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i <br />The original regression coefficients and exponents for the suspended <br />sediment I oad as determ Ined i n the 1984 NPS study are shown i n Tabi e 3 al ong <br />w ith the rev ised val ues based on the stati stica I correct 1 on. The original <br />regression relationships were based on five years of USGS dally water and <br />sediment discharge data from the Little Snake gaging station at Lily, twelve <br />years of USGS water and sediment discharge data from the Yampa River at <br />Maybel I, fifty-two water and sediment discharge measurements made at Mathers <br />Hole by the NPS (O'Brien, 1984) in 1982 and 1983, and thirty-three water and <br />sediment discharge measurements at Deerlodge by the USGS (El I Lott, et al., <br />1984) in 1983. The correction factor C is presented in the right hand <br />column. This factor is a combination of the statistical bias correction <br />factor described in the Procedure Section and an additional modification to <br />reproduce the average val ue of the measured data for al I sampl i ng stations. <br />The corrected coefficients and exponents shown In Table 3 were used in all <br />the sediment budget computations. <br />Calculations of the annual sediment load based on the modified <br />regression relationships predicted identical annual loads for the Deer lodge <br />and Mathers sampling sites (only 6 percent difference was determined). This <br />conf arms the conclusions in O'Brien's report that the suspended sediment <br />load from the Deerlodge Park reach is being transported through the Yampa <br />` Canyon. The sediment load In Deerlodge Park Is limited by the river's <br />transport capacity because this Is an al I uv ial reach of river. The river <br />tries to transport as much sediment as possible, but the sediment transport <br />Is constrained by the f I ow conditions. The sediment load at Deerlodge, <br />therefore, constitutes the sediment supply to the canyon and Mathers Hole. <br />The Mathers Hole site probably has greater transport capacity than Deerlodge <br />(because of its steeper slope, however, the sediment load Is I imited by the <br />avai I abl a supply at Deerlodge. There are no major sources of sediment in <br />(the canyon, therefore, the river cannot transport any more suspended <br />jsediment load at Mathers than passes into the canyon from the Deerlodge Park <br />reach. Mathers regression relationship predicts a sl ightl y greater load <br />than Deer I odge (6 percent greater) so the Mathers relationship Is employed <br />in this analysis to compare with the load predicted from the upstream gaging <br />tation data at Maybell and Lily. <br />Suspended sediment load data are used In the sediment budget analysis <br />because al I the sediment records for the Yampa at May bel I ( 12 years) and the <br />L ittl a Snake at L 11 y (5 years) consisted only of suspended I oad <br />j measurements. The bed material in cobble bed reaches of the lower canyon is <br />' coarse. Its v iabi I ity as spawning substrate for the Colorado sq uaw f i sh Is <br />dependent upon keeping the cobble interstlcles free of sand and gravel size <br />sediment which is transported principally as bedload. (See O'Brien, 1984, <br />for definitions of bedload, bed material, and suspended load). Although the <br />bedl oad is critical to the maintenance of the sand free cobble substrate, It <br />represents less than one percent of the total load. The unmeasured sand <br />i load was estimated at two percent of the annual total load (O'Brien, 1984). <br />y This three percent (bedl oad plus unmeasured sand load) of the average annual <br />total load should be relatively constant over the period of record and its <br />variation can be ref I ected by the variation In the suspended load. The <br />analysis of the suspended load data, therefore, shoul d be interpreted as <br />reflecting the total historic load in the system. <br />The summati on of the Yampa (Maybel I ) and L ittl a Snake (L i I y) predi cted <br />suspended sediment load was assumed to constitute the upstream sediment <br />9