BOARD01712

• Board Meeting Date: 3/10/1998
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Wolford Mountain Reservoir - Releases for Endangered Fish Species - Approval
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

additional conservation measure was included in the Biological Opinion as the
reasonable and prudent alternative and was implemented in a Memorandum.of
Understanding between the Parties executed by the Service on February 7, 1990
(herein referred to as the "original MOU") , Subsequent to the execution of
the original MOU, the following events or changes have occurred: (1) the
razorback sucker was listed as endangered: (2) critical habitat was designated
for the Colorado River fishes: (3) the River District redesignated its Muddy
Creek Project as the "Wolford Mountain Reservoir Project": (4) the River
District enlarged (through administrative action) the capacity of Wolford
Mountain Reservoir by approximately 6,000 acre-feet; (5) the River District
and the City and County of Denver. acting by and through its Board of Water
Commissioners (Denver) modified the terms of their Lease Agreement (described
in Subsection IVA below); and (6) the anticipated average annual depletions of
water from operation of the Project consequently have changed from 7.716 acre-
feet to 13.484 acre-feet,

The River District has decreed water storage rights for Wolford Mountain
Reservoir, The initial rights were decreed in Case No. 87CW283. District
Court for Colorado Water Division NO.5. Those rights were made partially
absolute and the remaining conditional rights were continued in full force and
effect in Water Court Case No.~95CW251. The River District was awarded a
Water Court decree in Case No. 95CW281 for a conditional storage right for the
6.000 acre-feet Wolford Mountain Reservoir enlargement. Also. in Consolidated
Cases Civil Nos 2782. 5016 and 5017. United States District Court for the
District of Colorado and Water Court Case No, 91CW252. Denver and the River
District adjudicated a plan for augmentation and substitution to implement
their Lease Agreement

11. Purpose:

The purpose of this MOU is three-fold: 1) to implement the Reasonable and
Prudent Alternative for Wolford Mountain Reservoir Project. as modified as
described above. to offset the likelihood of jeopardy and adverse modification
of critical habitat; 2) to help alleviate the impacts of releases for the
endangered fish and other purposes releases to trout fishing in the Fryingpan
River; and 3) to coordinate releases from Wolford Mountain Reservoir. Ruedi
Reservoirs and other water sources to assist in providing flows for the
recovery of the endangered fishes.

Reclamation, the Service, the Colorado Water Conservation Board. and the River
District have been working to ensure that flows for endangered fish along with
other releases from Ruedi Reservoir do not adversely affect sportfishing in
the Fryingpan River, Delivery of water for the endangered fish and other

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