By-pass Flows on National Forest Lands

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Water Conservation Fund(LWCF). The State of Colorado supports the Bush budget proposal to fully fund this important program. The State hopes Congress will consider how best to create incentive programs from the LWCF. However, utilization of state instream flow programs may hold the most promise for protecting resource values. Working with State Instream Flow Programs State instream flow programs may provide the best avenue towards real environmental protection on forest lands. The Colorado Water Conservation Board(CWCB, or the "Board"), created in 1937, is responsible for the appropriation, acquisition and protection of instream flow and natural lake level water rights to preserve the natural environment. Today, we have a program that effectively balances the needs of people and the environment. This program is particularly well suited to protecting instream values on national forest lands. Since the creation of the State's Instream Flow Program in 1973,the CWCB has appropriated instream flow water rights on more than 8,000 miles of streams (8,433 in 1,421 reaches) and 486 natural lakes in the state. In 1986, the Colorado General Assembly authorized the CWCB to acquire even senior water rights to preserve the environment.3 By working with water right owners, Colorado can protect more streams or improve the priority of existing instream flow rights. CWCB's Water Acquisition Program In 1986, the Colorado legislature amended the instream flow statute with Senate Bill 91 (SB-91) to accommodate federal instream flow needs. The new statute required the CWCB, in addition to requesting instream flow recommendations from state agencies, to request recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior. The SB-91 was intended to eliminate the need for federal agencies to independently pursue instream flows through bypass flows and environmental statutes on federal lands. Under this law, federal agencies have the opportunity to provide instream flow recommendations to the Board for protecting the natural environment on the public lands. The Water Acquisition Program (WAP) was then created to acquire water for instream flow uses. This innovative program provides the means for the CWCB to acquire more water than ever before through various contractual agreements, ranging from donations to leases and purchases. While original appropriations may only be acquired by the CWCB, the Board may contract with federal agencies to obtain interests in water that have already been appropriated. In such a case, the Forest Service could retain title to water rights, but work out an arrangement with the CWCB to ensure they protect both instream flows and property rights. 3 The CWCB has acquired over 390 cubic feet per second(cfs)and 3,652 acre feet(af)of senior rights on streams and lakes across the State. Donors have given the CWCB 378 cfs and 200 af. In addition,the CWCB has entered into leases and contracts for 3,451.7 af and 13.5 cfs. 4