BOARD02617

• Board Meeting Date: 3/24/2003
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

The BLM uses the Instream Flow Program to provide reasonable instream flow protection and as an
alternative to imposing federal bypass flow requirements on new appropriations. BLM priorities were
selected by a variety of processes including public requests, BLM planning processes, legal
requirements and by commitments of tax dollars to pur~hase lands along streams. In addition to the .
State and Federal agencies listed above, the CWCB received several recornmendations from other
interested parties including requests from:

The San Miguel County Commissioners who continue pursuing instream flow appropriations
on Bear and Cornet Creeks, an enlargement of the summer minimum flow for the upper San
Miguel River to the confluence ofthe South Fork of the San Miguel River and development of
instream flow recommendations for the lower san Miguel River to the confluence of the
Dolores River;

The High Country Citizens' Alliance and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club
who are pursuing an instream flow appropriation on the upper Gunnison River from the
confluence of the East and Taylor Rivers to Blue Mesa Reservoir. They support extending the
stream reaches associated with the BLM's streaIn recommendations, regarding streams that
originate on the Gunnison, Blue Mesa and Uncompahgre National Forest (GMUG), up to their
headwaters.

Gordon Jacober and Lynette O'Kane who want to include Four Mile Creek, a tributary of
the Roaring Fork River, in Garfield County on tj1e Board's 2003 work plan;

Trout Unlimited (TV) and several other inte~ested parties who want instream flow
protection on the Pine (a.k.a. Los Pinos) River, :;t tributary of the San Juan River, in La Plata
County.

The CWCB also received a request from the Pine River Irrigation District (pRill) and several other
water user groups including (SUIT) who do not want to begin instream flow studies for new
appropriations on the Pine (a.k.a. Los Pinos) River.

A copy of the plan is attached.

Instream Flow Decision Support System: Ross Bethe), the CWCB's consultant on the ISFDSS
project, and the CWCB staff are finalizing the prototyp~ ISFDSS and the "Scope of Work for
Development of an Instream Flow Component of the CDSS". The initial prototype of the ISFDSS was
demonstrated to the CWCB at its July 2002 meeting. Development of the actual ISFDSS is expected
to begin in July 2003 if funding is approved within the Construction Fund Bill that is currently pending
before the legislature. The CWCB staffis currently developing a GIS-based layer of the CWCB's
instream flow water rights for inclusion in the ISFDSS j

Snowmass Water and Sanitation District (SWSD) 404 Permit: In response to Snowmass/Capital
Creek Caucus' (SCCC) request to the Army Corps of~ngineers (COE) to reopen the SWSD 404
Permit, COE agreed to conduct a 5- to 10-year biologic study on Snowmass Creek. The purpose of the
study is to determine whether the SWSD diversion structure is degrading the aquatic habitat in
Snowmass Creek. In October 2002, CDOW and CWC)3 staff members worked with COB staffand
aquatic consultants from SWSD and SCCC to collect t~e first year of biologic data on Snowmass
Creek. These same individuals met on March 6, 2003, ito discuss the preliminary results ofthe October
2002 data collection effort anc1 to determine a schedulel for the 2003 data collection effort.

ISF Monitoring and Protection: As of March 12 the ~verage statewide snowpack was approximately
86% of average, which is a significant improvement o~er last year. In addition, most forecasts over the
next several months indicate that El Nino influences will likely favor continued wet conditions in
much of Colorado with the potential for a recovery to near-normal snowpack conditions in April.

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