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~". ~~. ,~ e e IN REPLY REFER TO: United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Colorado State Office 2850 Youngtield Street Lakewood, Colorado 80215-7093 www.co.blm.gov CO-932 7250 DEe 20 2002 Mr. Dan Merriman Colorado Water Conservation Board 1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 Denver, Colorado 80203 Dear Mr. Merriman: The Bun~u of Land Management (BLM) is writing this letter to formally communicate its instream flow recommendation for East Canyon Creek, located in Water Division 5. . Location and Land Status. East Canyon Creek flows into Canyon Creek, which is tributary to the Colorado River approximately six miles west of Glenwood Springs. Two stream reaches were surveyed. The first reach starts at the headwaters and extends 6.0 miles to the confluence with Keyser Creek. The second reach starts at the confluence with Keyser Creek and extends 3.0 miles to the confluence with Possum Creek. The upper reach is comprised entirely of public lands, while the lower reach contains 33 percent federal lands and 66 percent private lands. Biologic;al Summary. Fishery surveys indicate that the stream environment is in good condition, and supports a self-sustaining brook, brown, and cutthroat trout fishery. Channel and bank stability, substrate, and water quality are excellent for salmonids. However, a paucity of pools and suboptimal cover are limiting factors for fish habitat, underscoring the importance of adequate flow to prevent further stress to the fish population. Because of some natural stream barriers, the stream provides good habitat for Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. R2Cross Analysis. BLM collected two data sets on the upper reach and three data sets on the lower reach. This effort produced both summer and winter recommendations that are within the confidence interval of the R2Cross model. To develop this recommendation, BLM identified the flows net~ded to meet in stream flow criteria in each data set, and then averaged these flows to develop a recommendation for the entire stream reach. BLM's data analysis indicates that the following flows are required to protect the fishery and natural environment to a reasonable degree: .