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I. INSTREAM FLOW IDENTIFICATION AND PROTECTION 7 RETURN FLOW GAGE OPERATIONfDAT A ANALYSIS 9 WATER RIGHTS ACQUISITION CONSULTANT Due to complexities of water rights law in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, and the work involved in conducting water rights analyses, the Water Rights Acquisition Committee (yV AC) fetained the services of water rights specialists to conduct water rights evaluations~ The specialists are available to the Recovery Program on an as-needed basis to perform work on individual water rights issues. Cost and performance deadlines wefe negotiated on a case-by-case basis. A temporary gage is operated at the lower end of the l5-Mile Reach to monitor return flows (to provide data for an instream flow filing on those flows). Recommendations: These projects would be a good candidates for testing bi-annual funding and reporting. 8 J 5-MlLE REACH GAGE OPERATION & MAINTENANCE In 1990 the Recovery Program identified a need for a permanent USGS gage in the l5-Mile Reach of the Colorado River. The gage was needed to ensure that water secured under thc Recovery Program is delivered to the l5-Mile Reach. The gage also has been useful in providing a basis for refining flow recommendations and serving as a control fOf relating habitat studies to flow. The gage was installed during the summer of 1991 and became operational October I, 1991. Annual gage operation and maintenance is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. The gage is operated under a cooperative agreement between the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) and the Geological Survey with matching Section 7 funding managed by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Recommendations: The gage has proven to be very useful in scheduling releases from Ruedi Reservoir, coordinating flow levels with aerial video monitoring, atlO raising the level of awareness of Colorado River water users. Now that the utility of the gage has been established and the Program plans to fund it indefinitely, it would be a good candidate for multiple year funding. J 9H WATER ACQUISITION HYDROLOGY SUPPORT The Service's Division of Water Resources provides support for water acquisition activities undertaken by the Water Acquisition Committee (yVAC). Typically, the support includes development of scopes of work and progress reports for gages and consultant service to support water acquisition objectives of the Committee. Other tasks include participation in special projects like Grand Valley Water Management, and the Yampa River Operation and Management Plan. Division of Water Resources also served as the Chairman of the WAC for the past year. A-I