Conejos County’s Nathan Coombs was elected new chair of the Colorado Water Conservation Board this week. It’s a major role for the fourth-generation farmer who will lead the 15-member board for the next year.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board includes nine representatives from each major Colorado river basin as well as the Denver area.
“I’m honored to serve as chair of the CWCB, to bring in my experience working in the challenging landscape of the San Luis Valley, and lean on the experiences of the rest of the board,” said Coombs.” We face so many water challenges in Colorado, so it’s critical we all come together to find creative solutions.”
Coombs serves as the representative of the Rio Grande Basin and is manager of the Conejos Water Conservancy District. In recent years, Coombs has partnered with biologists at Trout Unlimited to improve habitat for fish in the region’s rivers and streams. Coombs takes over as CWCB board chair from Greg Felt, representative of the Arkansas River basin and chair from 2023 to 2024.
Lorelei Cloud was elected as vice chair. Cloud serves as the representative of the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan drainage basin, and also serves as vice chair of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Cloud is the first tribal council member to join the board and is a leader in Colorado, bringing critical tribal voices to the table.
In March 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed Coombs and Cloud to the CWCB to represent their basins.
“Directors Coombs and Cloud joined as board members last March, and have made valuable contributions over the last year,” said CWCB Director Lauren Ris. “We are excited to see what they do in the next year in these leadership roles – from navigating tough conversations to leading productive brainstorming to listening to viewpoints from across the state.”