Nature Conservancy offers $600,000 for drought and flood resilience work

A very dry spring left Dolores County facing the same squeeze hitting much of Southwest Colorado: less snow, less runoff and more pressure on irrigation ditches, river habitat and wildfire readiness. Now The Nature Conservancy is putting up to $600,000 on the table for local groups that can move fast enough to turn resilience plans into projects.

The first round of grants opened April 16 and runs through 5 p.m. MDT on May 22. Awards will range from $25,000 to $100,000, with decisions due on or before June 15. The money will go to state, local, tribal and other public entities, including schools, conservation districts and nonprofits, and The Nature Conservancy said the awards will be cost reimbursable, with the possibility of small advance payments.

For Dolores County, the most realistic contenders are the kinds of groups already working on water and land management, including county government, local schools, conservation districts, watershed groups and nonprofit river advocates. The Nature Conservancy said it wants projects that deliver near-term drought and flood resilience and also help organizations build capacity to get those projects done. That includes soil health work, water conservation, habitat protection, healthy forest work, watershed resilience and efficiency upgrades for agricultural water users.

Mickey O’Hara, The Nature Conservancy’s Southwest Colorado freshwater project director, said the group wanted to respond to increasingly severe drought, periodic flooding and destructive wildfires, and support local partners with flexible project money. That flexibility matters in a county where a single wet week can wash out roads and a hard dry spell can strain farms, households and school grounds that rely on the same fragile water supply.

State drought monitoring shows why the timing is tight. Colorado recorded a new record-low April 1 snow-water-equivalent value, and many Colorado River Basin forecast points were projected to produce less than 30% of average runoff, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. In the Dolores basin, KSJD reported the Dolores River at Dolores flowing at 435 cubic feet per second and projected inflow to McPhee Reservoir at 76,000 acre-feet, or 35% of average, a volume the station said would rank among the three lowest years in 113 years of record for boaters.

The Nature Conservancy said a second round of similar funding, also expected to total up to $600,000, is planned for 2027, with projects completed by mid-2028. The grants land in a region already building bigger drought defenses through the Southwestern Water Conservation and Infrastructure Partnership, which includes more than 30 entities and 17 projects aimed at restoring more than 1,335 acres of riparian ecosystem and reconnecting over 200 miles of river. For small Dolores County organizations, this round could be the difference between a plan on paper and concrete work in the ground before the next dry season tightens its grip.