Aspinall Working Group

Purpose and Participation

The Aspinall Unit Working Group is an open public forum for information exchange between Reclamation and the stakeholders of the Aspinall Unit.  The public is encouraged to attend and provide comments on the operations and plans presented by Reclamation at these meetings. Input is used in Reclamation's development of specific operational plans for the Aspinal Unit and for the overall 24-Month Study (www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/studies/index.html).Meetings are scheduled three times annually (January, April, August). Meeting locations vary to encourage participation of stakeholders in various locations throughout the Gunnison basin. Meeting notes from past working Group meetings are posted here on this webpage.  For more information on this group and these meetings please contact Erik Knight in the Grand Junction Area Office at (970) 248-0629.

The next meeting of the Aspinall Unit Working Group will be held on Thursday August 18th at 1:00 pm at the Elk Creek Visitor Center at Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Information regarding the most recent Working Group Meeting (April 28, 2016)

Meeting was held at the Western Colorado Area Office in Grand Junction. Attendees are noted on the distribution list. Handouts are available for review and can be found in the menu at the bottom of this page.

Handouts provided included data on 2015 operations; inflows to the reservoirs to date; and projected most probable, minimum, and maximum inflow forecasts for the 2015 water year. A Record of Decision for the Aspinall Unit Operations Environmental Impact Statement was signed on May 3, 2012. The EIS modified the operational objectives of the Aspinall Unit to provide sufficient releases of water at times, quantities, and durations necessary to avoid jeopardy to endangered fish species and adverse modification of their designated critical habitat while maintaining and continuing to meet authorized purposes of the Aspinall Unit. In addition, the water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has been quantified and adjudicated.

Meeting Summaries