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According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the population within th CiTy of <br />Cortez was 7,977 in 2000 (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census). <br />Town of Dolores <br />The Town of Dolores is located near the central area of Montezuma County in <br />southwestern Colorado, approximately 39 miles east of San Juan Courity, Utah, <br />and 40 miles of La Plata County, Colorado. The drainage through the southern <br />area of Dolores is the Dolores River, a tributary to the Colorado River. <br />Dolores River drains approximately 837 square miles upstream from the Town of <br />Dolores. Dolores River has a tributary, West Dolores River, that co~fluences <br />approximately 15 miles upstream of the Town of Dolores, while the Dolores <br />River joins the Colorado River in eastern Utah, about 100 miles nor~hwest of <br />Dolores. At the mouth of West Dolores River, the drainage area is 167 square <br />miles. The West Dolores and Dolores Rivers flow from the San Juan Range, <br />reaching elevations around 14,000 feet. Lost Canyon Creek confluences with <br />Dolores River, south of the Town of Dolores, rising to elevations arourfid 10,000 <br />feet in the western slopes of the La Plata Mountains. At the moutln of Lost <br />Canyon Creek, the drainage area is 72 square miles. <br />Low brush dominates the lower elevations around Dolores, while highe i drainage <br />areas contain timber, including pine, fir, and spruce. Terrain in the Lost Canyon <br />Creek area is interspersed with timber of pine and fir above 9,000 feet, with <br />sagebrush and pinion pines flourishing in the lower tributary drainage area. <br />According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the population wit.hin the corporate <br />limits of the Town of Dolores increased from 802 in 1980 to 857 in 2000, an <br />increase of 6.8 percent (LJ.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the CEnsus). <br />Town of Mancos <br />The Town of Mancos is located in northeastern Montezuma C~unty, in <br />southwestern Colorado. Mancos lies along U.S. Highway 160, approxi ately 30 <br />miles west of Durango and 15 miles east of Cortez. <br />The Town of Mancos lies in the Mancos Valley, with sedimentary b~ ttes and <br />mesas to the south and the foothills of the San Juan Mountains to the ~orth and <br />east. <br />Mancos River drains approximately 83 square miles within the northeast part of <br />Montezuma County, excluding the 1.4 square mile tributary to Jackson Gulch <br />Reservoir. The headwaters of Mancos River are located about 16 miles upstream <br />of U.5. Route 160, at Mancos. The river flows in a southwesterly direction to the <br />San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River. Mancos River ri~es to an <br />6 <br />