WSPC00554 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

CACHE LA POUDRE WILDERNESS The Cache la Poudre Wilderness is located in the Roosevelt National Forest. This area was designated by Congress as a wilderness by Public Law 96-560 (94 Stat. 3265) on December 22, 1980. The area contains 9,308 acres, of which 70 acres are in non-Federal ownership. There are approximately 4,920 acres of land in non-Federal ownership above the Cache la Poudre Wilderness. It is estimated that the Cache la Poudre Wilderness and the larger area of NFS lands, National Park lands, and non-Federal lands above it produce an average of 45,000 acre feet of water per year. If entirely utilized, absolute water rights above the wilderness would divert and store approximately 7,300 acre feet of the water yield. Within the wilderness, there are no absolute rights or decreed conditional rights. Above the wilderness on the watershed, there are 11 absolute rights and no decreed conditional rights entirely on Federal lands; and 14 absolute rights and no decreed conditional rights entirely on non-Federal land. There are two absolute rights above the wilderness , each of which is located on both Federal and non-Federal land and there is one decreed conditional right that will be located on both Federal and non-Federal land if perfected. This decreed conditional right, which was decreed prior to the wilderness designa- tion, is related to the proposed Rockwell Reservoir in Section 25, T. 8 N., R. 73 W., 6th P.M. This reservoir proposal was recognized by Congress during the establishment of the wild and recreational river designations on the Cache la Poudre River. Congress tailored the designations of the river segments so as not to interfere with the future development of the reservoir. See H.R. Rep. No. 503, 99th Cong., 2d sess. 7. There are several large parcels of non-Federal land in the watershed of the South Fork of the Cache La Poudre River above the wilderness. At present, there is no water development or indication of plans for water development on these lands that would diminish the wilderness values below them. However, due to their size, location and topography, future water development at these sites is possible. Based on the information collected for this report, the Forest Service is not able to predict the prObability or immediacy of such water development, the nature or extent of any such development, or whether such unknown development would diminish the wilderness values. Accordingly, the Forest Service will begin a specifiC investigation into the potential for water resource development on those lands and the relationship between the waters on those lands, any potential development, and the wilderness values of the Cache la Poudre Wilderness. This study will be a part of the current water resource investigation and quantification that the Forest Service is conducting with regard to the water resource values of the wild and recreational segments of the Cache la Poudre River, as established by Public Law 99-590, October 30, 1986. This study will determine the quantity of water necessary for wild and scenic purposes in support of a claim for Federal reserved water rights filed by the Department of Justice in 1986. 3