9608

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9608
• Author: FLO Engineering Inc.
• Title: Establishment of a Green River Gage in Canyonlands National Park, Utah 1995-1996.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Breckenridge, CO.
• Copyright Material: NO

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Executive Summary
In 1995 and 1996, a level logger and staff gage were erected the vicinity of Bonita Bend of the
Green River to provide a researchers and scientists working in Canyonlands National Park with a means
of estimating the discharge on site. This equipment was initially installed in conjunction with the
Flooded Bottomlands project for the Habitat Restoration Program of the Recovery Program for the
Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado River. The discharge was monitored with level loggers,
recorders and equipment supplied by FWS Division of Water Resources. The flooded bottomlands
project field work was completed in September, 1995. The discharge data is reported as a hydrograph
and has been correlated with upstream level loggers and USGS gaging stations to assist Recovery
Program research m Canyonlands.
The level logger and staff gage were surveyed with respect to control benchmarks established for
the flooded bottomlands project. In 1995, the level logger was only in operation for 12 days. In 1996,
the level logger recorded a stage reading every 30 minutes from April 5 to July 24. Using a rating curve
developed with the discharge measurements over two high flow seasons, daily discharges were
estimated. A Fortran program was written to apply the rating curve to the level logger data and compute
a mean daily discharge from the recorded stage at the prescribed timesteps. The USGS Green River gage
station flows and the Desolation Canyon level logger flows were plotted comparison to Canyonlands
level logger discharges.
A companion report was prepared to assess and compare the discharge hydrographs throughout
the Green River system. The Canyonlands level logger was one of five level loggers or strip chart
recorders installed in 1996. Other level loggers were erected at Desolation Canyon, and downstream of
the White River. Strip chart recorders were in operation at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge and Mitten
Park. A plot is presented displaying all the estimated discharges along with the USGS gage data at
Jensen and Green River.

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