In what looked like it might be a dry year, Kirk Klanke put his water where his mouth was. The general manager of Winter Park Ranch Water and Sanitation District and enthusiastic Fraser River advocate rounded up some water from his own entity’s water rights to lease to Colorado Water Trust and the Colorado Water Conservation Board to improve habitat on St. Louis Creek and the Fraser River. Used only briefly this summer thanks to late season rains, the approval for instream flow use of his District’s water rights lasts until 2023, during which the water may be used to benefit existing instream flow rights during two more seasons. This is a great example of local folks finding local solutions to restoring flows in their own backyards!
Kirk Klancke graciously showed us around Winter Park Ranch’s water infrastructure in October. What a treat!
(in photo) From the left: Alyse Greenberg, Edalin Koziol, Amy Beatie, Karen Wogsland, Anne Janicki, Kirk Klancke, Zach Smith, Christine Hartman