In 2004, the Colorado Water Trust donated senior water rights to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to be used as a permanent, senior instream flow in Boulder Creek and the Blue River in Summit County. The CWCB formally accepted the donation during their quarterly meeting in Alamosa on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. The donated water right will be used to improve habitat conditions for brook trout in Boulder Creek, in addition to benefitting rainbow and brown trout in the Blue River. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) classifies the segment of the Blue River that will benefit from the donation as ‘Gold Medal Water.’ This transaction was the Water Trust’s first donation to the CWCB and is the first donation under new rules that govern how the State acquires water rights for instream flows. Nearly 800 acre-feet of water will now be protected as instream flow for three miles in Boulder Creek and for over eleven miles in the Blue River.
