| 6/5/2006 9:18:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Governor hopefuls make stops in Salida
by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer
Front running candidates for Colorado governor made campaign stops in Chaffee County Friday and Saturday.
Republican Bob Beauprez met Friday with local water officials and Democrat Bill Ritter stopped in Salida Saturday for an interview by KHEN Radio and to meet residents.
Ritter continued to Gunnison for a meeting of the Gunnison County Stock Growers Association. He is the lone Democrat running for the job.
Beauprez may face Marc Holtzman in the August primary, although petitions submitted by Holtzman to include his name on the ballot were found invalid last week.
Officials with the Holtzman campaign said they plan to appeal the decision.
Friday, Beauprez was asked to find a way to fast-track reservoir expansion and was told construction projects should be a priority.
He began a western Colorado water issues “listening” tour at the Poncha Springs ranch of state Rep. Tom Massey.
Beauprez heard primarily from current or former directors of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District.
He was asked to find a way to speed the process of gov-ernment approval for water storage projects in the upper Arkansas River basin.
“We study a project to death, then we study it again,” water district manager Terry Scanga, said.
“PSOP (preferred storage option plan) is 10 years old and here we are still trying to pass legislation for a feasibility study.”
Scanga was referring to legislation that would increase water storage capacity in the Arkansas River Basin by allowing reservoir expansion and construction.
He suggested the federal government be removed from the approval process and that it be left to the State of Colorado.
“We have got to stop going to the feds to do it,” he told Beauprez. “We have to do it ourselves.”
Increased storage would open ways to satisfy all water interests on the river from municipalities to irrigators and boaters, Scanga said.
Another suggestion locals offered is creating a water issues curriculum in schools.
Understanding what water means in Colorado would help all Colorado residents and lead to better compromises in water disputes.
“Informing people about water issues is probably the toughest thing out there,” Chuck Reavis, said. “The average person just isn’t interested in water rights.”
Chaffee County Republican leader Nancy O’Connor said an educational curriculum would increase appreciation of Colorado’s agricultural heritage among Colorado school children.
That would eventually create more informed adult Coloradans.
“Education is one of the biggest things,” water district board chairman Glenn Everett, said. “Because people never worry about water until the faucet is shut off.”
Former water district director Mel Keserich emphasized need for better cooperation among water users. He predicted an increase in interruptible supply deals where municipalities or boaters lease agricultural water for temporary use.
Such deals are a part of future cooperation among farmers, municipalities and boaters, water district advisor Ken Baker said. They are a way to keep water rights tied to Chaffee County land while contributing to other uses in the valley.
“We think this is a sound principal in our valley and a cardinal principal of our district,” Baker said.
Before leaving for Gunnison Friday and on to Mesa, Routt, Rio Blanco and Moffat counties Saturday, Beauprez thanked the group for the information.
“This has been enormously helpful,” he said. “This is exactly the kind of stuff I need to hear. To be close to the people – close to the problems – that’s how you find a solution.”
Saturday, Ritter talked about the importance of preserving farming and ranching in the Gunnison Valley. He also talked about the need to protect the valley’s water supply and water quality.
Ritter stayed Sunday in Gunnison, meeting residents and spoke at the Gunnison County Democratic Party annual Truman Dinner.
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