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<br />ISF Team busy this Fall
<br />
<br />
<br />Fall is upon
<br />us and
<br />winter
<br />is rapidly
<br />approaching.
<br />This is a busy
<br />time for the
<br />state's Stream
<br />and Lake
<br />Protection
<br />Program. JeffBaessler, who is responsible
<br />for the Physical Protection Program, is
<br />making sure that the stream gages which
<br />he relies upon for enforcement of our
<br />ISF water rights are calibrated and
<br />functioning properly. FaU readings at the
<br />Snowmass Creek gage, for instance,
<br />determine the flows, which the Board will
<br />protect through the winter. As we enter
<br />the snowmaking season the flows in our
<br />major snowmaking streams are well above
<br />the Board's minimum stream flows; we
<br />will be watching them closely to ensure
<br />the Board's water rights are protected.
<br />
<br />This fall also marked a milestone for the
<br />Board in appropriating new instream
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<br />Board held its first hearing utilizing its
<br />New Appropriation rules. Under the
<br />leadership of Mark Uppendahl, who is
<br />responsible for the New Appropriation
<br />Program and the technical guidance of
<br />Greg Espegren, the Board's senior
<br />scientist, a team of experts from the
<br />Division of Wildlife, the Bureau of Land
<br />Management, the Town of Cripple Creek,
<br />the Cripple Creek and Victor Mining
<br />Company, Trout Unlimited and others
<br />worked together to resolve concerns
<br />which were raised in conjunction
<br />with the Fourmile Creek and Oil
<br />Creek recommendations.
<br />
<br />The early availability of sound biologic
<br />and hydrologic information that aU
<br />parties were comfortable with, laid the
<br />foundation for the pre-hearing settlement,
<br />which was negotiated by the interested
<br />parties and their legal council. Assistant
<br />Attorney General Linda Bassi lead this
<br />successful settlement negotiating that
<br />addressed the concerns of very diverse
<br />interests. We are very appreciative of the
<br />efforts of all that took part in this new
<br />appropriation process and made it
<br />a success.
<br />
<br />Also this faU, the CWCB in cooperation
<br />with Trout Unlimited and the Division of
<br />Wildlife submitted an application to
<br />Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) for a
<br />grant to fund an instream flow needs
<br />assessment. This effort was headed-up
<br />by Todd Doherty who is responsible for
<br />the Water Acquisition Program, Jay
<br />Skinner, ISF Coordinator for the Division
<br />of Wildlife, and David Nickum of Trout
<br />Unlimited. This project, iffunded by
<br />GOCO, will provide a science-driven
<br />process for identitying key waters in need
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<br />bases and provide for instream flow
<br />protection strategies for three pilot
<br />watersheds. Although one of the main
<br />purposes of the needs assessment is to
<br />provide a sound basis for future
<br />acquisitions, it could prove to be quite
<br />useful to all areas of the ISF Program.
<br />
<br />The ISF Program's legal protection team
<br />of Ted Kowalski, legal and policy expert,
<br />and Bahman Hatami, engineering expert,
<br />has been busy reviewing water court
<br />resumes, filing statements of opposition
<br />and resolving concerns with applicants.
<br />They are working with the Attorney
<br />General's Office as they prepare to go to
<br />trial to defend the Board's instream flow
<br />appropriations on Boulder, Bear and
<br />
<br />Turkey Creeks in Water Division 1.
<br />Bahman, who is also the Board's water
<br />quality expert (and editor ofInStream
<br />Colorado), has been working closely with
<br />the Water Quality Control Commission
<br />regarding rulemaking hearings for
<br />revisions to surface water basic standards
<br />and methodologies, waste water re-use,
<br />and the revisions to the water quality
<br />classifications, standards and
<br />designations for the South Platte Basin.
<br />
<br />Another "Hot Issue" the ISF Team is
<br />dealing with includes an analysis of the
<br />state water policy issues, concerns, and
<br />public needs regarding recreational
<br />instream flows. Ted and I are assisting
<br />Eric Wilkenson, Board member from the
<br />South Platte Basin and chairman of a
<br />special sub-committee of the Board, and
<br />Dan McAuliffe, the Acting CWCB
<br />Director, and others to assess this issue
<br />and bring it to the Board for further
<br />discussion. A public workshop, which
<br />will include members of the Board, is
<br />being planned for late October or early
<br />November. The Board is expected to
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<br />in Denver.
<br />
<br />As you can see the ISF Team is active on
<br />many fronts to ensure the water-depen-
<br />dent natural environment of the state is
<br />protected to a reasonable degree. Our
<br />success in this endeavor would not be
<br />possible, however, without the support
<br />we receive from the Department of
<br />Natural Resources, our sister state
<br />agencies, a number of federal agencies,
<br />and the many interested individuals,
<br />groups and governmental entities
<br />throughout the state. Thanks for your
<br />interest and support!'
<br />
<br />- Dan Merriman, Director
<br />Stream and Lake Protection Program
<br />
<br />CWCS explores
<br />
<br />continued from page 1
<br />
<br />occasions that it accepts solutions to
<br />unique situations if they are scientifically
<br />defensible. The ISF Program is a dynamic
<br />and evolving process so long as it operates
<br />within the framework of the prior
<br />appropriation doctrine-that is
<br />appropriating instream flows without
<br />injuring other vested water rights.
<br />
<br />So next time you head West, make sure to
<br />take the Hanging Lake exit just west of
<br />Glenwood Springs (Exit 125). There are
<br />plenty of parking spaces in the state-built
<br />parking area at the base of the trail. Once
<br />you.ve hiked the trail to Hanging Lake sit
<br />on one of the three spacious seats built-in
<br />the boardwalk around the lake and let the
<br />mists from the falls cool you. See with
<br />your own eyes what the State and the
<br />federal government, working together,
<br />
<br />2
<br />
<br />can achieve. You'll soon begin to enjoy
<br />the breathtaking stress-free travel break
<br />and realize that Hanging Lake becomes its
<br />own destination. .
<br />
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