Programs

The SdCAA, Colorado Open Lands, and the NRCS have partnered to bring funding for land protection and management to landowners and producers in the Rio Culebra basin through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The Acequia Conservation Initiative RCPP brings acequia landowners and a variety of resource partners together to place conservation easements on acequia properties to protect and secure senior water rights, prime soils, native habitat and the areas agricultural heritage. The project also employs a suite of conservation practices through the EQIP program targeting acequia farmers specifically.

The Sangre de Cristo Acequia Association is proud to partner with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to bring the STAR+ Program to acequia communities in southern Colorado. The STAR+ program incentivizes producers to experiment with new management practices to improve soil health on your farm or ranch. This flexible framework was developed by farmers and ranchers for farmers and ranchers.

The SdCAA has partnered with the Costilla County Conservancy District and Tailwater Ltd to create a watershed assessment for the entire Rio Culebra basin. .

The SdCAA will work with local stakeholders including the CCCD to advocate for and advance projects that improve the overall health of the Rio Culebra watershed and the acequias that it feeds.

Legal and Technical Assistance Program

Water law in Colorado is complex and there are circumstances under which an irrigator can lose their water rights or be adversely impacted by a change of use within the watershed.

Please reach out if we can help you with establishing or amending bylaws, researching title to water rights or land served by an acequia, filing for water rights, mediating a dispute on your ditch, or helping to record the historical use of water on your acequia.

Educating our young people about the history and traditions of acequias is a critical component in ensuring the continued legacy of our acequia community.

The SdCAA has created a set of curriculums for classrooms of all ages, links to which can be found below. Teachers are free to use any of these resources as they see fit.