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1 <br />Executive Summary <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Background <br />In 1988, the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, along with the Department of the <br />Interior and the Western Area Power Administration, signed an agreement to implement the <br />Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin ("Recovery Program"). The Recovery Program includes various measures such as water <br />rights acquisition and habitat management to protect and assist in the recovery of four native <br />fish species listed as endangered. Because it is believed to contain some of the most extensive <br />remaining habitat for several of these species, the Yampa River basin has been of particular <br />interest to the Recovery Program. <br />In 1989, the Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) <br />suggested to the Recovery Program that the conditional water rights for the Juniper Project <br />might be used for flow protection on the Yampa River. The Juniper Project rights are <br />presently held by the Colorado River Water Conservation District ("River District"). The <br />proposed Juniper Project includes a reservoir, irrigation diversion canal, and hydropower plant <br />in Juniper Canyon, a short distance upstream from Maybell. The River District's Juniper <br />rights are generally viewed as the controlling water rights on the Yampa River. <br />As a result of discussions with the DNR and the Recovery Program, the Yampa River <br />Basin Alternatives Feasibility Study was initiated in 1990 (Phase I Study). That study examined <br />current and projected future water needs in the basin, evaluated a number of sites for <br />development of new reservoir storage, and assessed the relationships between future basin <br />development and instream flows based on the Juniper Project water rights. The <br />recommendations of that study, which was completed in 1993, included more detailed <br />evaluation of the possible enlargement of Elkhead Reservoir and the development of strategies, <br />possibly utilizing the Juniper Project rights, for protecting streamflows in river reaches known <br />to be occupied by the endangered fishes. <br />Objectives of Present Study <br />The objectives of the present study are to follow-up on the recommendations of the <br />previous study and to lay the groundwork for inter-agency decision-making regarding the water <br />management future of the Yampa River basin. <br />The study includes specific tasks to evaluate reservoir operations for water supply and <br />for protecting and improving mainstem instream flows, to investigate in more detail the site <br />conditions at the existing Elkhead Reservoir, to develop preliminary designs for features of the <br />dam enlargement, and to prepare a preliminary development schedule and cost estimate for the <br />project. The study also included the preparation of preliminary biological and environmental <br />assessment documents. The remainder of this summary briefly describes the methods and <br />findings of these principal study tasks. <br />S-1