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. . . Agenda Item 22c July 24-25, 2000 Board Meeting Page3 of 4 Staff also shared these recommendations with the Board at the May meeting, I am pleased to report that the Service addressed most of our comments and issued a draft final report dated May 2000. In the draft final report, the peak flows were adjusted for the Gunnison so as not to exceed known damaging flood elevations, This report is now being considered by the Biology Committee and well likely be adopted by the Program in September. Staff is working on a review of the draft final and we will coordinate remaining comments with EDO and the CDOW, I have attached the revised flow recommendations for you information, Staff is generally supportive of the approach taken, That approach ties the flow recommendations to climatic and hydrologic conditions that exist in the basin during any given time, However, we remain concerned about the potential for uncontrolled spills from Crystal Reservoir especially when the flows at either Delta or Whitewater could potentially exceed 18,000 and 20,000 cfs, We are using CRDSS to evaluate the potential flow related impacts on water development, but have not yet completed that analysis. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Monument) Reserved Water Right In the United States v, Denver. 656 P.2d case reserved water rights for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument were decreed that included an unquantified conditional instream right on the Gunnison River, with a priority date between 1933 and 1939, The right is for fish culture and the preservation of recreational, scenic and aesthetic conditions within the monument The right was to be quantified within 5-years of the conclusion of the case, which arguably has not yet occurred. Attached hereto is a 3-page description indicating how the National Park Service (NPS) proposed to quantify the federal reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument in December 1998. The NPS held public meetings on their proposal on December 15, 1998 in Gunnison and December 16, 1998 in Delta and received significant public comment Board staff has insisted that the quantification, Gunnison flow recommendations, and the Section 7 consultation on the Aspinall Unit be done concurrently so that the impacts of each can be viewed as a package and fully evaluated, Staff as had several conversations with NPS, Reclamation and the Department of Justice on this matter since December 1998 and is aware that the Federal Agencies are trying to coordinate this effort and bring closure to this matter by the end of this administrations term in office, However, there has been no public discussion on the reserved right issue since December, 1998 and given the water court process that the quantification has to go through, it appears that agreement in concept is about the best that might be possible, Curecanti National Recreation Area - Resource Protection Study and Environment Impact Statement The Curecanti National Recreation Area (CNRA) surrounds and includes the Aspinall Storage Unit (formerly Curecanti Storage Unit) of the Colorado River Storage Project Section 8 of CRSP A provided for the construction, operation and maintenance of public recreational facilities on lands withdrawn or acquired for the project and the water areas created by the project consistent with the primary purposes of the project, It is under this general principle that CNRA has been operated since its establishment