BOARD00443

• Board Meeting Date: 7/23/2001
• Description: ISF Section - New Recommendations in Division 4: Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mesa, Montrose and San Miguel Counties
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

~ University of Colorado at Denver

Center for PubUc-Private Sector Cooperation
Center fOT the Improvement of Public Management

RECEIVED
MAR 0 4! 1996

CoICl'ado Wat.,
conservation Board

1445 Market Street, Suite 380
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Mr. Daries C. Lile, Director
Colorado Water Conservation Board
1313 Shennan Street, Room 721
Denver, CO 80203

Dear Mr. Lile:

.., ".--...

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The subjec~t this letter is a _ . om.~_ stakeholder grou~ conduct instream frO'\\\.
investigatfons in the Upper San Miguel River in. -~

About two years ago, the Upper San Miguel River Basin water planning project was
initiated with the Center for Public-Private Sec~r Cooperation of the University of
Colorado at Denver providing staffing and facilitation assistance to the project, The basic
goal of the project is to develop a consensus-based! framework to guide the settlement of
current water issues in the Upper San Miguel River ;Basin and to provide the basis for sound a
decision making about future water policy and environmental issues. To accomplish this, .,
a stakeholder group has been formed including concerned private citizens, city,county, state,
and federal government officials, developers, mining and skiing industry representatives,
environmental interests, and others.

The stakeholder group is very diverse, with diverse interests and needs. However, the
common thread that weaves this group together is !;he underlying concern for the health and
well being of the . Upper San Miguel River and its tnbullUies. The stakeholders have agreed
that the mission of the project is "to agree on how to manage the waters of the Upper San
Miguel River Basin and its holistic condition,l\ The stakeholders believe a key element in
accomplishing this mission is the State's Instrea,rQ Flow Program which provides for the
appropriation and/or acquisition of water forinstr~ flow purposes by the Colorado Water
Conservation Board (Board) to preserve the natupl. environment to a reasonable degree,
While the Board does hold instream water righ~ on a number of streams in the Basin,
including the mainstem of the San Miguel River,: there still remains a number of tributary
streams in the Upper Basin that are unprotected, Also, there are some concerns as to
whether the existing appropriations of the Board are sufficient for all stream reaches in all
months,

The stakeholders therefore request that the Board, through the Instream Flow Program,
initiate the investigations required by the Board; prior to appropriating water for instream ..
flow purposes to insure the reasonable protection of the water-dependent natural .,
environment of the Upper San Miguel River Basin, It is the understanding of the