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<br />" <br /> <br />recovery efforts might compromise or diminish Colorado's allocation of water resources in <br />the Colorado River; and (c) minimizing the risk of unnecessary future conflict between <br />water development opportunities and flow/habitat protection for the endangered fish. <br /> <br />INTERIM INSTREAM FWW PROTECTION OPTIONS <br /> <br />Currently available scientific information and methodology cannot prescribe with <br />certainty and precision the flows required in different segments, at different times for the <br />recovery of the several endangered fish species and their essential habitats. Whatever flows <br />are to be legally protected may tend to have an effect of limiting or foreclosing water <br />development options necessary for Colorado's full use of its interstate compact entitlement. <br />Nevertheless, it is urgent in the implementation of the recovery program that some flow <br />protection mechanisms be instituted right away; otherwise the continued viability of the <br />program is at risk. <br /> <br />The protection of flows required for fish recovery is agreed to be the responsibility of <br />each of the states, under state law. Necessarily Colorado can only implement flow <br />acquisition and protection to the extent of the authority it has under current statute or as <br />may be provided by amendment. Current statutory authority is quite broad: <br /> <br />[R]ecognizing the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some <br />reasonable preservation of the natural environment, the [CWCB] is ... vested <br />with the exclusive authority ... to appropriate... such waters of natural streams <br />... as the board determines may be required for minimum stream flows... to <br />preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. CRS ~ 37-92-102(3) <br /> <br />While the Board must make determinations that the natural environment will be <br />preserved to a reasonable degree by the water available for the appropriation and that there <br />is a natural environment that can be preserved, there are no detailed standards specified for <br /> <br />2 <br />