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Funding boost keeps Passama Mesa Verde project alive; county discusses federal timber, watershed and forest restoration work
Summary
County staff said a partial federal funding recommendation for Passama Mesa Verde segments C and D would bring the project within roughly 3.5% of its funding target; staff also updated commissioners on BLM timber, watershed projects and local forest-restoration partnerships.
Natural resources staff updated the Montezuma County Board on transportation funding and regional land-management efforts, reporting a possible partial federal award for the Passama Mesa Verde project and ongoing coordination with the San Juan National Forest and local collaboratives.
The county learned the Southwest Transportation Planning Region may recommend a partial award of $667,000 in federal FY2027 and $281,000 in FY2028 — a total of $948,000 — for segments C and D of the Passama Mesa Verde project. Staff said that award would place the project about 3.5% short of the funding target and that they will meet this week with the Federal Highway Administration and the Town of Mancos to confirm whether the two-year funding split will work for project scheduling.
Staff also reported Segment B (Mesa Verde entrance to the fairgrounds) is shovel-ready but awaiting implementation funding, while Segment A is moving toward a 30% FIR meeting scheduled for May 19 and will require limited right-of-way work.
On other natural-resource matters, staff said the Dolores Watershed Collaborative and the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program remain active locally, with new funding of about $40,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board that will support two collaborative staff positions. County staff said the San Juan National Forest is pushing a timber sale (House Creek CoSwap) and that litigation and other federal processes remain in progress.
Staff summarized takeaways from a statewide Bureau of Land Management (BLM) meeting noting that recreation and oil-and-gas remain significant contributors to regional BLM economic output; the BLM is pursuing directives intended to increase timber production and speed project approvals. Staff said Colorado ranks highly in multiple BLM output categories and noted local concerns about timber-processing capacity.
Why it matters: the partial TPR recommendation could unlock construction on two segments if FHWA confirms schedule flexibility, and the county is coordinating forest- and watershed-related grants and collaboratives that could affect wildfire readiness and local recreation economies.
Staff asked commissioners to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the Town of Dolores on a DOLA affordable-housing strategy grant at the next meeting; no formal action was taken at the workshop.
