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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />John Roach, Ph.D. <br />Aquatics Specialist <br />Colorado Water Project <br />1320 Pearl Street, Suite 320 <br />Boulder, CO 80302 <br />303.440.2937 <br /> <br />TROUT <br />UNLIMITED <br /> <br />February 21,2007 <br /> <br />Mr. Jeff Baessler and Mr. Todd Doherty <br />Stream and Lake Protection Section <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 723 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />Re: Trout Unlimited Instream Flow Recommendations for Bear Creek. <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Baessler and Mr. Doherty, <br /> <br />Trout Unlimited (TU) in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) is <br />formally submitting this instream flow recommendation for Bear Creek, which flows <br />through El Paso County and a small portion of Teller County. It is located in Water <br />Division 2. <br /> <br />Location and Land Status. Bear Creek originates in a saddle between Mount Garfield <br />and Almagre Mountain, west of Colorado Springs. The stream flows generally eastward <br />towards Colorado Springs and its confluence with Fountain Creek. This recommendation <br />covers a perennial reach stretching from Bear Creek's headwaters at approximately <br />10,400 feet to just above the Bear Creek Pipeline diversion at 6,500 feet, a distance of <br />approximately 5.6 miles. Of this length approximately 42 % (2.3 miles) traverses lands <br />held by Colorado Springs Utilities, 38% (2.1 miles) flows through U.S. Forest Service <br />land and the remaining 20% ( 1.1 miles) flows through Bear Creek Canyon Park. <br /> <br />Biological Summary and R2CROSS Analysis. In August of2006 TU and CDOW <br />collected stream cross sectional data, natural environment data, and other data needed to <br />quantify Instream Flow needs. Additional fishery surveys conducted in 1994 by the <br />CDOW indicate that the stream supports a self-sustaining population of genetically pure <br />greenback cutthroat trout. The potential of this stream to help protect this threatened <br />species enhances both its biologic and conservation value. <br /> <br />Stream cross sectional data were analyzed using the R2CROSS program, and the output <br />was evaluated using the methods described in Nehring (1979) and Espegren (1996). Data <br />were collected from two transects on Bear Creek. Based on the average results from the <br />two R2CROSS analyses and the available biological data Trout Unlimited and CDOW <br />