CWCB Awards Over $400,000 for Monarch Pass Project

Recently, the Colorado Water Conservation Board awarded the Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative and the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District $403,739 to move the Monarch Pass Watershed and Forest health project along.

The US Forest Service is working on a fuels mitigation project to treat approximately 3,000-acres of beetle-kill by harvesting the dead trees. The UAWCD has joined these efforts to help secure funding and partners for approximately 600-acres of the project. This phase of the project will utilize new and innovative technology that will allow access on the steep slope terrain east of Hwy 50. You can read more about the project here.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board stated that this is the first watershed and forest health project of its kind in the state of Colorado and sees it as a leader which will demonstrate future funding requirements for these types of projects.

Current Monarch Pass project financial partners and contributions to date:

• Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District - $48,000 
• Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative - $10,000 
• Pueblo Board of Water Works - $50,000 
• Colorado Springs Utilities - $50,000 
• Trout Unlimited- $13,000 
• Chaffee County - $48,000 
• City of Salida- $20,869
• Town of Poncha Springs- $10,000 
• Individual Donations- $250 

Collectively, these financial contributions bring the local and state match to just over $660,000. An outstanding showing of how diverse interests can work together for watershed and forest health.

Thank you to everyone who has provided support to date. If you're interested in learning more, please contact Chelsey Nutter, Projects Manager.