The plan for aquatic life enhancements along the San Juan River — as proposed by the Watershed Enhancement Partnership at the September 23 Pagosa Springs Town Council meeting — would cost about $665,000, for the segment immediately east of the proposed $15 million Yamaguchi South park complex. In the map below, “east” is at the top.
As we note, the aquatic improvements include, from left to right:”Future River Wave Structure”, “Cross Vane”; “River Access (typ.); “Hardened Riffle”; “Boat Launch & River Access”; and “County River Access”. As was mentioned before, these enhancements have been under discussion for several months, and the new development, discussed last Thursday, is a proposed grant application suggested by the Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP) to allow the Colorado Water Conservation Board pay most of the $665,000 bill, while the Town would kick in about $96,000 over three years.
When I showed this map (above) to one of Pagosa’s more fanatic boaters — a gentleman who has boated rivers and whitewater all across America, from the East Coast to the West Coast — he sounded unimpressed. And it’s not just a recent lack of enthusiasm. He’s been disappointed in the San Juan for quite a while.
“I boat the San Juan maybe once a year,” he told me. “The features they’ve put in are fine for tourists, in tubes or rubber rafts. But they’re not designed for serious whitewater boating.” In fact, he classified the existing whitewater features as poorly designed.
His comments surprised me at first, but then I thought about it. I live downtown and take regular walks along the San Juan River Walk, and I don’t recall seeing more than a couple of serious boaters in the river this year. Lots of rubber rafts, and lots of tubers. But I guess, if you’re serious about boating, there are so many other rivers to choose from, that offer a more challenging experience.
I wonder if anyone is keeping track of how many locals use the San Juan River for recreation? Compared to tourist use, for example?
At any rate, the Town Council voted to contribute $96,000 towards this project.
The second WEP proposal put before the Council last Thursday involved a three-mile stretch of the San Juan River, upstream of the Conoco station at the east end of downtown. The presentation was handled by James Dickhoff, who is a WEP steering committee member, and also the Town Planning Director.
The project is not cheap. Call it $2.1 million. According to the proposed budget, the state taxpayers who fund the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) will be expected to fork out 75% of the project cost, to be matched by local taxpayers and other grants.
The Town would provide about $54,000. The Tourism Board would pay $22,500. Archuleta County is expected to contribute $30,000, and the San Juan Water Conservancy District $7,500. Over a three-year period.
As mentioned earlier in this editorial series, governments in Colorado must follow a legal budget process, and they cannot commit funding from a future budget that has not been subject to a public hearing. So most of the local money shown in this proposal must be approved during each annual budget process.
But promises, it seems, have been made, nevertheless.
If the WEP is able to acquire all of these grants and promises, then someone would be hired to “enhance” about three miles of the San Juan River, making it more friendly to, basically, two types of aquatic life. Tourists. And fish.
The enhancements would consist mainly of arrangements of rocks, logs, tree stumps, and riparian plants.
Many of the rock arrangements would stretch across the river, with the goal of directing water into the deeper sections of the steam bed, where fish will presumably find food, companionship, and shelter from the storm. Or rather, shelter from climate change.
The green areas in the image above indicate possible landscaping to be included in the project. This landscaping — and several other areas of proposed new landscaping shown in the plan — would be installed on private property, for the simple reason that all of the property along this three-mile stretch is private.
A curious thing about Colorado Rivers. The stream bed and river banks legally belong to the adjacent property owners, so members of the public will not be free to fish from the shore or walk in the stream bed, anywhere along this 3-mile stretch, without permission from the property owners. Anyone can float down the river, but we cannot set a foot on the earth without owners’ permission.
With that in mind, it appears that the WEP is proposing to increase the property value for all of the land owners along a three mile stretch.
But none of these property owners are expected to contribute to the project. The rest of us — who cannot legally stand and fish in the river — are expected to fund their (presumably) increased property values.
This issue (which some might see as an issue of fairness) was never mentioned or discussed during the September 23 Town Council meeting.
In fact, the Town Council approved expenditures of $150,000 from the Town taxpayers, without asking any significant questions at all.
Nor did the Mayor allow the public to ask questions about, or comment on, these expenditures.
As I noted earlier in this editorial series, the WEP promised us that they would form a community-wide ‘stakeholders group’ to guide the development of a “Stream Management Plan”. But the group was never formed. So these “community endorsed” projects have been the work of a small group of hand-selected steering committee members.
I’m thinking right now about fairness.
If you were going to build a home for yourself, to live in Pagosa Springs, you would be charged thousands of dollars in fees and would be expected to reimburse the Town government for each hour of work, and each copied document.
If you are a tourist, the Town and the CWCB and the rest of our state and local government agencies are falling all over themselves to spend millions of dollars to make you feel at home.
If you are a fish… well, enjoy life while you can.
