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Table 1. Distribution of public and private ponds in the floodplain of the <br />Upper Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Modified from Mitchell (1995). <br />River Total <br />No, of <br />Ponds 0-0.5 <br />acres >0.5-1 <br />acres >1-5 <br />acres >5-25 <br />acres >25 <br />acres <br />Colorado 247 111 32 67 33 4 <br />Gunnison 61 19 16 19 6 1 <br />Total Ponds 308 130 48 86 39 5 <br />Mitchell's inventory on the Colorado River included the reach from the <br />Colorado-Utah state line upstream to Palisade, Colorado. Many additional -=- <br />ponds occur in the floodplain of the Upper Colorado River from Palisade to <br />Rifle. The number remains unknown because an inventory has not been <br />completed to date. Most of the ponds (number = 253; 721 acres) were along <br />the Colorado River and 61 ponds (197 acres) were along the Gunnison River. <br />Most of the ponds were less than 5 acres in surface area (Table 1). For <br />comparative purposes, reservoirs in the area are much larger. For example, <br />Harvey Gap Reservoir contains 196 surface acres. On the Colorado River, 73 <br />percent of the ponds are privately owned while 44 percent of the ponds on <br />the Gunnison River are privately owned (Mitchell 1995). Mitchell (1995) <br />surveyed pond owners via a questionnaire, in part, to determine the number <br />of ponds that contain fish. Landowners along the Colorado River reported <br />that 32% of the ponds contained fish. Landowners along the Gunnison River <br />reported that 10% of the ponds contained fish. These responses may have <br />represented the percentage of ponds that were stocked with sportfish species <br />since all floodplain ponds sampled by the Colorado Division of Wildlife <br />contained fish. <br />Mapping the floodplain revealed little difference (only a few inches in <br />elevation) between the 50- and 100-year floodplains (Colorado Water <br />Conservation Board 1996a,b). Generally, the boundaries of-the 50- and 100- <br />year floodplains overlap. Of 246 ponds between Palisade and Loma, Colorado, <br />55 were above the 100-year floodplain, none were located between the 50-100 <br />floodplain, 55 were between the 10-50 year floodplain, and 136 were below <br />the 10-year floodplain (Maddux 1996). For the Gunnison River between Delta <br />and the confluence with the Colorado River for which floodplain information <br />existed (17 ponds), none were above the 100-year floodplain, 9 were located <br />between the 50-100 floodplains, 6 were between the 10-50 year floodplain, <br />and 2 were below the 10-year floodplain (Maddux 1996). Mitchell (1995) <br />reported that 20% of 308 ponds connect with the rivers each year and 40% <br />connect with the rivers at least 1 in 10 years. Information on the flood <br />event when ponds in the floodplain connect with the Upper Colorado and <br />Gunnison rivers wi11 be summarized in a Colorado Division of Wildlife report <br />that is due in October, 1997 (P. Martinez, 1997, Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife, Personal Communication). <br />10 <br />