United States Department of Agriculture - Colorado Natural Resources Conservation Service Gunnison-Dolores Rivers

The Gunnison- Dolores Rivers Watershed Watershed totals 6,014,600 acres. Resources at work from October 1, 2010 - September 30, 2011 It includes all or por- tions of Delta, Gunni- son, Hinsdale, Mon- trose, Ouray, The Colorado Watershed Approach Saguache, and San Miguel Counties. Instead of the traditional statewide approach in

NRCS natural resource addressing priority resource issues like soil erosion, specialists are staffed at the Delta, Gunnison, water quality, grazing lands, wildlife, and animal waste, and Montrose USDA NRCS looks to Colorado’s ten watersheds to identify their Field Service Centers to provide technical particular local resource needs and priorities. assistance to watershed residents. Watershed work groups meet annually to determine which NRCS Vision natural resource concerns are most prevalent in their Productive Lands - Healthy Environment communities.

In turn, Colorado NRCS focuses its resources on NRCS Mission Helping People addressing those concerns. Colorado’s local Help the Land conservation districts provide leadership in this effort to foster increased decision making at the local level. www.co.nrcs.usda.gov High Priority Resource Concerns in the Gunnison-Dolores Rivers Watershed • Water Quantity • Water Quality • Rangeland Health • Invasive Species • Erosion Helping People Help the Land Watershed Profile Fiscal Year 2011 Environmental Quality Incentives Program Summary Applications Contracts Dollars Acres Gunnison-Dolores River Received Approved Approved Treated

Gunnison-Dolores - All Lands/Wildlife 1 1 $6,555 110 Gunnison-Dolores - Cropland/Water Quality/Quantity 6 3 $54,686 22 Gunnison-Dolores - Forestry 1 1 $23,530 13 Gunnison-Dolores - Grazingland 4 3 $78,751 2,725 Organic - Certified 3 3 $18,938 1.1 CCPI - Uncompahgre Soil and Water Quality 15 9 $18,800 1,230 Salinity - Greater Colorado River Basin 4 3 $200,996 1,058 Salinity - Delta 17 13 $1,002,404 390 Salinity - Montrose 39 23 $900,405 791 Salinity - Wildlife 8 4 $80,921 33 CO Seasonal High Tunnels Pilot 9 7 $45,480 1 Totals 107 70 $2,431,466 6,375

Farm Bill Program Activities Summary Gunnison-Dolores River Applications Contracts Dollars Acres NRCS Program Received Approved Approved Treated Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) 3 1 $15,409 1,633

Farm Bill Program Activities Statewide Summary

Environmental Quality Incentives Program Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Contracts: 789 Properties/Entities: 33 Acres: 335,000 Acres: 9,467 Financial Assistance: $26 Million Financial Assistance: $8.4 Million

Agricultural Water Enhancement Program Wetlands Reserve Program Contracts: 19 Easements: 2 Acres: 3,461 Acres: 463 Financial Assistance: $1 Million Financial Assistance: $1.4 Million

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program Conservation Stewardship Program Contracts: 12 Applications: 331 Acres: 15,656 Acres: 800,859 Financial Assistance: $421,303 Financial Assistance: $7.8 Million Grasslands Reserve Program Easements: 3 Acres: 6,185 Financial Assistance: $1.2 Million

Disclaimer: All data was retrieved from Protracts and funding manager’s records for easements on October 4, 2011. USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. December 2011 2011 Conservation Success: Protecting Sage Grouse Habitat

Issue: Natural Resource Protecting strutting grounds and other habitat for the Gunnison and Greater Natural Resource Sage-grouse Benefits and Impacts What NRCS CO is Doing: Benefitsn 2011, conservation and practices Impacts were The only two places in the world the Gunnison Sage-grouse can be found are on the Iapplied by farmers and ranchers Western slope of Colorado and in a small portion of Southeastern Utah. Colorado, in Colorado through various NRCS programs. Conservation practices work however, hosts the largest population of the species. The protection of sage-grouse to improve farmland, soil, water habitat has been one of NRCS in Colorado’s highest priorities for nearly a decade. quality, air, plants, forestland, and The state hosts two species in the Sage-grouse family, including the Gunnison as wildlife habitat. well as the Greater. Through practices such as nutrient Over the past 10 years, the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CDPW) placed management, landowners were able to improve soil quality and plant health; the sage-grouse on its “species of concern list,” and as a result, NRCS strengthened and through irrigation water manage- its partnerships with the agency to help support efforts to conserve sage-grouse ment, they were able to improve water habitat. NRCS has not only partnered with CDPW, but also Partners in Wildlife, quality delivery, thereby improving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Wild Turkey Federation, the crop production on their working lands. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), local Conservation Districts, landowners Many Farm Bill conservation practices and numerous other stakeholders to map and enhance habitat as well as conserve it apply to rangelands, such as prescribed through easements. grazing. Through installation of water developments, pasture division fences, NRCS conservation efforts to improve wells and water pipelines, these prac- habitat for sage-grouse include the tices focus on maintaining, enhancing, use and implementation of prescribed and restoring needed plant communities grazing systems, range planting, brush/ and habitat conditions. pinon-juniper management, cross fenc- Throughout fiscal year 2011, landown- ing and fence marking. NRCS efforts in ers worked with NRCS staff to develop 2010 and 2011 alone saw the treatment a good, sound conservation plan to of nearly 40,000 acres. identify and address natural resource concerns on their land. Program(s) used: EQIP, WHIP, Escape ramp installed in watering tank to assist sage grouse out of structure. FRPP, GRP ConservationConservation ProgramProgram DescriptionsDescriptions Environmental Quality Incentives technical assistance to agricultural producers (CSP) is a voluntary conservation program Program (EQIP) provides a voluntary to implement agricultural water enhance- that encourages producers to address re- conservation program for farmers, ranchers ment activities on agricultural land for the source concerns in a comprehensive man- and owners of private, non-industrial forest purposes of conserving surface and ground ner by undertaking additional conservation land that promotes agricultural production, water and improving water quality. activities; and improving, maintaining, and forest management and environmental quality managing existing conservation activities. as compatible national goals. EQIP offers Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) financial and technical help to assist eligible The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Farm and Ranch Lands producers install or implement conserva- is a voluntary program to restore for- Protection Program (FRPP) tion practices on eligible agricultural land. mer wetlands, re-establish native wet- The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection land wildlife habitat and retire marginal Program (FRPP) is a voluntary program Wildlife Habitat Incetives Program (WHIP) land from agricultural production. that helps landowners keep their produc- The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program tive farm and ranch land in agriculture. (WHIP) is a voluntary program offer- Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) USDA provides matching funds to state, ing cost-share incentives to landown- The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) local, or tribal government entities and ers to voluntarily develop and improve is a voluntary program offering landown- nongovernmental organizations with exist- wildlife habitat on private lands. ers the opportunity to protect, restore, and ing farm and ranch lands protection pro- enhance grasslands on their property. grams to purchase conservation easements. Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) A voluntary conserva- Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) tion initiative that provides financial and The Conservation Stewardship Program