6-95CW150 Steamboat Lake Decree ‎(2)‎

• Case Number: 95CW0150
• Stream Name: Yampa River
• Watershed: Yampa River
• Water Division: 6
• Water District: 58
• County: Moffat
• Instream Flow Acq - Doc Type: Final Decree/Stipulations

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WHEREAS, it is the duty of the CWCB to promote the
conservation of the waters of the state in order to seeure the
greatest utilization of sueh waters and the utmost prevention of
floods, which ineludes the power and the duty to: cooperate with
the united States and its ageneies for the purpose of bringing
about the greater utilization of the waters of the ..state;
investigate and assist in formulating a response to the plans,
purposes, proeedures, requirements, laws, proposed laws, or other
activities of the federal government whieh affeet or might affeet
the use or development of the water resourees of the state; confer
with and appear before the offieers, representatives, boards,
bureaus, committees, eommissions, or other agencies of the federal
government for the purpose of protecting and asserting the
authority, interests, and rights of the State of Colorado and its
citizens with respeet to the waters of the interstate streams in
the state; and, in general, take sueh aetion and have sueh powers
as are incidental to the foregoing specific provisions and to the
general purposes of the statute (~37-60-106, C.R.S.); and

WHEREAS, the CWCB is vested with the exelusive authority to
appropriate and acquire sueh waters of natural streams and lakes as
the CWCB determines may be required for minimum stream flows or for
natural surface water levels or volumes for natural lakes to
preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree pursuant to
~37-92-102(3), C.R.S.; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to consultations under Section 7 of the
Endangered Speeies Aet, the Service found that new water projects
in the Upper Colorado River Basin would likely jeopardize the
continued existence of the endangered fish speeies, so that the
proteetion of the endangered fish threatened to embroil all
interested parties in a eonfrontation between resource protection
and resouree development; and

WHEREAS, the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah; the
Serviee; the u.s. Bureau of Reclamation; the Western Area Power
Administration; water resource development organizations; and
environmental organizations developed and agreed to the Reeovery
Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Speeies in the Upper
Colorado River Basin (Reeovery program); and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Recovery Program is to recover the
endangered fish while providing for water development to eontinue
and proeeed in the Upper Colorado River Basin in aeeordanee with
interstate compaets and federal and state law; and

WHEREAS, one element of the Reeovery Program, ~4.1, involves
identifying the endangered fish speeies' flow requirements and
aequiring or appropriating water or water rights to provide those
flows in a manner consistent with all state laws; and

WHEREAS, the Service is relying upon the CWCB to appropriate,

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