Press Release

This year, the Colorado General Assembly and Governor Polis once again made clear that conserving our state’s natural resources is a priority for Coloradans.The legislature approved more than $90 million in investments and advanced landmark legislation that works to protect sensitive species and habitats, conserve land and water resources, and facilitate nation-leading, sustainable energy production that carves the path to meeting the goals of Colorado’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Roadmap.

Governor Jared Polis and Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced Jason Ullmann as the next Colorado State Engineer and Director of the Division of Water Resources (DWR).

Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Dan Gibbs, released the following statements on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s publication of a draft plan to strengthen greater sage-grouse conservation and management on public lands.

The Colorado Produced Water Consortium, an initiative within the Department of Natural Resources, released its first legislative deliverable, the Initial Guidance Documents and Case Studies to Promote Best Practices for In-field Recycling and Reuse of Produced Water Report.

Governor Jared Polis and Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Dan Gibbs were joined by state leaders, legislators, youth corps members, and water providers to announce an additional investment of $6.5 million in grants from Colorado’s Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) for on-the-ground forest mitigation work and landscape scale watershed projects throughout Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced that Michael Cunningham has been selected as the next Director of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS)

Rebecca Mitchell, Colorado’s Upper Colorado River Commissioner, spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Colorado Water Congress's Annual Convention in Aurora, CO this week. She shared an update on the state’s negotiation positioning, and the reality of difficult roads ahead, as the states and Tribal Nations work to find sustainable solutions for 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River in the arid southwest.

The Colorado Division of Water Resources announced that as of January 16, 2024, new rules governing the measurement of surface and groundwater diversions and storage are now in effect for Division 6. The division includes the Yampa, White, Green and North Platte River basins.

The Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today the job opening for the Director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR), a position that also functions as the State Engineer. After twenty-five years of distinguished State service, including six years in this role, Kevin Rein retired in December 2023. DNR Executive Director Dan Gibbs named Tracy Kosloff the interim DWR Director and Acting State Engineer through the duration of the search.

Governor Polis in partnership with The Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Colorado State University Extension, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History released the Colorado Native Pollinating Insects Health Study which is the most robust and detailed account of pollinator health ever undertaken in Colorado history.