BOARD00432

• Board Meeting Date: 3/10/1998
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Agenda Item l8c
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RECOVERY PROGRAM DIRECTOR'S UPDATE
March 1998

A. Population Status: Little change in population status.

RIVER
SPECIES GREEN YAMPA COLORADO
Colorado squawfish Stablelincreasing Stable Stable/small
Humpback chub Stable?/small Stable?/small Stable
Razorback sucker 500~ adults, Few adults, Few adults,
limited recruitment limited recruitment no recruitment
Bony tail Rare ---- all rivers

B. Habitat Management (Instream Flows)

Goal: To protect sufficient instream flows to support self-sustaining populations of the
fishes

Status: 0

The Service during January of 1998 signed a MOU with the Colorado River
Water Conservation District to make up to 6,000 acre feet of water available
from Wolford Mountain Reservoir. The water will be managed as if the
Service has an account in Wolford Mountain reservoir and will be subject to
the hydrology of Muddy Creek, similar to other accounts in the reservoir.

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The CWCB has written a draft water right decree for the Instream flow filings
for the baseflow flow water rights on the Colorado and Yampa Rivers. The
purpose of the draft decree is to narrow down the issues and to begin working
with objectors. Further progress on this issue is linked to progress in the
development of the programmatic biological Opinion for the l5-Mile Reach.

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The water users and CWCB have been meeting and developing a proposal for
resolution of the Ruedi reservoir issue with regards to providing water for the
endangered fish.