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<br />Progress Report <br />On June 13-14, 2005, public meetings were held in Hotchkiss and Crawford to discuss three <br />topics: (1) firming up existing undecreed water uses in the basin, (2) identifying and quantifying <br />future water needs in the basin and (3) providing further analysis of the water available in the <br />basin. These meetings also served to initiate discussions on how best to utilize the resources <br />being provided by the CWCB and the CRWCD for water planning purposes. These meetings <br />were well publicized and held in the evening in attempts to maximize attendance. Attached is <br />the letter mailed to all landowners within the North and Smith Fork Gunnison River basins <br />describing the Board's proposed instream flow rights and the announcement of these meetings. <br />Although there was some general discussion of the CWCB's Instream Flow Program and the <br />proposed filings at these meetings, most of the discussion focused on the large number of <br />undecreed water uses, the basins' future water needs and how best to use the resources provided <br />by the CWCB and the CRWCD. The Division Engineer stressed the importance of applying to <br />the Water Court for the numerous undecreed uses and offered his assistance to water users in this <br />process. At these meetings, a working committee was formed to provide for greater efficiency <br />when discussing and working on the various issues and tasks. Members of this committee <br />include Dixie Luke and members of the North Fork Water Conservancy District, North Fork <br />River Improvement Association, Ragged Mountain Users Association, Crawford Water <br />Conservancy District, Colorado River Water Conservancy District, Division Four Engineer's <br />Office and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The main objective of this working <br />committee is to aid in the identification of future water needs and to help develop strategies to <br />meet those needs (i.e. basin-wide augmentation plan). <br /> <br />As described in the attached status report dated July 5, 2005, much progress has already occurred <br />and the tasks identified at the May 2005 Board meeting are either on schedule or ahead of <br />schedule. Since our meetings on June 13th and 14th, much effort has been placed on determining <br />the future water needs. It is expected that by early autumn of 2005, an estimate of future water <br />demands and augmentation requirements will be developed with an analysis of how the proposed <br />instream flow appropriations might impact them. <br /> <br />Staff Recommendation <br />Staff requests that the CWCB table the following instream flow appropriations until 2006 to <br />allow sufficient time to complete the above-mentioned tasks. <br /> <br />1. Muddy Creek (tributary to Paonia Reservoir)-Gunnison County <br />2. Anthracite Creek-Gunnison County <br />3. Coal Creek-Gunnison County <br />4. Williams Creek-Gunnison County <br />5. Muddy Creek (tributary to Crawford Reservoir)-Gunnison and Delta Counties <br />6. Smith Fork Gunnison River-Gunnison and Delta Counties <br />7. South Fork Smith Fork Gunnison River-Gunnison County <br /> <br />2 <br />