Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center awarded grant from Colorado Water Conservation Board

Article by Julie Waechter, special to Adams State University

The Colorado Water Conservation Board recently awarded a Water Plan Grant of $207,720 to Adams State University’s Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center. The three-year grant is matched by $79,301 in funds from the Outcalt Foundation and the ASU Foundation, bringing the project total to $287,021, according to Paul Formisano, Ph.D., Director of the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center.

The Center’s Water Education and Community Engagement effort aims to enhance its water-related curriculum, offer student internships with local water organizations, host a community speaker series, and preserve local water heritage through the creation of the Rio Grande Collection. These programs will target students, community members, and water professionals, Dr. Formisano said.

“Our water education initiatives support these groups by helping them develop new skill sets, foster collaboration, and celebrate the basin’s unique water heritage,” he added.

Plans call for revising Adams States’s 18-credit Water Studies Minor and creating a Water Studies Certificate, a standalone credential that will bolster students’ and community members’ skill sets and knowledge base. Both programs include two foundational courses and electives from humanities, social sciences, ecology, GIS (Geographic Information System), and natural resource management.

In addition, the project supports water scholarships for 10 Adams State students and 16 community members. Students will receive a $500 scholarship (3-credit course costs $1,113 for CO residents), while community members can receive a $165 scholarship to cover the audit fee. Community members may also earn credit for prior work experience, thanks to Colorado’s HB20-1002.

Three new paid internships will allow students to gain experience while aiding local water organizations.

“Student interns may work on river restoration, curriculum development, PR campaigns, and groundwater measurement, preparing them for careers as water managers, biologists, communication specialists, well inspectors, and many other jobs,” Dr. Formisano explained.

The grant also supports the Salazar Center Speaker Series’ tradition of bringing excellent speakers to campus to explore relevant issues shaping the basin’s water and natural resources. Recent speakers have included Colorado State engineers, prominent water attorneys, Adams State faculty, Colorado and New Mexico authors, and others.

The Center will also create the Rio Grande Collection to preserve the basin’s unique history (e.g., home to Colorado’s oldest water right and two interstate compacts) and inform future generations about their water heritage.

Working with local water professionals, ditch companies, community members, videographers, and ASU students and faculty, the Salazar Center will purchase basin-specific books, locate archival materials, and record and transcribe oral history interviews with local water leaders. The collection will be housed on the second floor of Nielsen Library.