11 ‎(3)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 3/18/2008
• Description: WSP Section - Wild and Scenic Rivers
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Dem~er, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www. cwcb. s tate. co. us

TO:
Colorado Water ConserL~ation Board Members Bill Ritter, Jr.
Govertor
FROM: Ted Kowalski xarris D. Sherman
DNR Executive Director
DATE: March 10, 2008 Jennifer L. Gimbel
CWCB Director
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 11 March 18-19 2008 Board Meetin
g g Dan nleAnhffe
ewcB Deputy Director
Water Supply Protection -Wild and Scenic Rivers
Background
Various federal agencies are in different stages of their planning processes within the State of
Colorado wherein they are considering the eligibility and suitability of many streams within the
state for wild and scenic designation. In the Colorado River basin, there are two different BLM
field offices (Kremmling and Glenwood Springs) that are considering different river segments.
With regard to this process, CWCB Staff has been attending meetings with various stakeholders
representing environmental interests, local governments, recreational interests, and water
providers. The Staff hopes that we will be able to develop a local alternative that will protect the
resource values without impairing the State's ability to fully use our compact entitlements. To
this end the construction fund bill includes a request for $400,000 to support this locally driven
process as well as processes that exist in other basins.
In the Yampa basin, the Little Snake BLM field office will begin analyzing the RMP alternatives
in April, and the BLM hopes to issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") in
December 2008. There is a similar group of stakeholders (including CWCB Staff) in the Yampa
basin that has been meeting to develop an alternative to the wild and scenic designation, but this
group only started meeting in December 2007, and the BLM's process is closer to finalization.
A third planning process is occurring in the San Juan basin, called the Public Lands Draft
Management Plan. This Plan is being developed by the United States Forest Service and the
BLM. This process seems to be on a similar track to the Little Snake field office track, with an
FEIS scheduled to be out in December 2008, although comments on the DEIS may still be
submitted until April 2008. There is a similar stakeholder group, called the government water
roundtable, that is pursuing alternatives to wild and scenic designation and the Staff has been
participating in this process.
Staff Recommendation
The Staff recommends that the CWCB support: 1) the delay of these federal processes to allow
the stakeholders time to develop alternatives; and, 2) the sending of the attached letters.
Water Supply Protection • watershed Protection & Flood Dlitigation • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance
Rater Consewation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development