The economic figure of 2.47 million fiscal note on Rep. Fischer's HB 1278 pales in comparison to the return value in taxes from our community of farms compared to any economic figures return from entities funded by the Colorado Water Conservation Board http://cwcb.state.co.us/about-us/about-the-cwcb/Pages/main.aspx

With the exception of mining, the return value of Agriculture has historically proven to be a more economically stable tax base to Colorado than other tax generating entity.

Agriculture and mining built Colorado! This is what will continue to carry the state through and beyond any other economic crisis.

It's responsible to believe in our generational rural folks, for they are the ones who have made Colorado!

It's responsible to believe in production ag, for through irrigation these farmers developed the flow in the South Platte basin.

If the first (senior) upper end users hadn't developed irrigation along the South Platte River basin, there wouldn't be any lower end users. Why? Prior to the "First in Time, First in Right" developers, the flow was seasonal and ceased near Kersey.

Agricultural should take precedent over any funding for most of what's funded by CWCB. Some examples include: Climate change, recreation. Salinity, Vulnerability and Endangered Species.
Regards CWCB's climate change budget: If the non-historic flooding could have been due to a "climate change" as opposed to its being man-made, is it possible dollars would have been allocated from that fund to not only clean up the existing damage, but cover this study...thereby preventing it from happening again?

Regards the Salinity Control budget? Why not consider a portion of the fiscal note on HB 1278 be used to address the rising saline problems due to this non-historic man-made flooding?

The Vulnerability budget could be to stabilize agriculture far away from man-made manipulations of Colorado's water.

Then there's that little problem called, "Everyone wants to move to Colorado." This creates additional stress on water allocations. First off, it should be expected of City Planners and County Commissioners to use Baseline Acre Production. Any area that cannot legally obtain water, should say so and refuse building.

Additionally, houses not only scar the landscape, but are an unreliable property tax base due to the rise and fall of home values. And, they do not generate business beyond initial construction. Housing has vast tracks of undeveloped land that is now degraded due to weather, and - there are entire neighborhoods with vacant houses. Those for sale are well under the value of the initial construction.

Therefore, that property tax value has collapsed as has the tax coffers of the counties.

Regards recreation: We need to stop betting on tourism! It's foolhardy to rely on snow fall for skiers, or manipulate (for example) Chatfield dam levels - vanishing its original intent (storage and to help prevent catastrophic flooding of homes and production acreage) and replacing it with recreation.
The Platte River Recovery Program is un-constitutional. Period. We're honored to share why, as we did with Ag Commissioner John Salazar. Colorado has a duty to withdraw from the Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado agreement. That alone will rightfully return millions of dollars and acre feet water back to Colorado.

If there's any flooding allowances in CWCB, Governor Hickenlooper could immediately activate its use as he declares the rising underground tsunami a state of emergency!

If you were to set the tax base generated from Agriculture side by side with the other uses slated within the Colorado Water Conservation Board, you'd clearly see trends over time that prove our Agricultural water based industry is more stable than most other industries in Colorado.

Ag is consistent and doesn't fluctuate to the extremes as do housing markets and politics.

Ag is stable over the long term.

Any who would oppose HB 1278 should be held accountable as impediments to the economic stability of communities, needlessly destroying agriculture, and causing the ripple affect of decreased tax revenues as a result of decreased business.

About 80% of Colorado is rural agriculture, and the true backbone of what makes our state work.
Even in Colorado's toughest economic times, Ag providers are always there paying their dues, supporting our state, and helping to feed the people of this state and nation. We must never, ever do anything that would jeopardize their ability to continue.

The best thing this legislative body can do in this 2012 session, is pass HB 1278, and just let Ag producers do their work.

Co-written by Ric Frost and Roni Bell Sylvester