Contact:

Al Pfister westernwildscapes@gmail.com

The Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership grew from a local stakeholder group supported by MSI from 2018 to 2022 and in 2023 incorporated as its own non-profit. Stay tuned for the launch of their own website in Fall 2023.

COMING SOON: UpperSanJuanWEP.com

The WEP working group convened community members, guided and informed a watershed assessment, then worked with the community to interpret the findings and identify coordinated opportunities to benefit agricultural, environmental, municipal, and recreation water users outlined in an integrated water management plan. This process was conducted in three phases described below.

PHASE I (COMPLETED, 2018-2020)

In Phase I, Mountain Studies Institute (MSI), Western Wildscapes (WW), and Trout Unlimited (TU) collaborated to accomplish the following objectives, with MSI serving as the fiscal sponsor and project management.

Mobilize a local stakeholder group, organized by a steering committee of diverse water users, with the structure, capacity, and collective interest in pursuing a coordinated watershed plan.
Review existing data and information to build off local efforts and findings.
Develop a work plan for watershed assessments and project planning.

PHASE II (2020-May 2021)

In Phase II, MSI, WW, and TU will continue coordination and stakeholder engagement. WEP will also partner with San Juan Conservation District (SJCD) and Lotic Hydrological (Lotic). SJCD will conduct the agricultural water needs analysis, and Lotic will provide technical analysis and modeling to produce a watershed assessment. Primary objectives for Phase II include:

Develop technical information necessary to identify needs for environmental and recreation water supplies and agricultural irrigation structures.
Identify opportunities for cooperative projects to address the multiple water needs of the project area.
Involve and engage the established steering committee and stakeholders throughout the process.

PHASE III (June 2021-2022):

Based on community input and scientific analysis, identify projects and processes to develop an integrated water management plan for multiple water uses in upper San Juan River Basin.
Use this plan to begin collaborative projects, leverage funding, and explore implementation of identified opportunities.

FUNDING

This process is part of the Colorado Water Plan and is funded in part by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) as well as local organizations such as Archuleta County, Town of Pagosa Springs, Pagosa Tourism Board, San Juan Water Conservancy District, Southwestern Water Conservation District, Banded Peak Ranch, Mountain Studies Institute, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, and more.

The Colorado Water Plan outlines numerous strategies to guide all water users in collaboratively addressing our challenging water future. One of those strategies is the development of what the state calls Stream Management Plans (SMPs) or Integrated Water Management Plans (IWMPs). SMP/IWMPs are intended to compile a community’s understanding of a watershed’s collective environmental, recreational, agricultural, and municipal water needs, identify information gaps, and explore opportunities to benefit multiple water users. We are thankful for this process to create local solutions for our community and, in turn, support our region and state.

Who’s Involved?

In Phase I, WEP Steering Committee members were gathered to represent the diverse water users in the Upper San Juan River Basin, including agriculture, environmental, recreation, and municipal groups. The Steering Committee offers local expertise to guide the process, share stakeholder questions or concerns to be addressed, and disperses updates and information directly back to the community. We are so grateful to have such a knowledgeable and engaged committee, who have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time to ensure this process represents local values and priorities.

Project Extent

The WEP works with stakeholders in the Upper San Juan, Navajo, Blanco and Piedra watersheds. Currently, the group is focusing most of the Phase II assessments and models on the Upper San Juan, with some analysis on the Navajo and Blanco, but is open to expanding this scope based on community feedback and capacity.

Historic Gauge Locations

Interactive Map

To explore the interactive map below, select the icon in the top left corner to view the legend and toggle on/off layers, including public survey project ideas and WEP’s Phase II assessment results. This data informs the project list to be included in the final water plan.

View larger map

Phase II Final Report Available Now!

The Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership is excited to share their Phase II Final Report. Click the button to learn about Phase II tasks, accomplishments and next steps. Detailed reports from project partners, Lotic Hydrological and San Juan Conservation District, can be found below.

Phase II Final Report May 2021