Vegetative Management Impacts and the Platte

• File Number: 8461.250
• Description: Water Issues
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 6/23/2005
• Author: Ted Kowalski
• Title: Vegetative Management Impacts and the Platte
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Correspondence

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us
June 23, 2005 sill owens
Governor
Russell George
Executive Director
To: Russell George, Rod Kuharich, Randy Seaholm, Shane Henry, and Frank Rod Kuharich
McNulty CWCB Director
Dan McAuliffe
From: Ted Kowalski Deputy IJirector
Re: Vegetative Management Impacts of the Forest Service, specifically
Related to the Three-State Negotiations involving the Platte River Program
Background
As you know, in 1997, the Governors of the States of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming
signed an agreement with the Department of Interior to improve and/or study the habitat of four
endangered species in the Central Platte River in Nebraska. The Cooperative Agreement ("CA")
was extended through June 30, 2005 to allow additional time to formulate a proposed Program and
complete National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") activities. An extension of the CA will be
necessary to finalize and get the Program into place, which under the current schedule will occur in
October 2006. The proposed Program has three components: water, land and monitoring and
research. Colorado's total cash and cash equivalent share was 15 million dollars and 27 KAF of
water via the Tamarack Plan. Significant budget issues remain unresolved and Colorado's share
could increase substantially. This memorandum will highlight one key issue that is under discussion
at the present.
As part of the Program, each State, and the Federal Government, has developed future
depletions plans. These plans identify expected future depletions by water users, and how each State
(and the Federal Government) will offset or replace the expected future depletions. Recently in our
negotiations, the FWS has developed as part of their depletions plan, a small user pool concept.
Under this concept, the Federal agencies expect that they will have depletions (each depletion that
would be no more than 50 acre-feet) within each State that add up to a total net depletion of no more
than 350 acre-feet in each State, and whereby they intend to work with each State to obtain the
necessary water to offset these small depletions. The States have included language to assure that
any such offsetting water would be under terms agreeable to the State, and we expect to agree to this
language in the future.
However, there is also language that has been included within the Federal Depletions plan
that is problematic to Colorado, and additional, to Wyoming.
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Flood Protection • Water Supply Plaruung and Finance • Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection 9 Conseroation and Drought Plamiing