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Summary . 11 .. .l',": ~ ~ 3' ~! lJ' ~!I' '" , ) " U' .....I..J '. East Fork Brush Creek Watershed The western portion of Burnt Mountain is within this watershed. The willow and Owl Creek Ditch ,traverses the upper portion of the watershed. Approximately 1,000 feet of the channel is culverted. There are 3.5 miles of roads and 2.6 miles of trails within the permit area portion of the watershed, along with utility corridors for water, electricity, sewer and telephone. There are 227 acres of cleared.ski trails. Off-site, Owl Creek and Highline Roads are within the basip; there is limited development of private lands within the watershed at this time. The stream does not appear to have been degraded considerably by human activity to date on NFSL. Aquatic invertebrates present indicate relatively good water quality. Fish habitat is marginal throughout most of the stream. There are approximately 69 acres of identified wetlands (4.1% of the watershed on NFSL) within the permit area portion of this watershed. Approximately 26 acres of wetlands have been mapped at East village. West Fork Brush Creek Watershed This creek drains the Baldy Mountain portion of the ski area and has been significantly altered. within the permit area, almost 2,000 feet of the channel is culverted, and just below the Forest boundary another 200 feet is culverted. Off-site, a large portion of West Village is within the watershed. The Snowrnass Water and Sapitation District (SWSD) uses the West Fork as one of its primary sources of water. Aquatic invertebrate taxa are similar to other streams within the assessment area, with the exception of a few sediment-tolerant species. Brook and brown trout inhabit the area immediately above the diversion to the SWSD Water Treatment Plant. Approximately 115 acres of wetlands (7.8% of the watershed on NFSL) have been identified within the permit area portion of the watershed. There are no differences in wetland and riparian habitat types from pre-development to current conditions, except on private land where willow communities were 'probably eliminated. On both private land and NFSL, the amount of riparian stream habitat has increased. Mainstem Brush Creek Watershed This watershed has been highly affected by human use on both NFSL and private lands, and it appears that considerable habitat and water quality degradation have occurred. 'In many areas, riparian vegetation has been eradicated or significantly altered. The stream, in its present condition, could easily be in need of Clean Water Act restoration activities. Macroinvertebrate taxa in Brush Creek are often, indicators of poor water quality. Levels of water quality parameters are elevated in comparison with surrounding streams. Approximately 32 ,acres of wetlands (3% of the watershed on NFSL) have been mapped within the permit area. On NFSL, there has been a 22 percent reduction of riparian habitats, while on private lands the reduction is significantly higher at 66 percent. Most notable is the elimination of riparian floodplain areas. Snowrnass Creek Watershed Most of this watershed is on NFSL outside the Snowrnass permit area. Only a very small portion of the permit area west of Sam's Knob is within this basin; no ground-disturbing activities are proposed in this area. However, withdrawals for snowrnaking on both NFSL and private lands within the permit area are proposed. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has a winter instream flow claim for Snowrnass Creek of seven cfs for the reach from which snowrnaking water would be diverted. ASC has indicated that it would not reduce flows through snowrnaking withdrawals below the minimum streamflow. The water rights held by the SWSD for municipal and industrial use are all senior to the instream rights held by the CWCB.