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Natural resources, noxious weeds and prevention grant work highlighted in department updates
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Summary
Natural resources staff reported a near‑term schedule for watershed modeling and a nearly $900,000 CWCB planning grant, noxious‑weed staff completed annual cost‑share reporting and public health outlined a five‑year EPIC prevention grant application.
County department heads provided updates at the Oct. 31 workshop covering natural resources, noxious weeds and public‑health prevention work.
James (Natural Resources) said the Dolores Watershed Collaborative is near the midpoint of the watershed wildfire‑ready action plan (RAP) and scheduled a Nov. 17 meeting to review hydrologic and hydraulic modeling results. The county was awarded nearly $900,000 through a Colorado Water Conservation Board planning grant for a snowtography effort to model local snowpack and support design of experimental forest treatments in the Dolores Ranger District. Natural resources staff are also coordinating on unauthorized motorized travel route closures, prioritizing closures to protect big‑game security areas.
On PaSaMesaVerde, the county reported segment A is in design and the project team is seeking match funding for segments B and C; the presenters noted required clearances (Section 4(f)/Section 6(f) reviews) are pending and utility permitting (quality level A) could take six to eight weeks once requested from CDOT.
Noxious weed staff reported completion of the Colorado Department of Agriculture cost‑share program reporting, data uploads to EDDMaps and transfer of 12 backpack sprayers to the High Desert Conservation District; Russell, the county noxious weed technician, completed county property treatments and is monitoring follow‑ups. Staff plan to apply for next year’s CDA grant and will coordinate with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) for possible HPP funds to support weed‑match spraying and reseeding after mitigation work.
Public health briefed the board on a planned application for the EPIC (Elevating Prevention in Colorado) grant, a five‑year prevention program focused on substance‑use and suicide prevention and on engaging youth. Laurel Maxwell and partners are asking for local support and said the grant requires an evaluator position to measure program impact, pre/post outreach surveys and ongoing evaluation measures.
Ending: Staff said they would continue community outreach, public meetings for the outdoor recreation and conservation plan in November, and coordination with partners to secure grant matches and complete required environmental reviews.
