HomeMy WebLinkAboutLTR OF REC HR FUNDS SHOSHONE WR ACQUISITION 4.18.25 FINAL
530 East Main Street Suite 301 - Aspen, CO 81611
970 379-8654 or 970-309-2139
pitkincountyrivers.com
April 18, 2025
Kelly McNicholas-Kury, Chair
Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners
530 E. Main Street, Suite 302
Aspen, CO 81611
Dear Chair McNicholas-Kury:
At its regular meeting on April 17, 2025, the Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Board moved to
recommend to the BOCC, the use of Healthy Rivers funds in the amount of $1,000,000 towards a
pledge to the Colorado River Conservation District’s Shoshone Water Rights acquisition via a
budget supplemental process over a several years period beginning in 2025.
The Healthy Rivers Board conceives the recommended pledge as an investment in (i) obtaining a
new supply of upper Roaring Fork basin water to boost stream flows in especially dry periods; (ii)
keeping Colorado River basin water on the west slope; and (iii) reaching resolution of the County’s
injury concerns—i.e., protection of the upper Roaring Fork—in a more efficient and collaborative
manner.
Using dollars from the voter-approved Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Streams Fund to
financially support the Shoshone Permanency Project falls squarely within the objectives of the
fund; chief among them being improvement of water quality and quantity on the Upper Roaring
Fork River and augmenting the same, banking water rights for the benefit of the Roaring Fork
Watershed, and to secure, create, and augment minimum stream flows on the Roaring Fork and
Colorado Rivers in conjunction with the CWCB and the River District to ensure ecological health,
recreational opportunities, and wildlife and riparian habitat.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Kirstin Neff
Chair