This summer Roaring Fork Conservancy will honor Pitkin County Commissioner Rachel Richards as the 2010 Robert Billingsley River Conservator at the 11th annual River Rendezvous. During Rachel’s almost two decades of public service, she has focused on the many water concerns facing the Roaring Fork Watershed and Western Slope.

Most recently in 2008, Rachel managed the successful campaign to create the Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Streams fund, a countrywide ballot measure that collects 1/10th of one cent in sales tax for the purpose of helping augment minimum stream flows, working for riparian area protection, drought preparedness, and fighting further trans-mountain diversions from our watershed. This type of fund was a first in the state of Colorado, and was quickly followed by another first: Pitkin County pursuing and establishing a Water Trust agreement with the Colorado Water Conservation Board to put a little wet water in the very junior minimum stream flow rights in the Roaring Fork River. Rachel is very thankful for her Pitkin County board colleagues and county staffs’ full support and shared work on all these endeavors and thankful for Roaring Fork Conservancy’s leadership role, and for having laid the groundwork for the public’s understanding of the tremendous importance of water issues in our valley.

Rachel has traveled great distances to participate in quarterly Colorado Headwaters Forum meetings, to go on the Colorado Foundation for Water Education annual basins bus tours, and to attend meetings of the Colorado Watershed Assembly and Colorado Water Congress. Rachel is Pitkin County’s voting representative to the Colorado River Basin 1177 roundtable. She has become the Vice-Chair of the Northwest Council of Governments Water Quality and Quantity Committee. She is also an alternate to the Ruedi Water and Power Authority board, is supportive of their work developing the Roaring Fork Watershed Plan, and has participated with the ‘10,825’ endangered fish water working group to keep the needs of the Fryingpan River and Ruedi Reservoir recreational users in the forefront.