While much of Southwest Colorado is suffering extreme drought, The Nature Conservancy is offering grants between $25,000 and $100,000 for projects that enhance flood and drought resilience in the region.
The funding application is open to state, local, tribal or other public entities – including schools, conservation districts and nonprofits – until 5 p.m. May 22.
“We understand that at this moment in time we’re seeing a lot of increased impacts from drought and flood,” said Mickey O’Hara, the Southwest Colorado freshwater project director for The Nature Conservancy. “And we just wanted to be responsive and utilize some funding that we had available to support local community partners in advancing aligned projects.”
Projects eligible for funding could include healthy forest initiatives, watershed resilience improvements and methods for increasing agricultural water use efficiency. A second round of funding opportunities funded by up to $600,000 that The Nature Conservancy expects to provide will open in 2027. Projects in that round must be planned for completion by mid-2028.
“This funding opportunity is really set up to just help community members and entities prepare and address those impacts over time,” O’Hara said.
With minimal snowpack, low precipitation and strained water supplies, fire protection districts are closely monitoring what officials expect to be a dangerous wildfire season. March was the third-driest on record in Montezuma County, and many farmers expect to see significant cuts to their water allocations.
“We’re just really excited to be able to do something, however small, to help our community partners address the increased risk of flood in the current environment,” O’Hara said.
Eligible entities are encouraged to apply through an online form and can request the form or forward questions to swcofunding@tnc.org. Awardees will be notified by June 15.
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