Wyoming State Water Plan, Wyoming Water Development Office
Rafting on Snake River Lake Marie, Snowy Mountains Wyoming Wind River Range picture

Green River Basin Advisory Group
Meeting Record
Big Piney, WY
April 5, 2005

Welcome
Facilitator Sherri Gregory welcomed the group and the meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. All attendees introduced themselves, followed by a review of the overall meeting agenda. A sign-in sheet was passed around to record attendance. The next meeting is scheduled for July 12th in Rock Springs.

Planning Team Issues
Barry Lawrence, WWDC passed out the meeting record from the last meeting. Lawrence discussed the status of the current planning processes in the other basins (WB, PT, NE, PL, BR, & SS). He went on to discuss the past legislative session, plans for the state framework project, the new conservation directory, and the retirement of John Jackson at the WWDC. He then passed out handouts from the last meeting [Bridger Valley Reservoir handout - Roger Kesterson - Tab J (Region-wide Usage); Flaming Gorge Operations presentation slides - Ed Vidmar, USBR - Tab J (Region-wide Usage); Fontinelle Reservoir Operations presentation slides - Ed Vidmar, USBR - Tab J (Region-wide Usage); Winter Season Outlook presentation slides - Joe Sullivan, NWS - Tab P (Wyoming Water Information); Colorado River Issues Update presentation slides - Pat Tyrrell/John Shields, SEO - Tab L (Law of the Colorado River); and "Climatic Fluctuations, Drought, and Flow in the Colorado River" fact sheet from the USGS - Tab K (Guide to the Colorado River)].

Wyoming Drought Update
Jan Curtis, WRDS gave a powerpoint presentation outlining the State's current drought conditions. Jan also focused in on conditions within the basin and presented long range forecasts. Jan stated that he believed the drought was "ebbing". Considerable discussion followed Jan's presentation, including his forage biomass projections being used by the BLM, and the lack of inclusion of information from the locals. As is typical of Jan's presentations, his presentation represented current conditions and forecasts on the date of the BAG meeting, and, by its very nature is outdated quickly. It was decided that there would be little utility in making handouts from the presentation or putting them up online. Therefore, there is nothing additional to distribute at this time

Fontenelle and Flaming Gorge Operations and Water Supply Outlook
Amy Thatcher, USBR gave a powerpoint show which detailed the current reservoir storage amounts (teacup diagrams), projected outflows, and potential release schedules for the two facilities. She also went thru the operational hiccup experienced at Fontinelle on March 2nd with regards to malfunctioning bypass tubes and the operational changes that have been implemented since that time. There were no handouts of Amy's presentation, however, the presentation has been provided in soft copy format and we do have permission to post it online. The presentation is placed behind Tab J (Region-wide Usage).

Winter Season Outlook
Joe Sullivan, Riverton National Weather Service Office, gave a presentation detailing last season.s conditions and highlighting the winter season forecast outlook. Joe showed continuing drought moisture trends and discussed the reliability of forecasts. He noted that the Green River Basin was probably the worst part of the State over the past three years. He concluded his remarks by discussing El Nino effects and the coming forecast outlook. A brief discussion followed Joe's presentation. Discussion followed.

Upper Green River Joint Powers Board Update
John Zebre made off-the-cuff remarks regarding the activities of the Board. He discussed and detailed the three projects in the works with the WWDC, and the pending consultant selection process. Other topics for discussion included Lower Colorado tours, environmental resolution training, and the wishes of the Board for Corps permitting activities for the Green River Basin to be done from the San Francisco regional office as with other Colorado River Basin states. Finally, he went on to discuss a possible resolution to the WWDC to map the groundwater resources of the state as part of the next round of river basin planning. John indicated that he would work with our facilitator to have such a document ready for signing at the next Green River BAG meeting. As John's remarks were purely off-the-cuff, there is nothing additional to distribute at this time.

Brief overview of the Colorado River Compact Administration Planning Project & Interstate Streams Issues Updates
Harry LaBonde and John Shields, SEO gave a powerpoint show and distributed handouts with regards to the following topics: current hydrologic conditions in the basin, salinity control forum activities, Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program update, etc. Harry LaBonde discussed the Colorado River Compact Administration Planning Project and the need to have a plan in place in case of compact call pursuant to Article IV of the Compact. Harry went on to detail the input needed and the hoped for end product of the project (recommendations to the State Engineer). The timeline for the project was discussed as well. There were no handouts of Harry and John's presentation, however, the presentation has been provided in soft copy format and is posted online behind Tab L (Law of the Colorado River).

Additionally, John had two other handouts for the BAG members (Congressional Request for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, and a Wyoming State Engineer's Office Legislative Summary for the 2005 Legislative Session). See Reference Notebook. Copies of each of the handouts were made available at the meeting. Since these documents have already been distributed, an "extremely" limited number will be available the day of the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.