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coefficients for the discharge parameters suggested that as discharge increased, water <br />temperature decreased. <br />Overall, water temperature predicted by the lower Browns Park model closely matched <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />observed temperatures during 1992 to 1996 (Figs. 12 to 16) and suggested that the model may <br />be useful for making predictions about effects of different operational scenarios. Model <br />predictions were moderately biased in August and September 1994, when predicted temperatures <br />were 1 to 2°C higher than those observed. Bias maybe due to inability of the model to <br />accurately account for late summer discharge levels from Flaming Gorge Reservoir that were <br />slightly higher than normal. Fluctuations in water temperature such as those associated with an <br />extended cold front in late August 1993 were not predicted accurately because the least squares <br />regression model tended to smooth such extremes. <br />Some recurring patterns were notable for predicted and observed (measured) <br />temperatures. In most years, mean daily water temperature at Lower Browns Park approached or <br />exceeded 20°C in mid- to late-June for one to a few days when discharge was low but then <br />declined thereafter. Declining mid-summer water temperatures were associated with increased <br />Flaming Gorge Dam discharge which began in late June to early August in most years. <br />Increased dam releases in summer were needed to sustain the Green River at downstream Jensen, <br />Utah, at a mean daily target level of 51 m3/s as mandated by the 1992 Biological Opinion on <br />Flaming Gorge Dam. <br />Discharge and temperature patterns in the unregulated Yampa River from 1992 to 1996 <br />and pre-dam Green River differed from the ones observed in the present-day Green River. <br />Discharge levels in the unregulated Yampa River declined throughout the summer; water <br />temperature rose during the same time, peaking in late-July to late-August. Water temperatures <br />were sustained in the 20 to 24°C range for a period of one to several weeks. The reproductive <br />period for Colorado pikeminnow in the unregulated Yampa River began in mid- to late-June in <br />most years and was associated with increasing water temperature in the range of 16 to 22°C and <br />declining discharge. In the regulated Green River in Lodore Canyon, water temperature levels in <br />24 <br />