WSP07317

• File Number: 8210.140.20
• Description: Colorado River Basin Organizations and Entities - Colorado River Basin States Forum - California
• State: CA
• Basin: Western Slope
• Date: 1/1/1971
• Author: Myron B Holburt
• Title: Annual Report for the Calendar Year 1970
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

At"" '-j
14 i:'

including a program to resolve operational prob-
lems at Topock Marsh;
4. Fish and wildlife mitigation features be implement-
ed on a timely basis, including the acquisition of
private lands to complete Cibola National Wildlife
Refuge;
5. The phreatophyte control program be reevaluated
and updated ~nd be carried out by a selective proc-
ess in accordance with recommendations of appro-
priate state agencies;
6. The state assist where possible to resolve questions
concerning Indian land ownership that affect man-
agement of the river;
7. Federal programs and state actions to resolve the
legal status and occupancy of lands and use of wa-
ter be reviewed, revised as appropriate, and vigor-
ously pursued to final resolution;
8. The Department of the Interior clarify the status of
its 1964 "Lower Colorado River Land Use Plan"
and land management of the lower Colorado River.

On March 5, 1970, Secretary for Resources
Norman B. Livermore, Jr" formed the Re-
sources Agency's Lower Colorado River
Coordinating Group (LCRCG) with a con-
tinuing charge to provide overall review and
coordination of all the state's activities direct-
ly related to the Lower Colorado River Man-
agement Program. This includes preparing
action programs, maintaining liaison with
the states of Arizona and Nevada, and recom-
mending management decisions for the Low-
er Colorado River and associated environ-
mental factors. Other departments and
boards of the Resources Agency and other
state agencies will be asked to participate in
matters relating to their interests and au-
thorities whenever appropriate.

As of the end of 1970 members of the
LCRCG were Myron B. Holburt, Colorado
River Board; Chester M. Hart, Department
of Fish and Game; and Wayne MacRos tie,
Department of Water Resources.

Copies of the Resources Agency's LCRCG
report were forwarded to the Secretary of
the Interior and to the Regional Director,
Region 3, Bureau of Reclamation, with a re-
quest for an early meeting with concerned
federal officials and appropriate representa-
tives from Arizona and Nevada with regard
to implementing the action program.

30

Topock Marsh Operation

In the 1964 Supreme Court decree in Ari-
zona v. California, the Havasu Lake National
Wildlife Refuge, which includes Topock
Marsh, was allocated either 41,839 acre-feet
annually of diversions or 37,339 acre-feet an-
nually of consumptive use, whichever is less,
The V,S. Bureau of Sport fisheries and
Wildlife operates Topock Marsh by means of
inlet and outlet structures constructed by the
Bureau of Reclamation.
In the past several years the Bureau of
Sport fisheries and Wildlife has had great
difficulty in obtaining the desired fish and
wildlife habitat in the Marsh, primarily due
to the following reasons: (I) the water level
in the river below the outlet structure is too
high, largely because of the delay in planned
dredging in the Topock Gorge Division, and
(2) the limitations on diversions. In febru-
ary 1970 the Department of the Interior
stated in a letter to California's Attorney
General Lynch that continuing water and
ecology studies were being conducted at To-
pock Marsh by the Bureau of Sport fisheries
and Wildlife for its water management plan,

California Proteded Waterways Plan

The California Protected Waterways Act,
Chapter 1278, Statutes of 1968, requires the
Resources Agency to submit the initial ele-
ments of the California Protected Waterways
Plan to the Governor for transmittal to the
Legislature not later than the fifth legislative
day of the 1971 Regular Session of the Legis-
lature. The purpose of the Act is to provide
for the conservation of those waterways of
the state possessed of extraordinary scenic,
fishery, wildlife, and outdoor receation val-
ues.
A special Resources Agency staff consist-
ing of representatives of the Departments of
fish and Game, Conservation, Parks and
Recreation, Water Resources, and Naviga-
tion and Ocean Development prepared a
draft report entitled "California Protected
Waterways Plan," dated November 1970 and
submitted it to state agencies for review. The