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a e4 <br />s© P <br />0,AA,<jAA 14A <br />Private and local governmental inte ests in Colorado have <br />contributed a great deal to recent evidence that cooperative, <br />proactive efforts to improve or re ine the management of natural<� <br />resources within Colorado can be re effective and much less <br />costly that the historical patter of resorting to regulation and �^ <br />litigation. For example, in resp nse to U.S. Forest Service <br />indications that Special Use Perm is would not be renewed without <br />requirements for "bypass flows," he cities of Greeley and Fort <br />Collins and the Water Supply and Storage Company developed and <br />proposed a "Joint Operations Pla " for the coordinated operation <br />of their water supply facilities in the Poudre River Basin as an <br />alternative which would improve he Poudre River fishery while <br />avoiding significant losses of w ter supply for their citizens. <br />DNR and DPHE are fully supportiv of such creative and <br />responsible solutions, and will ontinue to work closely with <br />other Colorado communities, the p ivate sector, and with the <br />federal agencies to promote simil r solutions. <br />The establishment of suclycooperative partnershh could produce <br />substantial benefits for a who par Tcipa e, and for all <br />Colorado's citizens, but will also require a focussed commitment <br />of resources to enhance communication and coordination among the <br />various levels of government and with other public and private <br />interests. Although the changes contemplated in this concept <br />paper would require considerable adjustment in the way Colorado <br />agencies and interests have traditionally approached each other <br />and their respective responsibilities, they appear to hold great <br />promise for increasing the level of participation by most of the <br />affected interests in decision - making, for producing better <br />results in the face of tighter public budgets, and for retaining <br />greater control at the local and regional levels over the <br />protection, conservation, and development of Colorado's natural <br />resources. <br />If future conflicts between environmental protection and water <br />resource management are to be avoided, it is essential that the <br />protection of "natural values" associated with the water in <br />Colorado's lakes, rivers, and streams be integrated, to the <br />maximum extent possible, with Colorado's existing framework of <br />laws, property rights, and development expectations. <br />V. outline of the Proposed Initiative <br />A native species protection initiative could potentially include <br />the following three major phases: <br />1. Inventory of aquatic and other water- dependent species <br />and determination of which species and aquatic <br />communities are in decline; <br />2. Identification of limiting factors for these species; <br />7 <br />