Meeker

Water distict’s mission is a tough balancing act

MEEKER I Pursuing water rights and looking out for users’ interests at the same time can be a bit of a balancing act.
But that’s exactly what the Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District is charged to do. The group’s mission is to “maintain and manage its water rights for the benefit of agricultural, municipal, industrial, wildlife and recreational users within the district,” said attorney Trina Zagar-Brown.
At Saturday’s meeting between the Yellow Jacket Board of Directors and local landowners, various user interests were brought up.
“My goal was to publicly state my concerns about wildlife impacts,” said landowner Jeanne Horne. “While I own property on the White River, also own property adjacent to Morapos Creek, and have other real estate interests up-river adjacent to the Welder property, my primary concerns are wildlife-related issues.
“I feel there are others far better qualified to take issue with ag and industry uses — not to say they are not a concern to me — as I stated (at the meeting), they are of great concern. I just feel those who make their living with ag and industry have those concerns in the forefront.”
Agricultural interests are well represented on the Yellow Jacket board, with several of the directors being cattlemen.
But the user category that received the most attention — and most landowner concern — Saturday was industrial.
“How come energy seems to be the primary focus?” outfitter Shawn Welder asked.
“From my perspective, if energy water rights are not part of the mix, they will dry up the other uses,” Yellow Jacket attorney Zagar-Brown said. “… energy water has to be addressed, but it has to be managed with the other uses, and Yellow Jacket is looking out for those other interests.”
The possibility of large-scale commercial oil shale production in the area — and the accompanying demands for water — has been an ongoing subject of public speculation for years.
But natural gas extraction already has a big impact on water usage in the Yellow Jacket District, Zagar-Brown said.
“Oil shale has been pregnant for decades and we don’t know when that baby is going to pop out, but it is real,” Zagar-Brown said. “The (Yellow Jacket) water rights have long been contemplated to assist in providing water for potential oil shale development. By most accounts, the development of oil shale will require significant amounts of water and Yellow Jacket has historically viewed that it would play a critical role in water supplies for the oil shale.
“The current realities are that the development of natural gas also requires significant water resources. Maybe most important is that the development of natural resources takes water away from its other uses, such as agricultural,” Zagar-Brown said. “So Yellow Jacket’s role going forward may be to manage water storage projects that help off set the heavy water demands associated with natural resource extraction, whether it be oil shale or natural gas.”

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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