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UPPER GUNNISON RIVER WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

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MISSION STATEMENT OF THE

UPPER GUNNISON RIVER WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

Adopted October 26, 2009

MISSION STATEMENT: To be an active leader in legal, policy, and management issues affecting the water resources of the Upper Gunnison River Basin, protecting the in-basin beneficial uses and maintaining high quality standards for those water resources.

             VALUES STATEMENTS:

• The District opposes any new transfers of water from the headwaters of the Gunnison River within the boundaries of the Upper Gunnison District to other basins because such transfers would interfere with existing beneficial uses of water, damage the District’s economy, and reduce environmental quality within the District.
• The District encourages local governments to adopt wise land use policies designed to protect the water resources of the basin.
• The District regards flood control, ecological needs, recreational opportunities, and aesthetic values to be important matters for the District and the public it serves.
• The District will remain active in managing and funding an effective water quality monitoring program in order to maintain high water quality standards as a necessary part of a healthy economy and environment in the basin.
• The District is fully aware of the preponderance of scientific evidence suggesting that warmer future temperatures will have a significant effect in the basin on precipitation falling as snow, evaporative losses, and timing of spring peak runoff; it is therefore necessary to adapt the District’s planning assumptions to such changed conditions rather than assuming that the future will be like the past.
• The District strongly supports irrigated agriculture in the basin because of its economic contribution to the community and because of the cultural and social values of the ranching way of life.