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Profile: Water rights leader Fred E. Anderson )Tnstream flow pioneer Fred E. "1 Anderson - a Colorado sena- tor from 1967 to 1983 - has been at the forefront of progress of the Instream Flow and Natural Lake Level Program. Anderson ran a family farm operation his entire life until his three sons had grown and pur- sued other vocations, During his legislative term, he served as presiden~ of the Senate from 1974 to 1982. He introduced a number of bills involving water issues during his Senate tenure. In 1971, the state Legislature was still working to refine the recodification of Colorado's water law that was adopted in 1969. Two years later Anderson introduced an amendment to the 1969 Water Rights Determination Act as related to augmentation plans (Senate Bill 22). Also that year, he played a key role in creating the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund by sponsoring Senate Bill 21. The purpose of the fund was to help finance water projects throughout the state. That same year, he also sponsored Senate Bill 19, regarding water rights priorities. Another bill sponsored by Vnderson intended to help finance larger projects through leverage in ;he bond market through the creation of the Colorado Water Fred E. Anderson Resources and Power Development Authority. In 1981. he introduced Senate Bill 10 to resolve the water quality requirements of state and federal law. One of the highlights of Anderson's legislative career was Senate Bill 97, introduced in 1973. This bill established the minimum stream flow and natural lake level program in Colorado. This proposed legis- lation was hotly debated and is still not totally embraced by the water community. There was real question as to whether or not the pro- gram as set up was even constitutional. That debate was resolved in the state Supreme Court in the Crystal River Case. Anderson feels that the legislation has served its purpose in pre- serving the environment to a reasonable degree along the reaches of the streams where these appropriations exist. This is evidenced both by the 8,000 miles ofinstream appropriations and the 486 lakes with minimum level appropriations that exist in Colorado today and by the fact that almost all of the proposed amendments to the Act over the last 25 years have been fine-tuned type amendments or efforts to further define portions of the Act. His leadership was recognized in 1994 when he was awarded the Wayne N. Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award at the Colorado Water Congress' Annual Convention. Since 1983, And~rson has been a public affairs consultant, and he is affiliated with numerous civic, political and educational commit. tees and organizations. He lives in Loveland with Anne, his wife of 44 years. The ISF Program is honored to introduce Fred E. Anderson in the first issue of InStream Colorado. . Agencies collaborate to improve, restore lower Rio Blanco The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has been involved in the Lower Rio Blanco Restoration Project since early 1990. In a cooperative effort, the CWCB along with local private property owners, the San Juan Water Conservancy District, and various state and Federal agencies have been working togeth- er to improve and restore the stream habitat along the lower Rio Blanco. The Rio Blanco originates in the San Juan Mountain range in southwestern Colorado and enters the San Juan River approximately ten miles south ofpagosa Springs. At the headwaters of the Rio Blanco, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) operates a major trans-basin diver- sion, known as the San Juan/Chama Project. Since 1971, the San Juan/Chama Project, J' diverted water through a series of pIpelines into the Rio Grande basin. In the 1996-97 water year, the total project diver- sions (from various diversion points) totaled 93,000 acre-feet of water. For the Rio Blanco, the diversions represent 70 percent of the historical flows. The reduced flows may cause poor water quality conditions and a reduction in fishery habitat. A report prepared by the US Forest Service (1990) suggests that the fish habitat in the lower Rio Blanco is poor due to the flow fluctua. tions, which have resulted in streambank erosion and sediment loading. The stream- bank erosion, coupled wiih the reduction in flow, has caused relatively high water tem- peratures and produced a wide, shallow streambed with very little pool habitat and cover to support a coldwater fishery. The focus of the lower Rio Blanco Habitat Restoration Project has been the nine-mile reach of the Rio Blanco above its confluence with the San Juan River. Specifically. the demonstration restoration project is located just below the U.S. Highway 84 bridge and encompasses about 2.1 miles of stream, terminating near the mouth of Archuleta Canyon. Fishery data would indicate that the lower Rio Blanco 5 supported a fair to moderate fishery prior to the operation of the USBR in 1971. The pur- pose of the project is to modify the river channel to restore the fishery and river habi. tat. Concurrently CWCB and the Colorado Division of Water Resources are working with the USBR to develop an operations plan that would assist in maintaining the state's in-stream flow water rights on the Rio Blanco, while ensuring the San Juan/Chama Project water yield. The ultimate goal of the project participants is to improve the water quality and restore fishery benefits along the entire reach of the Rio Blanco from the US Highway 84 bridge, to its confluence with the San Juan River. Once the demon- stration project is completed (propose for construction in July 1998), continued pro- ject phases will be highly dependent on future funding, continued commitment from participating agencies and ongoing local support for the river restoration pro- ject. .