While most of Southwest Colorado was enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures this weekend, members of the Southwest Colorado Livestock Association gathered at the Cortez Elks Lodge for an update on various issues that affect Montezuma County’s agricultural industry, including the dry, warm winter.

Water-rights fight

U.S. Rep Scott Tipton discussed legislation he is working on in Washington, including a second push to get his Water Right Protection bill passed.

The Water Rights Protection Act passed the House in 2014 but was unable to garner support from the Senate. Despite last year’s roadblock, he’s relentless in fighting what he says is federal infringement on property rights.

“It’s abundantly clear that all water is going to be under the control of the federal government unless we’re willing to stand up and push back,” Tipton said. “Here in the West, water is private property right. ... We need to make sure we’re doing everything possible to protect our private property rights, to make sure that determination is made according to state law here in Colorado. Once the federal government gets control of our water – I believe that’s the agenda – the impacts of federal control impacts on farms, ranches, towns and cities, I don’t think we could overstate.”

Tipton also touched on the Endangered Species Act and proclaimed that it was currently “one of the greatest challenges we have.”

“We all understand importance of the Endangered Species Act, we all value that, but we’re now seeing this being used as a tool by extremists to be able to control property and development,” he said.

Kinder Morgan update

County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla updated the crowd on county initiatives, including an appeal of the recent Kinder Morgan tax-assessment decision. Suckla said that after a meeting in Denver on Feb. 13 that all four attorneys who represent the membership organization backing the county, Colorado Counties Inc. agreed to file a brief to the Colorado Court of Appeals in hopes that a judge will consider it in the case.

On Jan. 29, a Colorado Court of Appeals decision overturned a lower court ruling that upheld Montezuma County’s assertion that Kinder Morgan was under-reporting its production and therefore owed additional taxes.

“I’m proud to say that up in Denver yesterday, 100 percent of the board agreed to write the amicus brief in support of Montezuma County,” Suckla said.

Sheriff’s office changes

Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin detailed changes to the sheriff’s office that have been underway since he took office in January.

He said that the county was now part of the Southwest Drug Task Force, a combined effort of sheriff’s offices and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

“We’re going after the importation of narcotics that are effecting our county’s citizens,” Nowlin said. He also discussed his intent to establish a mounted patrol division and stated that his office has identified grant funding to cover much of the costs.

Reservoir projections

Mike Preston of the Dolores Water Conservancy District provided projections of the summer’s water situation.

“This is setting up a lot like last year. ... We were looking like we were going to have minor shortages, and then rains came along in March, and the pattern seems to be less snow and more likely to have some rain,” Preston said.

McPhee Reservoir’s active capacity, he said, was about 32,000 acre-feet of capacity, about 800 acre-feet lower than last year.

“McPhee is sitting relatively where it was last year,” Preston said. “The MVI buckets (Groundhog Reservoir, Narraguinnep Reservoir), however, are in much better shape.”

Preston said that if forecasts played out, “we could have full supply.”

He said that in a dry period like the one the county is currently experiencing, numbers are based on a lower probability scale in an attempt to be more conservative.

The DWCD looked back at data from the past 12 years, and studied years where the reservoir was in a similar position as of Feb. 1, as it is currently.

Preston said that seven of those similar years saw diminished inflow levels in July, and five years saw increased inflow levels in July.