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�i I by the committee members. In addition, The Nature Conservancy has proposed to donate a 300 cfs conditional water right to the CWCB to be used for instream flow purposes in that stream reach. Since the magnitude of this water right � was not decided at the time of model development, discussions were held with the Technical Steering Committee and the Advisory Committee, and it was I decided to adopt a year-round minimum flow of 300 cfs as the baseline instream � flow regime for inclusion in the model. Furthermore, it was decided that for __� the purposes of this study only, this minimum flow would be supported by releases from storage i� Blue Mesa Reservoir. She releases from the Blue Mesa I Reservoir were modeled in a manner that the releases would meet both the senior Gunnison Tunnel decree requirements and the 300 cfs instream flows value as long as the Blue Mesa Reservoir level is above the minimum power pool It was assumed that the releases would be made with a priority date equal to the conditional water right that The Nature Conservancy is presently (1989j I negotiating to donate to the CWCB, which is,1965. This assumption results in � protecting the minimum streamflow release against potential diversions by I downstream conditional water rights including the Mitex 1982 conditional hydropower decree. This modeling assumption was selected for the following I reasons: 1) it reflects the manner in which the river would actually be administered downstream of the Aspinall Unit in the absence of an agreement between competing water interests or a ruling permittinq the Federal government to retain dominion over releases made for instream flow purposes; and 2) it quantifies the maximum effect such releases would have on Blue Mesa storage. It should be noted that this was a modeling assumption only and as such has no legal implications. Resolution of this issue must be obtained � outside of the study through appropriate negotiations and legal proceedings. The assumptions made in this study can �ot be construed as being legally � binding on any affected parties including the USBR, the UVWUA, the CWCB, or The Nature Conservancy. IThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USfWS) is in the process, with the cooperation of a number of other entities, of addressing the flow requirements Ifor endangered fish species in the Westwater Canyon area of the Colorado River downstream oF its confluence with the 6unnison River. These flows are . 3-7