BOARD00310

• Board Meeting Date: 1/27/2004
• Description: WSP Section - Gunnison Basin Programmatic Biological Opinion ‎(PBO)‎ Update
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Agenda Item 26
Jannary 27-28,2004 Board Meeting
Page 6 of9

REVISED: July 29, 2003

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Meetinf! Summary *
Meeting of Gunnison Water Users and Bureau of Reclamation
Re: Aspinall EIS and ESA Compliance for the Gunnison Basin
Montrose, Colorado
May 28, 2003

Attendance: Dave Kanzer, Peter Fleming, Eric Kuhn, Peter Kasper, Colorado River Water
Conservation District; Kathleen Curry, John McClow, Upper Gunnison WCD; Marc Catlin,
Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association; Mike Berry, Tri-County WCD; Gregg Strong,
Redlands Water & Power; Steve Arveschoug, Dolores WCD; Tom Alvey, North Fork WCD;
Mike Gross, Consultant; Wayne Schieldt, Colorado Dept. of Water Resources; Steve McCall,
Susan Moyer, Carol De Angelis, Brent Uilenberg, Ed Warner, Bureau of Reclamation; Vic
Rouser, Attorney; and Tom Pitts, Water Consult.

AGENDA

1, Gunnison River/Colorado River Flow Recommendations

2, Aspinall EIS

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3. ESA Compliance in the Gunnison Basin

SUMMARY

1. Gunnison River/Colorado River Flow Recommendations

Tom Pitts reported that the Biology Committee, Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish
Recovery Endangered Fish Recovery Program recently had approved flow recommendations for
the Gunnison River and Colorado River at the state line, The flow recommendations had been
under discussion for more than a year and a half. Significant changes have been made.'
Recommended peak flows had been reduced, Certain caveats have been incorporated into the
recommendations, including the fact that the recommendations represent but one way of
achieving long term average flow needed for channel maintenance in the Gunnison River, and
the flow at the Colorado state line will be the cumulative flow resulting from implementation of
the Aspinall re-operation and the Colorado River biological opinion. The instantaneous peak
flows appear to be achievable based on historic hydrology of the Gunnison since Aspinall
operations commenced. The objective of these modifications was, from water users' standpoint,
designed to give Reclamation flexibility in implementing the recommendations in a manner
compatible with maintaining authorized purposes of the Aspinall project.

With respect to application of the flow recommendations in the Aspinall BIS process,
Reclamation staff stated that the recommendations are not requirements. Reclamation will