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Summary The information contained in this report and the associated instream flow file folder forms the basis for staffs instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board. It is staffs opinion that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the findings required in Rule 5.40. It e Colorado's Instream Flow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of the natural environment" (see 37-92-102 (3) c.R.S.). The statute vests the CWCB with the exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire instream flow and natural lake level water rights. In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the statute directs the CWCB to request instream flow recommendations from other state and federal agencies. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended this segment of East Canyon Creek to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. East Canyon Creek is being considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural environment that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. The BLM is very interested in protecting stream flows because the stream the stream has natural barriers that make it an excellent candidate for reintroduction of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. East Canyon Creek is a tributary of Canyon Creek and is approximately 9.0 miles long. It begins near Mormment Lake and Duck Lake at an elevation of approximately 10650 feet, and terminates at the confluence with Canyon Creek at an elevation of approximately 6,050 feet. Of the 6.0 mile upper segment addressed by this report, 100% of the segment is located on federal lands. Of the 1.3 mile lower segment addressed by this report, 1.0 mile of the segment or 75% is located on federal lands. The creek is located within Garfield County. The total drainage area of the creek upstream of Possum Creek is approximately 15.1 square miles. East Canyon Creek generally flows in a southwesterly direction. These segments are located northwest of Glenwood Springs. The staff has received only one recommendation for the upper and lower segments, from the Bureau of Land Management. These recommendations are discussed below. Instream Flow Recommendation(s) BLM recommended 4.2 cfs, summer, and 1.8 cfs, winter, for the upper segment based on its August 28, 1996, and June 20, 2002, data collection efforts. The BLM also recommended 12.0 cfs, summer, and 3.1 cfs, winter, for the lower segment based on its August 28, 1996, and June 19,2002, data collection efforts (see Appendix A). The modeling results from this survey effort are within the confidence interval produced by the R2Cross model. land Status Review Upper Terminus headwaters Keyser Creek Lower Terminus Keyser Creek Keyser Ditch Headgate Total Length (miles) 6.0 1.3 Land Ownership % Private % Public 0% 100% 25% 75% Approximately 95% of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the BLM the other 5% is private land. - 3 -