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<br />" <br /> <br />~ <br />'~ <br /> <br />United States <br />Department of <br />Agriculture <br /> <br />Forest <br />Service <br /> <br />Rocky <br />Mountain <br />Region <br /> <br />P,O. Box 25121 <br />Lakewood, CO 110225.0127 <br />Delivery: 7<1J.O Simlns Street. <br />Golden, CO. 804111 <br />Voice: 303-:175-5350 <br />TDD: 303-:~367 <br /> <br />File Code: 2S00/2nCi~3 <br />Date: <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Ms. Janice Sheftc:l <br />Maynes, Br:adfod, Shipps & Shefte1, LLP <br />850 East Second Avenue, Suite 123 <br />P.O,Bos 2717 <br />Durango, eo 8'1302 <br /> <br />FEB 2 15 2IJO~ <br /> <br />Dear Ms Schefte:l: <br /> <br />Thank you for YoC,m letter of February 3,2004. I welcome the dialogue about Ditch Bill <br />Easement issuan,:e. <br /> <br />As you may kno'N, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) did have the Ditch Bill on <br />the agenda fa! tl1eir January 27 and 28,2004 meeting. They invited a FeTest SeIVi(:e <br />representative te, be there. Bob Storch, Forest Supervisor of the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre, and <br />Gunnison (GMllG) National Forest, and Michele O'CoMell, Acting Dircctor of Physical <br />Resources, reprciented our agency at that meeting, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Michele gave tbl: CWCB an update on the status of Ditch Bill Easement issuance in the Rocky <br />Mountain Regim (Region 2), and then !lllSwered several questions that the Board posed. <br /> <br />Her update included: <br /> <br />1. Region 2 has issued about 300 Ditch Bill Easements of the approl'imate1y 1,200 <br />applications that qualified. She didn't believe that any of those 300 contain instream <br />flow requirements. <br />2. Region:} has agreed to not issue any additional easements until a national policy has been <br />established and released for use. The draft policy was started after the 2001) Office of <br />General Counsel (CGC) opinion was requested and received by the Ferest Service, <br />3. We antidpate the final policy to be complete'd soon. <br />4. In the interim timeframe, applicants for Ditch Bill Easements have continued to use their <br />facilities as they have historically been used. Routine maintenance has bee:n <br />accomplished with little or no contact with the Forest Service in many caslOS, For <br />activitie!: that are over and above routine maintenance, the local Forest Service folks have <br />worked with the applicants and have facilitated this work through OplT<iticln alld <br />Maintenmce plans an a case by case basis. The facilities have had no fee ;lssociated with <br />the USe. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Seve:al questions from the eWeB revolved around the aGe opinion and thei 1$!,e~?'1Fe~i"!f7'\t r", <br />the-rem, ~ In) .. --<--. . ..'- .: :j <br />,I 'I .. <br />1[[ ii MAR I, ;Ii" ;L., \ <br />-..' I'!< <br />l "ln~. ~"~.~w: ~;P.:~\o! n" <br /> <br />-111<11, Z I : II vO-vO-JeW <br /> <br />Caring for the Land and Serving People <br /> <br />ELH <br /> <br />EOO/ZOO d <br /> <br />HZ-l <br />