BOARD00883

• Board Meeting Date: 1/23/2002
• Description: Strategic Plan and Attachments
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Background (Continued)

The CWCB recommends adoption of an aIternative
developed in August 2000 by a workgroup in Craig,
Colorado. The specific elements of that alternative
are as follows:

. Lease up to 2,000 AF per year from Steamboat
Lake, An existing lease between the USFWS and
the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor
Recreation was extended through November 2001.
We anticipate renewal of that lease for a term of
no less than 5 years, beginning in 2002.

. Enlarge Elkhead Reservoir to provide 3,700 AF
per year for late summer releases for endangered
fish. Additional storage (~4,300 AF) may be
included to meet future human and other needs.
The cost of the latter increment would be paid by
Colorado or other source(s) outside the Recovery
Program.

. The balance of augmentation (1,300 AF) would
likely be provided through a lease between the
Recovery Program and Colorado River Water
Conservation District (River District). This
volume could be provided from the proposed
human use pool at Elkheadandlor from a new
tributary reservoir. The River District recently
completed a Small Reservoir Reconnaissance
Study that may lead to construction of one or more
such reservoirs.

The Yampa River Management Plan was developed
over many months following a collaborative process
by a workgroup consisting of local stakeholders, state
and federal agencies and environmental groups. This
process culminated with a facilitated public meeting
in Craig in August 2000.

The PBO will not cap the amount of water that can be
developed in the Yampa Basin. Rather, it will protect
the right to develop a certain amount of water within a
timeframe, whose impacts can be scientifically
analyzed using the best available data.

For the Yampa River Basin, this data has included
demand projection studies undertaken by the River
District, water use models applied by the CWCB
using the Decision Support Systems and biological
information from the USFWS and the Colorado
Division of Wildlife.

The Program will pay the cost of implementing the
Yampa River Management Plan.

Process Steps

1. Draft Management Plan published Oct. 2001.
Public meetings held on Nov. 27 (Steamboat
Springs), Nov. 28 (Baggs, WY), and Nov. 29
(Craig) .

,2. Revise plan following public comment period
(closed Dec. 14,2001).

3, Complete Biological A.ssessment on Plan and
submit to USFWS by Jan. 31, 2002. Initiate
Section 7 consultation that will result in a
Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO).

4. Complete a draft Environmental Assessment
(EA) pursuant to NEPA by April 30, 2002,
subject to a 30-day public comment period.

; 5. Submit final EA by June 30,2002.

6. USFWS to issue PBO by July 31, 2002 to
provide ESA compliance, including incidental
take coverage, for all existing depletions, as
well as 30,000 AF per year of new depletions,
anticipated to meet Colorado's needs in the
Yampa Basin through 2045. An additional
. 20,000 AF per year may be developed when
the first depletion increment is completely
developed... A.t that time, the Plan and the .. .
status of the fish (if still listed) will again be
reviewed, and the PBO may be revised.

7. The States of Colorado and Wyoming, the
USFWS, and possibly others will sign a
Cooperative Agreement to implement the
Plan after all NEP A and ESA requirements
have been met.

8. hnplementation of the Plan will serve as a
"reasonable and prudent alternative" under
the PBO to protect endangered fishes as water
development continues in the Yampa Basin.

Conclusion

The Yampa River Basin Management Plan charts
a clear course for implementation ofthe Recovery
Program in the Yampa Basin, providing ESA
compliance to meet existing and future human
water needs in the basin, as well as measures to
benefit its endangered fishes.

For information about this or other water resource topics
contact the CWCB at: 1313 Sherman Street, Room 721.
Denver, CO 80203. Phone: [phone], FAX: (303)
866-4474 Web site: htto://cwcb.state.co.us