RBC | The Rio Blanco County Commissioners held a special meeting Thursday, Aug. 8 in Meeker, Colorado. All three commissioners were present.
During the meeting, they discussed water in the White River, which runs through Rio Blanco County. Alden Vanden Brink, who oversees the Colorado River District Board, presented information on the White River and highlighted a missing piece of the puzzle involving the river.
Vanden Brink discussed how this missing piece is affecting Rio Blanco County. He distributed copies of the gold medal submitted to the recovery program and relayed a message from Tom Pitts regarding the rationale behind the White River management plan and the programmatic biological opinion. Vanden Brink also shared a policy he had reviewed multiple times.
“I’ve reviewed this quite a few times since I’ve been on the River District, and I agree with this policy for the industry flows,” Vanden Brink said. He further expanded on another policy from the River District during his presentation.
“There are a lot of folks in the water world who realize that these policies both have impacts on how your river system works and how it affects your waterway,” Vanden Brink said.
“The White River is primarily within Rio Blanco County, but it also extends into Mesa, Garfield and Moffat counties,” Vanden Brink continued.
Vanden Brink provided information on the White River’s importance to Rio Blanco County and sought answers to some questions. One question he received was, “What action do we want from the commissioners?”
“Really, it’s just about creating awareness and sharing information with the county and the commissioners regarding the proposed in-stream flows within the White River basin,” Vanden Brink said.
He mentioned that eight basins are currently proposed for 2025 and expressed interest in the White River management plan and the programmatic biological opinion. Vanden Brink elaborated on these topics during his presentation.
Vanden Brink discussed the Biological Opinion as it pertains to the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program. “That was a unique one that got posted from folks across the state. I don’t know the answer—I’m trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle here,” Vanden Brink said.
“I’m hopeful that if we grow the conversation, maybe we can figure this out and get some answers,” he continued.
Vanden Brink went through each of the stream flow programs during his slideshow, discussing the appropriate water rights for stream flows and natural lake levels to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. After the slideshow, no questions were asked, and the meeting was adjourned.
By JARED HENDERSON
