CWCB protects flows, ag in Gunnison Basin

1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, CO 80203
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 23, 2015
CONTACT
Linda Bassi, 303-866-3441 x3204, [email protected]
Amy Beatie, 720-570-2897, [email protected]
CWCB teams with Water Trust to protect flows and agriculture
in Gunnison Basin
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (“CWCB”) and the Colorado Water Trust
(“CWT”) today finalized an innovative agreement under which the same water rights
will be used to both restore stream flows and preserve agriculture in the Gunnison
Basin.
The CWCB is the only entity in the state that can hold instream flow water rights to
preserve and improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. Under its
Water Acquisition Program, the CWCB can acquire water from willing water rights
owners by donation, purchase, lease or other arrangement to include in Colorado’s
Instream Flow Program. The CWCB and CWT partnership has resulted in many
significant water acquisitions for instream flow use.
Under the agreement, up to 5 cubic feet per second of water that was historically
diverted by the McKinley Ditch out of the Little Cimarron River (a tributary to the
Cimarron River and Gunnison River in Gunnison and Montrose counties) will continue
to be diverted and applied to the historically irrigated ranch until mid-summer. At
that time, the water will be left in the river for instream flow use by the CWCB on a
reach of the Little Cimarron River that historically saw low to no flows due to water
rights diversions, as well as on the Cimarron River.
“Our rivers and our farms are at the heart of what makes Colorado so special,” said
CWCB director James Eklund. “This agreement is a model for future agriculture and
conservation partnerships.”
The Little Cimarron River originates in the Uncompahgre Wilderness Area and is
managed as a wild trout stream by Colorado Parks and Wildlife for several miles above
P 303.866.3441 F 303.866.4474 www.cwcb.state.co.us
John W. Hickenlooper, Governor | Mike King, DNR Director
| James Eklund, CWCB Director
the area where agricultural uses have occurred for more than 100 years. Restoring
flows in the Little Cimarron will re-establish habitat connectivity, an important
component of a healthy river.
“This permanent, split use of an instream flow is distinctive because it acknowledges
and preserves the value of irrigated agriculture as well as the value of restoring flow
to a local river,” said Linda Bassi, chief of the stream and lake protection section at
CWCB.
Additional information on the CWCB’s Water Acquisition Program is available on the
CWCB web site: http://cwcb.state.co.us/StreamAndLake/WaterAcquisitions/
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P 303.866.3441 F 303.866.4474 www.cwcb.state.co.us
John W. Hickenlooper, Governor | Mike King, DNR Director
| James Eklund, CWCB Director