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Since Wyoming derives the majority (70 percent) of its water from the annual spring and summer snowmelt, reservoirs are necessary to ensure an adequate water supply for fall and winter months. Though the state has four major drainage basins. the reservoirs in the Green River Basin hold the majority of water for the state; over 4.4 million acre-feet. The Green and Little Snake rivers in the southwestern and south-central part of the state are both headwaters to the Colorado. Flaming Gorge Reservoir. which straddles the Utah/Wyoming border, is capable of storing over 3.7 million acre-feet of water. Fontanelle Reservoir, located upstream of Flaming Gorge on the Green River in Wyoming, can store up to 345,000 acre- feet of water. Eighty percent of the state's river allocation presently consumed is used for agriculture and livestock. More than 270,000 acres of land are irrigated. However. the short growing season and Wyoming's high elevation limits the major crops for the region to alfalfa, small grains, native hay and irrigated pastures. With only 7 to 9 inches of annual precipitation in the basin area, much of the land is only suited for livestock grazing. After mineral extraction, agriculture and livestock, tourism and outdoor recreation are the state's biggest sources of revenue. Over 427,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs and 940,000 acres of wetlands make the state attractive to anglers, boaters, hunters, backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts. In 1965. Congress created the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. 14,000 acres of natural habitat adjacent to the Green River to compensate for the lands disrupted by the construction of Flaming Gorge and Fontenelle dams. The state has adopted other laws to maintain existing stream environments and fisheries. In 1986. the state Legislature enacted an instream flow law by which either natural stream flows or flows from water storage can be appropri- ated only if such instream flow uses are a beneficial use of water. At present, several instream flow water rights have been issued in the Green and Little Snake River Basins. In 1999. the state legislature authorized water plans for the Green and Bear river basins intended to provide information such as profiles on water uses, water demand projections, flow quantification, water management and water quality. The information will help lawmakers and citizens better understand how water pertains to growth and development. COLORADO Of all the Upper Basin states, Colorado's apportion- ment - 51.75 percent - is the largest (approximately 3.9 million acre-feet). That may be filting since about 75 percent of the river's total annual flow at Lee's Ferry originates within this state. The Rocky Mountains are responsible for nurturing the Colorado River at its infancy. Waters from numerous other Colorado rivers including the Gunnison. Yampa, White, Little Snake, San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and La Plata all eventually flow into the Colorado River or its tributaries. Like most basin states, Colorado's water laws are governed by prior appropriation. But unlike other states which require an application and per- mit procedure to appropriate water, Colorado has no state permit system. Rather, water courts certify water rights based on actual use of water. In 1973. the state Legislature declared that the state could appropriate water to main- tain minimum stream flows, establish- ing the Colorado Water Conservation Board. To date. the board has sought and obtained through the water courts 1.200 rights on more than 7.400 miles of streams and rivers and has made 485 minimum lake level decrees. The GI/nnison Rirer ill Colorado's Rocky MOI/1/tai1/S is Ollf' of rile stall' 's ma1/Y Iriblllaries 10 rill' Colorado Hirer. Municipalities consume only 5 percent of Colorado's fatal water supply. Though the amount of snowfall varies from year to year. approximately 80 percent of Colorado's water comes from annual snow run- off. The state's Colorado River basin receives about 80 million acre-feet of precipitation annually, but over three-quarters is lost to evaporation and transpira- tion. Ironically, where there is the most water, there are the least people. Only about 10 percent of the state's popUlation (300.000 people) live on the west. or Colorado River Basin-side. of the state. To get water to the other 90 percent of Colorado's popula- tion. over 500.000 acre-feet of water must be diverted each year using transmountain diversion facilities. The majority of water consumption (88 percent) in Colorado is for agricultural purposes. Almost 1,900.000 acres of land - two-thirds 01 Colorado's irrigated lands - are irrigated with water from the Colorado Basin. producing grass. alfalfa hay. grains. vegetables and fruits. 13