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<br />OC "_023 <br /> <br />INSTREAM FLOW NEEDS ASSESSMENT and RECOMMENDATION <br />for the PROPOSED PIEDRA WILDERNESS <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The Wilderness Act of 1964 provides the authority for Forest Service management of all <br />wilderness areas on National Forest System lands designated under the auspices of that Act and <br />those subsequently added to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Act defines <br />wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man", as <br />an area "retaining its primeval character" which is "managed to preserve its natural <br />conditions", and as an area which "appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of <br />nature" (PL 88-577). Forest Service policy and management guidelines funher define the <br />direction contained in the Wilderness Act by stating that wilderness will be managed "to ensure <br />that human influence does not impede the free play of natural forces or interfere with natural <br />successions in the ecosystems" and that ecosystems "should be unaffected by human <br />manipulation and influences so that plants and animals develop and respond to natural forces" <br />(USDA-FS, 1988). <br /> <br />The Colorado legislature established an instream flow program in 1973 by expanding the <br />definition of beneficial use to include those minimum flows of natural streams and levels on <br />natural lakes "as are required to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree" <br />(CRS 37-92-103(4)(1973). Amendments in 1981 established procedural standards for the <br />Board's actions which result in instream flow appropriations. Subsequent amendments in 1986 <br />and 1987 state that the Colorado Water Conservation Board is the only entity authorized by <br />State law to appropriate water for instream flows and allow the Board to request <br />recommendations concerning instream flows from federal land management agencies and other <br />State agencies (Vandas et ai, 1990). <br /> <br />Section 3(a)(3) of S. 1029, the Colorado Wilderness Bill of 1991, states that "while the Piedra <br />Wilderness designated by section 2(a)(10) of this [Bill] is located downstream of numerous <br />State-granted conditional and absolute water rights, the Forest Service can adequately protect <br />the water-related resources of this wilderness area by working in coordination with the <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board through a contractual agreement between the Secretary [of <br />Agriculture] and the Board to protect and enforce instream flow filings established pursuant to <br />the provisions of section 37-92-102(3) of the Colorado Revised Statutes by the Colorado Water <br />Court for Division 7." Section 3(c) elaborates by stating that "neither the United States nor <br />any other person shall assert any right for water in the Piedra River for wilderness purposes <br />except those established pursuant to the provisions of section 37-92-102(3) of the Colorado <br />Revised Statues by the Water Court of Water Division 7 of the State of Colorado." <br /> <br />Based on the direction in CRS 37-92-103(4)(1973), in S. 1029, and in the Wilderness Act, the <br />emphasis in developing an instream flow recommendation for the proposed Piedra Wilderness <br />is on providing the minimum amount of water over a range of flows sufficient to maintain <br />water related resources and values in approximately their current condition and to maintain the <br />interaction of natural processes. <br /> <br />Page I <br />