We are excited to announce the introduction of a bill to protect streams and wetlands in Colorado! The legislation would restore the protections to Colorado’s wetlands and streams that were lost as a result of last year’s Supreme Court Decision. HB24-1379 is spearheaded by Speaker of the Colorado House Rep. Julie McCluskie along with Sen. Dylan Roberts, and Rep. Karen McCormick.
As a member organization of the Protect Colorado Waters Coalition, SJCA strongly supports the legislation to protect our state’s waterways. Please act and support this proposed bill by contacting your legislator. Together we can help ensure that the clean water that our communities and environment depend on is protected.
Why is it important to protect these waterways?
The role of healthy, functioning wetlands and ephemeral streams throughout the Western Slope of Colorado is essential to both environmental health and community vitality. Wetlands function as natural filtration systems that ensure downstream quality for drinking water, recreation, and agriculture use. The spongy soils that compose a wetland serve as naturally distributed water storage, storing water during wet periods and slowly releasing it during dry spells.
Wetlands are the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world and support more than 90% of Colorado’s wildlife use. Large and healthy wetlands systems also serve as wildlife refuges during wildfire occurrence, as large wetlands function as natural fire breaks along the landscape. Following wildfire occurrence and heavy precipitation events, wetlands reduce flooding impacts by absorbing excess water and storing it within their soils.
Seasonal streams are equally essential to providing benefits to clean and dependable water in Colorado. These systems support recharging the groundwater table that supports year-round streams, as well as sustaining habitat for terrestrial and aquatic species. As a headwater state, we must secure the future of clean and reliable water supplies for our communities, industries, and the environment.
Interested in doing more to support this effort?
Please consider registering to virtually testify at the Colorado General Assembly on Monday, April 8th at 1:30 pm in support of HB24-1329. Click on this link and follow these instructions to register: Select Remotely via Zoom, then Select by Sponsor and Bill. Select McCluskie from the Sponsor dropdown, then 4/8/2024 at 1:30 pm for the Meeting Date and Time. Select HB24-1379 from the Hearing Item dropdown. If you are interested, or registered to testify, please email sara@sanjuancitizens.org for a complete list of talking points.
Your voice matters – let’s speak up on this together.