Virtual public meeting will discuss enhancing the San Juan River

Posted

By Al Pfister

Upper San Juan River Watershed

Enhancement Partnership

Whether you use the water of the San Juan River and its tributaries to recreate, irrigate, drink or for domestic needs, the Upper San Juan River Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP) invites community members to attend a virtual public meeting to share your water values and needs. We encourage you to join the conversation and be entered for a chance to win a gift certificate from Pagosa Brewing Company.

Since 2018, the WEP has been conducting activities, under the Colorado Water Plan, to investigate how the community can best utilize the Upper San Juan watershed’s resources for its many uses. 

Phase I established a steering committee of representatives from agricultural, environmental, recreational and municipal water groups to take the first steps at gathering community input and assessing how we can meet the multiple water uses and needs of the watershed. Our last article in The SUN a few weeks ago provided an overview of our past activities in Phase I, as well as what we hope to accomplish in Phase II. 

Starting this year, Phase II will provide an assessment to understand current and future conditions for the San Juan River, allowing the WEP and community to identify priority areas and explore cooperative, multi-beneficial projects. This meeting will discuss details on Phase II’s steps and the information being collected by the WEP, in partnership with Lotic Hydrological and the San Juan Conservation District, to assess environmental, recreation and agricultural water needs.

We firmly believe that successful implementation of the WEP’s efforts are dependent on local community input and involvement throughout the process. In order to get an accurate picture of our community’s water values and needs, we need to hear from all of you and will be hosting a virtual meeting on Thursday, May 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Learn how to join the Zoom meeting via your phone (audio only) or computer (video presentations and audio) at http://www.mountainstudies.org/sanjuan/smp. 

If you are new to using Zoom, we offer helpful tips on our website to make it easy to join the meeting, share your perspective and help us understand how to enhance the many benefits offered by the San Juan River and its tributaries. Additional information of the WEP’s past and current activities can be found at http://www.mountainstudies.org/sanjuan/smp or by contacting Mandy Eskelson at mandy@mountainstudies.org or Al Pfister at westernwildscapes@gmail.com.

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