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:) , UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE IlIlTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE P. O. Box 1306 Albuquerque, New Mexico April 5, 1963 Memorandum To: Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Region 4, Salt Lake City, Utah From: Regional Director Subject: Parshall Project, Colorado--Bureau of 5J?ort Fisheries and Wildlife report. This memorandum constitutes the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wild- life report on fish and wildlife resources in relation to the proposed Bureau of Reclamation report on the Parshall Project, Colorado. It is intended to accompany your Bureau's status report on the project. The report has been prepared under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 stat. 401, as amended; 16 U. S. C. 661 et seq.). The Colorado Department of Game and Fish has cooperated in the prepara- tion of this report and has concurred in its contents as indicated by the enclosed copy of the letter dated March 28, 1963, signed by Director Harry R. Woodward. This report is based upon the June 1962 preliminary draft of your status Report made available to this Bureau on August 9, 1962. The following discussion relates primarily to aepects of development which will be of particular concern if and when you initiate feasibility studies. As planned, the Parshall Project will store flows of the viilliams Fork River for supplemental and new irrigation of lands on either side of this stream, south of the Colorado River, shown on Plate I. The Williams Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River. The project area is towards the west end of Middle Park, Grand County, Colorado. Ute Park Reservoir, less than 5 miles within the boundary of the Arapsho National Forest, would be developed to store irrigation ~later which would be diverted from the Williams Fork River to existing and new canals. The future of the Parshall Project is dependent uPon the outcome of litigation over water rights between the City and County of Denver and the Middle Park and Colorado River Water Conservancy Districts. At present, Denver diverts water for municipal use from the North Fork of the Williams Fork River. Ultimate diversion plans are to extend Denver' spresent collec- tion system to the Middle and South Forks of the lvilliams Fork River. Den- ver's Williams Fork Reservoir, recently enlarged to a capacity of 93,600 acre-feet, serves as a replac€'-1llent feature to meet downstream water rights 23