BOARD02394

• Board Meeting Date: 11/15/2005
• Description: ISF Section - Horsefly Creek - Motion to Intervene and Notice to Contest
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of NatUral Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
PAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

To:

Bill Owens
Governor

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

From: JeffBaessler
Todd Doherty

Russell George
Executive Director

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Date November 4, 2005

Rick Brown, Acting
Deputy Director

Re: Agenda Item 18a, November 14-16, 2005- Board Meeting
Stream and Lake Protection - Horsefly Creek
Motion to Intervene and Notice to Contest

On November 3,2005, Staff received a Motion to Intervene and a Notice to Contest and Notice
of Party Status from Pacific/Desert Partners, LLC ("Pacific/Desert"), The following documents
are attached to this memo: (I) Pacific/Desert's Motion to Intervene; (2) Pacific/Desert's Notice
to Contest and Notice of Party Status; (3) Staff's Opposition to Pacific/Desert, LLC Motion to
Intervene; (4) Trout Unlimited's Response to Motion to Intervene; and (5) U.S. Bureau of Land
Management's ("BLM") Opposition to Motion to Intervene, Pacific/Desert is requesting the
Board to allow it to intervene in the administrative process for the Board's instream flow water
right appropriation on Horsefly Creek. Staff, Trout Unlimited, and the BLM all recommend that
the Board deny the Motion to Intervene.

Backl!round
The public administrative process for the Horsefly Creek instream flow appropriation started
with the publication of notice in the CWCB November 2004 Board meeting agenda that the
Board would consider Horsefly Creek for a new appropriation in 2005. In January 2005, the
Board declared its intent to appropriate an instream flow water right on Horsefly Creek. The
Eldred Family Partnership filed a Notice to Contest by the March 31, 2005 deadline, Trout
Unlimited and the U.S, Bureau of Land Management filed Notices of Party Status by the April
30,2005 deadline, The Southwestern Water Conservation District worked with staff to resolve
its concerns without the need to file a Notice to Contest, and at the May 2005 CWCB meeting,
staff presented and the Board approved proposed terms and conditions negotiated with the
District to include in the water court application and decree for the Horsefly Creek instream flow
water right. At the May 2005 meeting, the Board also modified the ISF Rule 5 procedure
schedule to allow staff and the Eldred Colorado Family Partnership additional time to negotiate
mutually acceptable terms and conditions, At its July 2005 meeting, the Board set a hearing for
November 2005, and the parties submitted prehearing statements and attended a prehearing
conference in September 2005, In October 2005, staff and the Eldred Colorado Family
Partnership entered into a stipulation that staff will present to the Board for its approval in
Agenda Item 18,b,