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<br />COLORADO RIVER RECOVERY PROGRAM <br />FY 2002 ANNUAL PROJECT REPORT <br /> <br />RECOVERY PROGRAM <br />PROJECT NUMBER: 67 <br /> <br />1. Project Title: Steamboat Lake Water Lease <br /> <br />II. Principallnvestigator: <br />George Smith <br />P.O. Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225-0486 <br />E-mail: george_smith@fws.gov <br />Phone: (303) 236-5322, ext. 235 <br />Fax: (303) 236-4224 <br /> <br />III. Project Summary: <br /> <br />In 1992, the Recovery Program identified a need to secure storage water in the Yampa <br />River Basin for late summer flow augmentation. Colorado Division of Parks (Parks) <br />secured a change of the water right decree for Steamboat Lake in 1997, which recognized <br />the use of water for in stream flows. With the change decree in place, the last obstacle to <br />leasing water from Steamboat Lake was surmounted, and a lease was executed on April <br />17, 1997, between Parks, Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the U. S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service (Service). A lease price of$16.00 per acre-foot for 2,000 acre-feet of <br />water was negotiated for the 5-year term of the lease. When the original lease expired in <br />2000 Parks notified the Recovery Program that they were willing to negociate a 10-year <br />lease but the cost would be increased to$32 per acre-foot of water. Negotiation began in <br />2000 but when no agreement had been reached by late summer of2001 Colorado <br />Department of Natural Resources and the Recovery Program extended the original <br />agreement" 1 year with a simple letter agreement. Unfortunately 2002 turned out to be an <br />extremely dry year and with no base flows for the Steamboat Lake water to ride on, there <br />was considerable doubt that any of the Steamboat Lake water would get to Critical <br />Habitat so no releases were request or contracted from Steamboat Lake in 2002. <br /> <br />IV. Study Schedule: Initial year - 1997, Final year - 2013. <br /> <br />V. <br /> <br />Relationship to RIPRAP: <br /> <br />Yampa River Action Plan LB.2.a.(l)(b) <br />Lease 3,300 acre-feet to augment later summer flows. <br /> <br />VI. Accomplishments of FY 2002 Tasks and Deliverables, Discussion of Initial Findings and <br />Shortcomings: <br /> <br />Water year 2002 was one of the lowest years of record on the Yampa River and <br />throughout the entire State of Colorado. Because the flows in the Yampa were so low by <br />the end of July, the Recovery Program staff began to think that the purchase of Steamboat <br />Lake water would be a waste of water and Recovery Program funds. The low flow <br />situation in the Yampa was discussed at the July 24 Biology Committee meeting and the <br />committee agreed that the late summer flows in the Yampa should be monitored closely <br /> <br />67-1 <br />