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<br />'11111 11111 I I 1111111111111111111111111 II 11111111 11111 111111111 11111
<br />
<br />Vol. ~Isswe 2.
<br />
<br />October 1998
<br />
<br />Published quarterly in January. April, July and October
<br />
<br />I II II 1111
<br />
<br />II ill
<br />
<br />1111111111111111111111
<br />
<br />By Jeff Bsessler
<br />CWCB Staff Member
<br />
<br />Pilot program will\ be '~eyes ,and ears" for ewes
<br />
<br />, \
<br />provide m~tching funds in the form of staff time and expertise,
<br />This pilot program, referred to as the "Ad~pt an Instream FloW"
<br />monitoring par,tnership, focuses on training volunteers to monitor
<br />instream flows and is centered around the following 'five stream'seg-
<br />ments: Elkhorn Creek in the Cache la Poudre Basin; South St. Vrain ",
<br />Creek in the St. Vrain Basin; Trout creek in the South Platte Basin;'
<br />Eagle IUver in the Colorado River Basin; and .ohio Creek in the
<br />Gunnison River Basin.
<br />. ,
<br />We base~ our selection'of,pilot streams on a n~mber oHactors,
<br />i~cluding accessibility, TU's jnter~st in partic-
<br />. ular streams, and input from both the DOW
<br />and the Division of, Wate~ Resources.
<br />However, ~r primary goal., was to select
<br />streams where increased water deve.1opment
<br />creates a potential to exercise o,ur administra-
<br />tive call. /
<br />Most of the pil~t streams now have staff
<br />gages in place . and we are currently rating
<br />them. _ This fall, we will train volunteers to
<br />, , \ '
<br />, read the staff gages. The volunteers will act as
<br />the CWCB's "eyes and ears", on the pilot
<br />streams by r~J:JOrting low flow conditions. In
<br />turn, our staff will communicate with the
<br />Division Engineer and' local water commis-
<br />siorJrs to determine if the low flow condition
<br />warrants placing a c'all on the stream or ifit is
<br />_ simply due to senior diversions.
<br />Our goal is to continue this monitoring
<br />program in the coming years. However, it is
<br />, important to'note that this is a pilot program and there are,still a num-
<br />ber of kinks to ~6rk'out. We have already experienced a few problems
<br />ranging from vandalism tohigh streamflows, which have delayed rat-
<br />, /
<br />ing of a few gages.
<br />This pilot program will' obviously not solve all of the Instream
<br />\ .-,
<br />Flow Program's monitoring issues, but we believe that we are moving
<br />, in the right direction. Using what we learn from the pilot project, we
<br />hope to expand the program and get other organizations and v~lun-
<br />teers involved inmonito:i~g many more stream~throughout,the state.
<br />If you have questio[ls about the program or ~re interested in start-
<br />ing a similar program in your area, please rontactjeffBaessler at (303)
<br />866-3441 or you can e-mailhimatjeffrey.baessler@state.co.us. .
<br />
<br />
<br />As of 1998, the Colorado Water Conservation, Board (CWCB) ,
<br />. appropriated more than 1,300 streamsegmentsJor in stream
<br />, flow protection. Some statistics suggest that this number rep-'
<br />I resents 86 percent of all the streams'in Colorado with an average to
<br />_ excellent fishery. -~ \
<br />Because the CWCB holds a large number of instream flow wat~r
<br />rights, prote'Ction of these rights is a focal point in the administration
<br />of the Instream Flow (ISF)'Program. In fact, -,
<br />our'staff spends much of its time filing
<br />Statements ,of Opposi!ion and resolving
<br />cases to ensure the, protection of these
<br />instream' flow water rights. We handle this,
<br />aspect of protection through legal processes
<br />and the water courts.
<br />- However, another aspect of pro!e.ction
<br />involves "on-the-ground" monitoring of
<br />flows to ensure that what is decreed "on
<br />paper" is also protected in the'stream. The
<br />CWCB has a responsibility, as all water right '
<br />holders, do, to 'provide adeq'uate measuring
<br />,devlces for the Division Engineer to adminis-
<br />ter the instream flow rights. Unfortunately,
<br />due to resource constraints, not all streams
<br />with instream flow appropriations have,
<br />gages, nor can all of the existing gages be con-
<br />tinuously monitored. _
<br />At the Gunnison Water Workshop on
<br />Instream Flows in the West in August 1996, 'considerable discussion
<br />, , r
<br />took place about public involvement in the ISF Program. Many indi-
<br />viduals suggested that we' dev~lop an instream flow m-onitoring 'pro-
<br />gram similar to the State's Riv:r Watch Program, whereby volu~teers
<br />would collect and disseminate flow data to the CWCB.
<br />,- In October 1996,_ we began discussions with Colorado Trout
<br />Unlimited (TU) on ways to implement such a monitoring effort.
<br />Shortly after, TU submitted a grant PJop?sal to Great Outdoors
<br />Colorado (GOCO) and subsequently-was awarded a capacity building
<br />grant to develop a pilot monitoring partnership. The Silver Trout
<br />,FoumJation and Colorado Trout Unlimited provided matching funds.
<br />In addition, the CWCB and the Division of Wildlife (DOW) agreed to,
<br />
<br />A CWCS e~ployeereads the Elkhom Creek
<br />gage for the monitori~g partnership.
<br />
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