visit local sites this October to begin private‑land assessments.
Margolis described a multi‑part WaterSMART grant application through the Bureau of Reclamation that funds diversion upgrades, fish‑passage work and installation of measurement equipment. He said the district identified about 10 diversions for measurement upgrades in the current grant but hopes to extend help to more landowners. "Some people just need partial flumes," Margolis said; others may later upgrade to telemetry.
The updates included work to comply with Division 7 measurement rules from the Division of Water Resources: many existing flumes are old, poorly sited or damaged. Margolis said upgrades will often move measurement points closer to headgates and improve accuracy, not create new downstream flow measurements.
On forest and wildfire mitigation, Margolis said the district has projects in planning and implementation stages covering "upwards of a thousand acres" focused on ponderosa pine ecosystems, with funding from the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program and other sources. He described ongoing coordination with the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s watershed planning process and with the county emergency manager to identify post‑fire debris‑flow and hydrology risks.
Margolis also reported changes to the district’s soil‑health programming after a state funding stream ended. The district plans irrigation audits and modest cost‑share upgrades for irrigation systems in partnership with NRCS and other local contractors.
On mineral‑related water planning, Margolis said he visited a proposed site in Rush Basin where a company is considering a holding pond and an updated substitute water‑supply plan; the district’s board recommended a holding‑pond approach rather than diverting water that would be substituted downstream from agricultural diversions.
Commissioners pressed for more quantitative targets. One commissioner asked repeatedly for acre‑feet goals and a 2‑, 3‑ and 5‑year outlook; Margolis said he did not have a consolidated acre‑feet target available and agreed to provide more specific numbers at a future meeting.
Ending: Margolis asked commissioners for ongoing local support for GIS and planning; he thanked county staff for assistance and said the district will return with additional details and figures requested by commissioners.
