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<br />applicable Colorado statutes, with authority to aid in the conservation, use and development of
<br />the «rater resources of the Colorado River and its principal tributaries, and is vested with
<br />sufficient authority to receive and manage funds and to coordinate certain activities under the
<br />Recovery Implementation Program- Recovery Action Plan ("RIPRAP") benefitting the four
<br />Colorado River endangered fishes and water resources in general. The River District owns and
<br />conducts a business engaged in water activities pursuant to the Colorado Water Activity
<br />Enterprise Act, C.R.S. §§ 37-45.1-101, et seq., in order to provide for the beneficial use of water
<br />«~ithin the District. The River District's Board of Directors confirmed its authority to operate
<br />such a business by Resolutions adopted on July 16, 1985, October 19, 1993, October 19, 1999,
<br />and October 17, 2000. For purposes of this Reservoir Enlargement Agreement, the River District
<br />is acting by and through its Colorado River Water Projects Enterprise and/or by and through its
<br />Board of Directors, as determined by the River District. The River District has authority to
<br />"perform all acts and things necessary or advisable to secure and insure an adequate supply of
<br />v~rater, present and future," which includes the authority to construct, own, operate, and maintain
<br />v~rater storage facilities; and
<br />3. V~'I~REAS, the Colorado Water Conservation Board ("CVVCB") is a state
<br />agency v~~ithin the Colorado Department of Natural Resources ("DNR") created for the purpose
<br />of aiding in the protection and development of the waters of the state for the benefit of the state's
<br />present and future inhabitants. The CWCB is authorized by section 37-92-102(3), C.R.S., to
<br />acquire from any person, including any governmental entity, such water, water rights or interests
<br />in water as the C~~'CB determines may be required for instream flows to preserve or improve the
<br />natural environment to a reasonable degree and to take whatever action may be needed to ensure
<br />such instream flows remain in the river; and
<br />4. WHEREAS, section 2 of the Endangered Species Act, 16 USC. §§1531 (c) (2),
<br />declares that it is the policy of Congress for federal agencies to cooperate with state and local
<br />agencies on water resource issues in concert with conservation of endangered species; the U.S.
<br />Fish and Wildlife Service is primarily charged with implementing the Endangered Species Act
<br />and ensuring the protection and recovery of threatened and endangered species; and
<br />5. V~'I~REAS, the Recovery Program has identified a need to acquire 5,000 acre-
<br />feet of v~rater on a permanent basis ("Permanent Water Supply'), and 2,000 acre-feet on a short-
<br />term basis (``Short-Term Water Supply") to maintain occupied critical habitat for endangered
<br />fish in the Critical Habitat Reach of the Yampa River; and
<br />6. WHEREAS, the River District and the Recovery Program have agreed to
<br />cooperate in the construction of an expansion of Elkhead Dam and Reservoir, located on
<br />Elkhead Creek a tributary of the Yampa River in Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 16, and 21 Township
<br />7 North, Range 89 West, 6~' Principal Meridian, Moffat and Routt Counties, Colorado, to
<br />develop a «=ater supply that will be capable, subject to water availability based on hydrologic
<br />c~=cles, of providing the Recovery Program's Permanent and Short-Term Water Supply needs for
<br />endangered native fish species during the critical low-flow periods in the Yampa River Basin
<br />and be a~Tailable for other beneficial uses to contractees of the River District; and
<br />I -?OCr•:°ClientsRiier Dutricti.i I-Elkhead-1028 ~A~eemen±s~~tesenoir Enlargement Agreement finaLwpd
<br />Januan 6.200?
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