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The development o~~the snowmaking well will require a water right, as well as a plan for augmentation of water in the Eagle River .Aug~x~entation watez would come from Homestake or~ Eagle Park Reservoirs, where water rights are held by Vail Resorts, Water would be instantaneously released from the reservoirs to replace any water lost from the Eagle River as a result of the well pumping adjacent to Two Elk Creek during the snowmaking period, however, Vail Resorts would be granted the right to capture 100°/a of snowmaking return .flows during snowmelt in Eagle Park or' Hom.estake Reservoir totaling 1-acre foot of water. Prod ect Area The prof ect is located within the Two Elk Creek watersheds, which is a tributary to tl~e Eagle River and the Upper Colorado. Two Elk Creek as well as tl~e Eagle River are fish-bearing streams.. All surface waters in the project area are assigned the aquatic life benef vial uses by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ~CDPHE}, however the segment of floe Eagle River Segment 5} to which Two Elk Creek is a tributary is impacted by loading of zinc, cadmium, and other metals as a result of the Eagle Nine near Belden upstream. physiog~°a~hic Clza~acte~istics Based on analysts performed by Colorado State CJniversity and the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region aquatic staff unpublished data 2007}, the prod ect area is found within a watershed characterized by primarily calcareous lithology, f ne sediment producing geology, and high gradient stream channels. watersheds with this type of physiographic setting are somewhat unique, and include the area from the Two Elk Creek sub-watershed south to Tennessee Pass. Aquatic communities expected in streams flowing through geologic formations such as those present in the prof ect area would consist of species that are somewhat tolerant of fine sediment, but aquatic invertebrate and fish productivity would be expected to be high due to file calcareous lithology and higher nutrient loads summarized in Winters et al. 2004}„ ~Ulanagemerzt Ac~ivi~ies Existing management of the area primarily includes operation of the Vail Ski area, The prof ect area is found within Forest Plan Management Areas 5.25 Ski Ar~easWExisting and Potential}, Land management activities that occur within these management area includes skiing, as well as surnrnertime recreation ~e~,g., hikinglmountainblking}, as well as sheep grazing. III. THREATENED, ENDANGERED, AND PR~P~SED FISH SPECIES CONSIDERED AND ANALYZED No threatened, endangered, ar proposed fish species, or~ their habitats are located on the EaglelHoly Cross Ranger District or~ white River National Forest, however, water diversion pr~oj ects may affect habitat for ESA-listed fish species found in the Colorado River downstream of the White River National Forest boundary. Effects to federally-listed fish species found in the Colorado River downstream Table I} are analyzed in a separate document (Healy 2007}„