UWP Brochure

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UWP Brochure Our Watershed Facts The Uncompahgre Name: Uncompahgre River Watershed Location: Gunnison Basin, southwestern Colorado Watershed Headwaters: Lake Como at 12,215 feet in the Uncompahgre National Forest and other tributaries that originate as high as 14,158 feet at the peak of Mt. Sneffels and down to 4,915 feet in Delta Last Saturday of June The annual Ridgway RiverFest is organized by UWP to celebrate our watershed, and bring together our community and visitors for a full day of fun for all ages at the Uncompahgre River in Rollans Park, Ridgway, Colorado. With no entry fee, everyone can enjoy this popular outdoor festival with a wide range of activities from river races and the Junk of the Unc homemade boat competition to live music, Ute cultural presentations, youth entertainment, watershed education, and food and drink. www.ridgwayriverfest.org The name of the Uncompahgre River comes from the Ute word that means red water, muddy Area: 1,115 square miles over seven counties water or a water that is slow moving. The Utes lived along the river since early times because of Length: approximately 75 miles, flowing northwest the water, plants, and wildlife. Flowing from the past Ouray, Ridgway, Montrose and Olathe, joining headwaters in the San Juan Mountains, the river the Gunnison River in Delta is the artery of a large watershed and one reason Topography: highly varied, ranging from the many people choose to live here in Ouray County. snow-capped San Juan Mountains to the south, Whether enjoying recreation on and around the through the Uncompahgre River Valley with the river and the Ridgway Reservoir or using the Uncompahgre Plateau to the west and the barren valuable natural resource for irrigating agricultural desert lands of the Gunnison uplift and Adobe fields, we rely on the watershed to support our badlands on the east lifestyles. Please Help Protect our Watershed The Uncompahgre Our Projects Abandoned Mine Site Watershed Partnership Remediation Our nonprofit works within a modest budget, supported UWP has many ongoing by many volunteer hours and fundraising activities. Grants (UWP) exists to help protect projects and annual UWP brings together cover a portion of our expenses, but are limited in scope the economic, natural, and activities aimed at experts to remediate and duration and cannot be used to cover many ongoing scenic values of the Upper protecting and restoring environmental damage costs. That's where you can help! Please consider Uncompahgre River Water- the watershed. We from legacy mines. Pro- making a donation or becoming a member. shed. The Partnership, over- engage in community jects have focused on seen by a volunteer board, reducing contamination Name outreach and education works to inform and engage throughout the year, in streams by diverting Address all stakeholders and solicits input from diverse including the Ridgway toxic mine drainage, interests to ensure collaborative restoration efforts RiverFest, field trips into removing waste rock, City, State + Zip in the watershed. the San Juans, and minimizing tailings erosion, and vegetating UWP was created in the spring of 2007, when watershed education in Email affected areas. regional groups and concerned citizens applied for local schools. Phone a watershed-planning grant. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2013, our goals and objectives Membership Options are to improve water quality, riverine ecosystem Please check member type & other boxes as preferred. function, seasonal low flows, and recreation [ ] Individual $ 36 opportunities, as well as to create a stable [ ] Family $ 55 stakeholder group. To learn more, visit [ ] Business $100 www.uncompahgrewatershed.org and watch And/or a one-time donation = $_______ https://youtu.be/NSDmqblR9Y8. Total amount = $_______ Below: Metal concentrations in Red Mountain Creek come from abandoned mines as well as the natural geology. Next [ ] I'm giving $100 or more and would like a Colorado page: UWP is working on a mine remediation project to income tax credit, so am providing the last four improve water quality flowing from Governor Basin. digits of my tax ID: ________ Water Monitoring & San Juan Mining & Please send my receipt by mail [ ] by email [ ]. Riverside Maintenance Reclamation Conference [ ] I give UWP permission to recognize me in UWP samples water publications (online and print). quality at several sites UWP is a coordinating partner for the San Juan [ ] I do not wish to be recognized. through the statewide River Watch program Mining & Reclamation Please enclose this form with your check made and with our project Conference. This annual payable to UWP and send to: partners. We organize event brings together non- Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership annual volunteer work profit leaders, researchers, industry professionals and Mail: P.O. Box 392, Ridgway, CO 81432 days to pick up litter, government representa- Office: 133 N. Lena St. #3, Ridgway, CO 81432 weed, and make riparian tives to discuss current 970-325-3010 ! [email protected] area improvements along the Uncompahgre and future mining and You can also donate and join online at River in Ridgway and water quality issues in www.uncompahgrewatershed.org/membership. Ouray. our mountain region. .
Recommended publications
  • Ouray Hydrodam March 2017 Sediment Release Study: Uncompahgre River Near Ouray, Colorado
    OURAY HYDRODAM MARCH 2017 SEDIMENT RELEASE STUDY: UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER NEAR OURAY, COLORADO PREPARED FOR THE UNCOMPAHGRE WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP PREPARED BY: ASHLEY BEMBENEK AND JULIA NAVE ALPINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS LLC 1 Ouray Hydrodam Release Study Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership December 2017 CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Local Drinking Water Sources .............................................................................................. 2 2.1 Ouray ................................................................................................................................ 2 2.2 Ridgway ............................................................................................................................ 2 2.3 Loghill Mesa And Dallas Creek ......................................................................................... 2 2.4 Private Wells near the Uncompahgre River ..................................................................... 2 3.0 Study Questions ................................................................................................................... 3 3.1 Sample Types and Protocols ............................................................................................ 3 Water Quality Samples ........................................................................................................... 3 Surface Sediment Samples .....................................................................................................
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  • Uncompahgre Project
    Uncompahgre Project David Clark Wm. Joe Simonds, ed. Bureau of Reclamation 1994 Table of Contents Uncompahgre Project...........................................................2 Project Location.........................................................2 Historic Setting .........................................................2 Project Authorization.....................................................5 Construction History .....................................................5 Post-Construction History................................................10 Settlement of the Project .................................................13 Uses of Project Water ...................................................14 Conclusion............................................................15 Bibliography ................................................................16 Government Documents .................................................16 Books ................................................................16 Articles...............................................................16 Index ......................................................................18 1 Uncompahgre Project Uncompahgre is a Ute word meaning as follows; Unca-=hot; pah=water, gre=spring. One of the oldest Reclamation projects, the Uncompahgre Project contains one storage dam, several diversion dams, 128 miles of canals, 438 miles of laterals and 216 miles of drains. The project includes mesa and valley land on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado at an elevation
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  • Pleistocene Drainage Changes in Uncompahgre Plateau-Grand
    New Mexico Geological Society Downloaded from: http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/32 Pleistocene drainage changes in Uncompahgre Plateau-Grand Valley region of western Colorado, including formation and abandonment of Unaweep Canyon: a hypothesis Scott Sinnock, 1981, pp. 127-136 in: Western Slope (Western Colorado), Epis, R. C.; Callender, J. F.; [eds.], New Mexico Geological Society 32nd Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook, 337 p. This is one of many related papers that were included in the 1981 NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebook. Annual NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebooks Every fall since 1950, the New Mexico Geological Society (NMGS) has held an annual Fall Field Conference that explores some region of New Mexico (or surrounding states). Always well attended, these conferences provide a guidebook to participants. Besides detailed road logs, the guidebooks contain many well written, edited, and peer-reviewed geoscience papers. These books have set the national standard for geologic guidebooks and are an essential geologic reference for anyone working in or around New Mexico. Free Downloads NMGS has decided to make peer-reviewed papers from our Fall Field Conference guidebooks available for free download. Non-members will have access to guidebook papers two years after publication. Members have access to all papers. This is in keeping with our mission of promoting interest, research, and cooperation regarding geology in New Mexico. However, guidebook sales represent a significant proportion of our operating budget. Therefore, only research papers are available for download. Road logs, mini-papers, maps, stratigraphic charts, and other selected content are available only in the printed guidebooks. Copyright Information Publications of the New Mexico Geological Society, printed and electronic, are protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
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  • Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests REVISED DRAFT Forest Assessments: Watersheds, Water, and Soil Resources March 2018
    United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests REVISED DRAFT Forest Assessments: Watersheds, Water, and Soil Resources March 2018 Taylor River above Taylor Dam, Gunnison Ranger District In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992.
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  • The Uncompahgre River Watershed in Ouray County the Basics & a Little Bit More
    The Uncompahgre River Watershed in Ouray County The Basics & A Little Bit More Compiled by the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership UWP exists to help protect and improve the economic, natural, and scenic values of the Upper Uncompahgre River Watershed. We work to inform and engage all stakeholders and solicit input from diverse interests to ensure collaborative restoration efforts in the watershed. From a Trickle to a Mighty Flow, Water from the San Juan Mountains wa•ter•shed: (noun) /‘wôdər SHed’/ an Heads toward the Pacific Ocean area that collects surface water from rain, snowmelt, and underlying groundwater, that flows to lower elevations. Watersheds can be defined at any scale from less than an acre to millions of square miles. Synonyms: drainage, catchment, basin. For eons, the Upper Uncompahgre Watershed has been a valuable becoming groundwater. Groundwater usually flows parallel to the resource for wildlife and people. Uncompahgre loosely translates to surface of the land, supporting springs, wetlands, and stream flows “the warm, red water” in the language of the Ute people, who were during late summer, fall, and winter. the early stewards of the river. In the last few centuries, explorers From the mountaintops to the confluence with the Gunnison River, and settlers developed the watershed’s assets. From booming mining the Uncompahgre River Watershed covers portions of six counties in days to quieter years after the silver crash and today when tourism is addition to Ouray County – over a 1,115-square-mile area – and is one of the area’s biggest draws, residents and visitors have used local part of the Upper Colorado River Basin.
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  • Natural Heritage Assessment of the Uncompahgre River Basin
    The Uncompahgre River Basin A Natural Heritage Assessment Volume I Prepared for Valley Land Conservancy Montrose, Colorado March, 1999 By Peggy Lyon, Tom Stephens, Jeremy Siemers, Denise Culver, Phyllis Pineda, and Jennifer Zoerner Colorado Natural Heritage Program 254 General Services Building, CSU Ft. Collins, CO 80523 User’s Guide The Uncompahgre Basin Biological Assessment conducted by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program consists of two essentially distinct projects that are highly integrated with respect to methodology and fieldwork. This report reflects the separate nature of the projects by being organized in a two-volume set. Volume I presents all potential conservation sites that have been identified in the Uncompahgre Basin that support rare and imperiled plants, animals, and significant plant communities, including wetland and riparian areas. Volume II focuses exclusively on wetland and riparian areas. Volume II also presents “locally significant areas.” These are sites that are among the most important wetlands in the Uncompahgre Basin, but they are not unique from a national or statewide perspective, and therefore these sites did not receive a Biodiversity Rank. Additionally, Volume II presents an assessment of the wetland functions performed by each site that was surveyed. These functional assessments are intended to provide the user with a more complete picture of the value wetlands and riparian areas provide to Uncompahgre Basin residents. Both projects utilized the same Natural Heritage Methodology that is used throughout North America, and both searched for and assessed the plants, animals, and plant communities on the Colorado Natural Heritage Program’s List of rare and imperiled elements of biodiversity.
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  • Uncompahgre River Basin the Project Was Project Act As Participating
    1 J I COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD i 823 State Centennial Building 1313 Sherman Street Denver Colorado 80203 March 1977 DALLAS CREEK PROJECT The Dallas Creek Project is located in the Uncompahgre River Basin of west central Colorado The project was authorized by the Congress in 1968 under the provisions of the Colorado River Basin Project Act as a participating project of the Colorado River Storage Project Act The Tri County Water Conservancy District was organized in 1957 to act as a sponsoring and contractual agency for the project This district includes portions of Delta Montrose and Ouray Counties Current Status Advance planning studies were initiated on the Dallas Creek Project in FY 1971 These studies are completed and the report has been reviewed The draft environmental impact statement has been completed and was distributed and filed with the Council on Environmental Quality on March 8 1976 The final EIS was filed on September 28 1976 A repayment contract was signed on January 14 1977 r 1 Total Federal expenditures to September 30 1976 including feasibility and advance planning amount to 3 005 671 Approximately 75 000 has I been expended by the State of Colorado on the project By far the sum has been the Tri Water District I greatest spent by County Conservancy which to date has expended over 4 5 million dollars This includes the construction of a domestic wate system which is predicated upon the eventual construction of the Dallas Creek Project After Congress authorized the project the people of the Uncompahgre Valley approved
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  • THE GUNNISON RIVER BASIN a HANDBOOK for INHABITANTS from the Gunnison Basin Roundtable 2013-14
    THE GUNNISON RIVER BASIN A HANDBOOK FOR INHABITANTS from the Gunnison Basin Roundtable 2013-14 hen someone says ‘water problems,’ do you tend to say, ‘Oh, that’s too complicated; I’ll leave that to the experts’? Members of the Gunnison Basin WRoundtable - citizens like you - say you can no longer afford that excuse. Colorado is launching into a multi-generational water planning process; this is a challenge with many technical aspects, but the heart of it is a ‘problem in democracy’: given the primacy of water to all life, will we help shape our own future? Those of us who love our Gunnison River Basin - the river that runs through us all - need to give this our attention. Please read on.... Photo by Luke Reschke 1 -- George Sibley, Handbook Editor People are going to continue to move to Colorado - demographers project between 3 and 5 million new people by 2050, a 60 to 100 percent increase over today’s population. They will all need water, in a state whose water resources are already stressed. So the governor this year has asked for a State Water Plan. Virtually all of the new people will move into existing urban and suburban Projected Growth areas and adjacent new developments - by River Basins and four-fifths of them are expected to <DPSDYampa-White %DVLQ Basin move to the “Front Range” metropolis Southwest Basin now stretching almost unbroken from 6RXWKZHVW %DVLQ South Platte Basin Fort Collins through the Denver region 6RXWK 3ODWWH %DVLQ Rio Grande Basin to Pueblo, along the base of the moun- 5LR *UDQGH %DVLQ tains.
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  • Colorado Bike Tour – San Juan Skyway Inn to Inn L
    Colorado Bike Tour San Juan Skyway Inn to Inn Loop Start/End Location: Ridgway, Colorado Touring Style: Fully SAG Supported Inn to Inn Bike Tour Dates: Saturday June 23rd, 2012 to Friday June 29th, 2012 Pre-Trip Meeting Date: Q and A over Coffee Wed. May 30th 2012, Downtown Mill, 8th and P, 7pm Registration Deadline: Friday May 25th, 2012 Price*: $950 – students & members / $875 – non-member *Add $100 for transportation from Lincoln (5 max) Total Tour Days: 7 Days Riding Days: 5 Days Orientation Days: 1 Day Departure Days: 1 Day Total Miles: 233 miles Daily Mileage: 35 – 65 miles Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 15,000 feet Welcome to the Adventure! Congratulations on your decision to join Outdoor Adventures on a bike tour of the historic San Juan Skyway in southwestern Colorado. Now that you have registered, the next step is to prepare yourself and your bicycle for this exciting adventure. Please read over this packet carefully. It should help cyclists of all abilities better prepare for this trip and will hopefully answer many of the questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact your trip leaders with any inquiry. They would be excited to chat with you about your upcoming bike tour. Colorado Bike Tour – San Juan Skyway Inn to Inn Loop What could be better than spending a week cycling the valleys and steep mountain passes of beautiful southwestern Colorado? On this fully-supported bike tour, you and your tour mates will complete a 233-mile loop called the San Juan Skyway, traversing some of Colorado’s most scenic and challenging cycling terrain.
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  • Analysis of Dissolved Selenium Loading for Selected Sites in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 1978–2005
    Prepared in cooperation with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Analysis of Dissolved Selenium Loading for Selected Sites in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 1978–2005 Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5287 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover photograph. Agricultural area in foreground with Mancos Shale outcropping at the base of the Grand Mesa in the background, Whitewater Creek area (photograph by Cory A. Williams, U.S. Geological Survey). Analysis of Dissolved Selenium Loading for Selected Sites in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 1978–2005 By Judith C. Thomas, Kenneth J. Leib, and John W. Mayo Prepared in cooperation with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5287 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Suggested citation: Thomas, J.C., Leib, K.J., Mayo, J.W., 2008, Analysis of dissolved selenium loading for selected sites in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 1978–2005: Reston, VA, U.S.
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  • River-Restoration-March-2019.Pdf
    $1.50 MONTROSE P DAILY RESS montrosepress.com | SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 MURA approves over $1M in Uncompahgre River restoration • MURA determined amount during Wednesday meeting • Project to benefit Uncompahgre River • Bell says businesses interested near Mayfly Outdoors interested near Mayfly Outdoors BY ANDREW KISER [email protected] A new stretch on the Uncompahgre River near Mayfy Outdoors will become the destination for fsh- ermen, kayakers and even bikers and runners once the “Connect the People to their Parks and Recreation” trails move in. Tat’s what City Manager Bill Bell envisions for Montrose’s future once later this year, Phase 1 of a proj- ect that would restore and improve a 0.65-mile stretch of Uncompahgre River begins. Te project has become a reality afer Wednesday’s Montrose Urban Renewal Authority meeting. Te MURA board approved $1.1 million, which the city would loan to the authority from its undesignated fund balance. “It (Uncompahgre River) is all open to the public. Tere’s no private access to those waters,” Bell said. “So it’s all going to be really good.” Te city anticipates construction to begin in November. Bell said, due to the river fow, work has to be completed within a four-month timeframe from November to February, when the water is at its lowest point. Construction is needed for parts of the Uncompahgre River because it has become unsteady and hurt over A cloudless sky and clear waters from the Uncompahgre River at Riverbottom Park. Montrose has been selected by the time, City Engineer Scott Murphy said previously to Colorado Water Conservation Board to receive $400,000 for the Colorado Watershed Restoration Program and improvements on the Uncompahgre River.
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  • The Uncompahgre River Basin Organized in 1957 to Act the Project
    i COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD 102 Columbine Building 1845 Sherman Street Denver Colorado 80203 March 1976 DALLAS CREEK PROJECT The Dallas Creek project is located in the Uncompahgre River basin of west central Colorado The project was authorized by the Congress in 1968 under the provisions of the Colorado River Basin Project Act as a participating project of the Colorado River Storage Project Act The Tri County Water Conservancy District was organized in 1957 to act as a sponsoring and contractual agency for the project This district includes portions of Delta Montrose and Ouray counties Plan of Development As Revised The Dallas Creek project would develop flows of the Uncompahgre River Dallas Creek and other tributaries for municipal industrial and irrigation use and recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement Storage will be provided by Ridgway reservoir on the Uncompahgre river and Dallas Divide reservoir on Pleasant Valley Creek Both reservoirs will provide significant recreation and fishing opportunities because of large minimum pools and planned operational patterns that will require only moderate drawdown of the reservoirs during the prime summer recreation seasons Natural inflow in Ridgw ay reservoir will be augmented by diversions from Cow Creek through the Cow Creek feeder canal Water will be released from Ridgway reservoir through a dual level outlet to the Uncompahgre river for fishery purposes and for downstream diversion for irrigation municipal and industrial uses Water exchanges will also make additional water available
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