Laserfiche WebLink
1111� <br />Page Four <br />Potential Protection Mechanisms: The Workgroup is currently studying various tools that <br />may be recommended for further protection of the values identified. Also, several local <br />community groups have joined together to offer the USFS an alternative proposal for the <br />proposed Wilderness Area that would accommodate mountain biking and other recreational <br />uses, and establish a National Conservation Area in addition to a Wilderness Area. <br />Water Rights: The following water uses occur above the lower USFS Boundary on Hermosa <br />Creek. <br />Primary Use /Date Appropriation Date CFS Absolute CFS Conditional' <br />Irrigation (12/31/81) 8/28/1981 <br />Stock (12/31/1971) 7/1/1906 <br />Domestic /Municipal (12/31/1971) 6/10/1971 <br />Commercial (12/31/1971) 6/10/1971 <br />Instream Flow See prior page <br />1.72 <br />0.12 <br />0.052 3 (Purgatory's <br />Dante's Well) <br />0.1352 <br />Court Actions: USFS Reserved Rights Application in Case W-1605-76B 3 . Negotiations to <br />resolve the case have been extremely limited since 2003. <br />Stream Flow Data: The watershed for the Area is about 172 square miles. A U.S. <br />Geological Surrey gauge below the National Forest boundary was in place from October 1920 <br />to October 1980. The average low, mean and high flows in Hermosa Creek during that period <br />were 22 cfs, 135 cfs and 665 cfs respectively. There is a range of flows on Hermosa Creek. <br />Transportation: There are several roads open to public use within the Area . <br />Uses Which Require Special Permits: Commercial outfitters, including mountain biking, <br />hunting, skiing and grazing. The number of recreation permits issued by the USFS is capped. <br />Reasonably Foreseeable Economic Development: This development includes <br />expansion of the Durango Mountain Resort ( "DMR ") ski area, with a new restaurant proposed at <br />top of DMR Lift #4. The 160 acres of private land could be developed. Hydroelectric <br />development is possible due to steep terrain. Additional outfitter permits are anticipated. There <br />is potential for a past timber sale to be harvested in the future. <br />Potential Water Diversion and Storage Locations: The State Water Supply Initiative <br />( "SWSI ") lists Hermosa Park Reservoir at Cross Creek for potential development for 75,883 <br />acre -feet. SWSI was a basin by basin study conducted by the Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board to examine Colorado's water uses, water supply needs, and future water planning <br />efforts. SWSI focused on using a common technical basis for identifying and quantifying water <br />needs and issues. SWSI catalogued the specific projects, plans, and processes that local water <br />suppliers have identified and are undertaking as components of their own water supply planning <br />efforts to meet the needs they themselves have identified. Also, pursuant to House Bill 1117 <br />and the Water for the 21 st Century Act, the Southwest Water Roundtable is reexamining and <br />redefining the consumptive and non - consumptive needs in the basin. <br />Potential Conflicts: Ongoing agenda item at Hermosa Creek Workgroup meetings. <br />' Conditional well rights in the E. Fork Basin: USFS and Durango Mountain Resort ( "DMR ") are still working on plans for potential <br />test wells. As part of a DMR /USFS /CWCB Agreement, DMR will not pursue its decreed conditional storage water rights. <br />2 Some of these amounts may overlap if a water right is decreed for more than one purpose. <br />3 The case involves whether the USFS is entitled to water rights "reserved" as of the date Congress reserved land for the National <br />Forest for fluvial geomorphological (stream channel maintenance) purposes, and, if so, how much water per stream across USFS <br />land. <br />