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(approx. 2,170 mi) may be further divided into seven, smaller subdrainages (see Figure 1): Subdrainaae 1) Upper Yampa River 2) Elk River 3) Middle Yampa River 4) Elkhead Creek 5) Fortification Creek 6) Trout Creek 7) Williams Fork General location Land area (south of Steamboat Springs) > 604 mil (north of Steamboat Springs) 415 mil (Steamboat Springs to Craig) (northeast of Craig) 212 mil (north of Craig) (south of Milner) (south of Craig) 419 mil The Upper Yampa drainage contains 91 % of the lake habitat area and 48 % of the stream habitat area currently under management (Figure 2). Many of these waters occur within the mountainous areas of the Park and Gore Ranges of Continental Divide to the east and the Flattops to the south. These lakes and streams represent most of the perennial, coldwater water resources of the basin. The Lower Yampa River drainage (> 2,087 mil) begins at the confluence with the Williams Fork and encompasses all the drainage area to its confluence with the Green River at Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument. The hydrographic units that drain directly into the Green River within Colorado, including Vermillion Creek (>918 mV), Upper Green-Flaming Gorge and Lower Green- Diamond drainages are included with the Lower Yampa drainage for aquatic resource management planning (Figure 1). Thus, the Lower Yampa drainage contains only 7% of the basin's lake surface area and 34% of the stream mileage (Figure 2). The Yampa and Green rivers are the primary, perennial stream resources within this drainage. Streamflows in the Yampa River are augmented seasonally in the spring and early summer by the Little Snake River, and by numerous small and ephemeral tributaries such as Lay Creek, and Spring Creek from the north, and Milk Creek and Morgan Gulch from the south. Streamflows in the Green River are regulated from Flaming Gorge Dam and Reservoir in Wyoming, and are also augmented seasonally in the spring and early summer by Vermillion Creek and numerous small and ephemeral tributaries. As transition zones from coldwater to warmwater temperature regimes, the waters in these drainage areas support a combination of aquatic wildlife ranging from coldwater species tolerant of higher water temperatures to warmwater species tolerant of high temperature, high turbidity, fluctuating flow, and isolated pool environments. Many of the ephemeral streams are often dry by September and support only small, wetland habitats at that time. The Little Snake River flows north out of Colorado into Wyoming, enters and leaves Colorado again just west of Highway 13, and then re-enters Colorado for the final time near the junction of Sweetwater and Carbon counties in Wyoming with Moffat DRAFT - January 13, 1998 2 a* O I we lw? S' aml IN* t daon M& so an M AM Ow am Im