BOARD0116

• Board Meeting Date: 1/24/2001
• Description: ISF Section - Instream Flow Appropriations
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO
Bill Owens, Governor
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

DIVI'SION. OF WILDLIFE

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

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Russell George, 'Director
6060 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80216
Telephone: [phone]

15 November 2000

Dan Merriman, Chief
Mark Uppendahl, Senior Specialist
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Stream and Lake Protection Section
1313 Sherman Street, Suite 721
Denver, Colorado 80203

Subj: Instream Flow Recommendations for Yampa River (Stagecoach Dam to Lake
Catamount)

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Dear Dan and Mark:

The purpose of this letter is to transmit the technical data and initial instream flow recommendations from
the Colorado Division of Wildlife to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The CWCB has requested
instream flow recommendations from the Division for the Yampa River by approving the Instream Flow
Program Work Plan and Priority Stream List earlier this year. The Division requests that these instream
flow recommendations be acted upon by the CWCB at their January, 2001 meeting.

Since the completion of Stagecoach Reservoir on the Yampa River, the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy
District and the Division of Wildlife have monitored the fish population in the Yampa River downstream
of the reservoir. Attached you will find a copy of the reports that have been generated by the District's
consultant and the Division. As you can see from the aquatic sampling results, the Yampa River has
developed into an outstanding fishery resource. The Division of Wildlife manages the Yampa River
downstream of Stagecoach Dam as a quality fishery; the Colorado Wildlife Commission has adopted a
special fishing regulation on the Yampa to further this management strategy. It is therefore the opinion
of the Division that an outstanding natural environment exists in this section of the Yampa River.

R2CROSS data has been collected at several sites on the Yampa River during 1991, 1998, and 2000. In
1991, CDOW and CWCB personnel collected R2CROSS information at three sites between Stagecoach
Dam and Lake Catamount. In 1998, R2CROSS data was collected at five locations by the CDOW. In
2000, CDOW and CWCB collected R2CROSS data at six sites. So in total, there are 14 R2CROSS sites
on the Yampa River between Stagecoach Dam and Lake Catamount. The only tributaries that contribute

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DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Greg E. Walcher, Executive Director
WilDLIFE COMMISSION, Bernard L. Black, Jr., Chairman . Rick Enstrom, Vice-Chairman . Philip James, Secretary
Members, Tom Burke · Mark leValley . Marianna Rahopoulos . Robert Shoemaker . Olive Valdez
Ex-Officio Members, Greg E. Walcher and Don Ament