The mancos river watershed is home to a diverse group of water users agricultural producers, the town of mancos, recreational water users, mesa verde national park and the UTE mountain UTE tribe all…

The Bureau of Reclamation, through its WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) program (CFDA 15.507), awarded a $3,348,446 Project Grant (Award ID R24AP00229) to the Mancos Conservation District in Mancos, Colorado. The funding will support the Mancos Watershed Resiliency Project, which aims to improve watershed health and climate change resilience in the Mancos River watershed.

The project activities include upgrading three agricultural diversion structures, installing remote metering and telemetry equipment on ten agricultural pipeline headgates, completing 650 acres of forest mitigation work, and replacing invasive riparian vegetation with native species along 15 properties of the Mancos River. These restoration and infrastructure improvements on private lands throughout the watershed are expected to support the ecological processes and water resources management, enabling the prioritization of wildlife, as well as the agricultural, municipal, and tribal communities that rely on the Mancos River. The project is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2026.

Activities

Drought, wildfire, and flooding have been identified as community concerns during phase i of the mancos watershed stream management planning (mwsmp) effort. In partnership with the town of mancos (TOM), the mancos watershed resiliency project proposes to improve watershed health and climate change resiliency through improving three agricultural diversion structures, installing remote metering and telemetry equipment on ten agricultural pipeline headgates, completing forest mitigation work on 650 acres, and replacing invasive riparian phreatophytes with native species along 15 properties of the mancos river. Deliverable(s) expected outcome(s): these restoration and infrastructure improvements to private lands throughout the mancos watershed enacted through this funding opportunity will support the ecological processes and water resources management throughout the mancos watershed holistically, enabling the prioritization of wildlife as well as the agricultural, municipal, and tribal communities that rely on the river.beneficiary: the public