La Plata Conservation District

Date and Time: Tuesday, February 13, 2024, at 2:00 PM

Location: USDA Ag Service Center, 31 Suttle Street, Durango, CO 81303

List of Attendees

Board Members: Debbie Lee, President

Kent Grant, Secretary/Treasurer

Ginny DeJong 

Board Member Candidate/Special Guest: Morgan Wagoner

USDA Agency Representatives:

NRCS: Ed McCaw

Call to Order

2:00 p.m. by Debbie Lee

LPCD President Welcome and Introductions: 

Debbie introduced our special guest, Morgan Wagoner, WLA Colorado River Basin Stewardship Coordinator Morgan Wagoner Morgan is with the Western Landowners Alliance (WLA), which is primarily focused on water-related restoration. The WLA is looking at what is going on in our Basin and where it can contribute and bring resources to help. Primarily work with working (producing) lands – involved with ditch companies, waterways, bank stabilization, fences, etc. Morgan manages a lot of grants (example: UMU Tribe is doing work and Morgan doing the paperwork). The Walton Family Foundation pays Morgan’s salary. She brings state and federal grants into the region. She would like basic ideas from LPCD for potential projects, etc. Need and where, then what funding might apply and what does landowner need. A long discussion followed about potential grant projects/programs, with many questions for Morgan. Morgan is also interested in being on the La Plata Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors. Informaiton about being a Board member was provided to Morgan. After hearing this, Morgan said she would like to be on the Board. Debbie moved to appoint Morgan to the Board, Ginny seconded the motion, and the motion was unanimously approved. Morgan was welcomed as our newest Board member – congratulations Morgan!

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

Kent Grant The minutes from the January meeting were distributed by Kent and were reviewed by the other Board members and Ed. Since there was no quorum at the January meeting the minutes were “unofficial” and could not be formally approved, but they were accepted into the record.

Financial Report 

Kent Grant Copies of the LPCD financials for January prepared by our bookkeeper, Gretchen Rank, were distributed and presented to the Board by Kent. Gretchen is resigning as our bookkeeper to become more “semi-retired”, but is willing to train one of us on how she did our bookkeeping if anyone is interested. Debbie mentioned that Kelly McCaw might be interested in doing LPCD’s bookkeeping, and had reached out to Robin Walsh, who is the secretary of multiple ditch companies and the fire department. Kent said the hourly pay for our bookkeeper was currently $35/hour. If Robin did our bookkeeping, she would like to be reimbursed for QuickBooks annual fee or monthly fee.

NRCS Report

Ed McCaw, NRCS Acting District Conservationist and Resource Team #7 Lead

1. NRCS Hiring: Planner will start February 26th. Rachel Cruther(?) is coming to Durango from South Dakota. Loves to do outreach and is big on soil health. Have made tentative job offers for four positions. Still short staffed – 16 positions of which 10 are vacant or being filled. Top priorities now are for higher positions like Resource Conservation Specialist (GS-11), Lead Forester, and Program Support Specialist (down the list). 
2. NRCS Contracting Status: Currently doing assessments/rankings. Four Act Now forestry projects were funded. Resource Team funds are being used for Act Now. Most funds were held back for irrigation projects. March 1st is ranking deadlinefor EQIP applications. April 1st is deadling for CSP (large cattle and 350,000 acres hay producers. SUIT is putting 181,000 acres of rangeland in CSP. As new applicants come along, there is now a new landowner/participant checklist that can be completed prior to submitting an application that should help the process go more smoothly. The Act Now Program is supposed to a one month turnaround, but not being met right now.  

IT Report 

Ginny

1. Domain Name: Outfit that purchased our domain name wants $1,500 but we had only approved $500 to get it back. We may need to rename or website, but if so it would be different from what is on our business cards, etc. Our “store” has its own domain name through Streamline – laplatacd.info. Debbie moved to spend $1250 to purchase plus 20% brokerage fee to GoDaddy for a total of $1,500, Ginny seconded, and the motion was unanimously approved.
2. Online Store: Ginny is working on this, so if we see any orders they are hers. Banking info – 3/3% plus $.30 per credit card transaction – May need to increase our prices to cover this. These fees are for credit cards and not debit cards. $100(?)/year for online store. If orders not otherwise paid for in advance, cash or check will be due at pickup or credit card payment. Ginny will look into the credit card fee more.

Other Business/Discussion

1. Special District Association of Colorado: 2024 dues are due March 1st
2. Other Dues/Memberships/Donations: Okay to make payments to NACD, CACD, and Water Information Program
3. 2024 Landowner Meeting and Local Work Group Meeting: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 from 4-6 p.m. at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Ginny posting info on Facebook and will Email for LPCD. Let Ginny know if anything to put on Facebook.
4. Ed said NRCS has money to bring in speaker, etc., or pay landowner to go to their property – Umbrella Program funding. Emily Lockhart – soil health speaker that Ginny talked to. Would be good to bring her over and sit down and talk about. Debbie said we want to do this.
5. Master Irrigator Class is every Saturday for three months.
   1. Meeting Needs - folders/handouts, sign-in sheet (Kent will send last years to Ginny), Email sign up, Program sign ups, SWAG, snacks (Kent will get), drinks (PRCD will bring).
   2. Bylaws petition – should have five copies. Both husband and wife can sign petition if are on county assessors list and counts for two signatures of the 50 required. Review requirements to amend/adopt bylaws.
   3. Be at fairgrounds no later than 3:30 PM. Debbie will check to see if anyone is using the room ahead of us. LPCD will go first and then PRCD for annual meeting. Debbie will create and supply copies of agenda. Will mention landowner survey.
6. River Trailer: Ginny will have Danny repair the River Trailer and have new tires put on it at Basin Coop. Kent will look into replacing the canvas cover for it.
7. CDA Training: Has District Operations Training coming up at its offices in Broomfield.
8. San Juan Watershed: Holding a meeting mid to late March
9. Scholarship Program: Received our first scholarship application for 2024 from Kelly Arthur
10. Action Items: Debbie listed them very quickly but I couldn’t keep up with her. Hopefully most things were captured in these minutes.

Next Meeting

Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at the USDA Ag Service Center, 31 Suttle Street in Durango.

Meeting Adjourned

4:33 p.m.