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relationships for each site were determined to estimate a range of flows <br />necessary to inundate the bottomland site. However, the flows that were <br />estimated to flood each of these bottomland sites should be considered <br />provisional in this report until empirical verification can be obtained for <br />these sites. Flow information was also used to determine the frequency that <br />predicted flows might now occur at each bottomland site. <br />In the Green River drainage, of the seven sites evaluated, the Woods <br />Bottom (Old Charlie Wash) bottomland site within the Ouray National Wildlife <br />Refuge floods the most frequently, between 95-100% (i. e., between 9-1/2 and <br />10 years out of 10). Sheppard and Johnson Bottoms flood approximately 65-75% <br />and 40-45% annually, respectively. The Baeser Bend site floods less <br />frequently, only about 10-200 (one to two years out of 10). In the Colorado <br />River drainage, of the nine sites evaluated, the Griffith bottomland site in <br />the 15-mile reach of the Colorado River floods the most frequently, about 50% <br />(one year out of two). The frequency of flooding at the Confluence Park <br />bottomland site (an oxbow) on the Gunnison River now occurs only about 10-15% <br />(one to one and one-half years out of 10) since the construction of upstream <br />dams; a tertiary side channel at the Adobe Creek site is inundated about 20- <br />25% (two to two and one-half years out of 10). Many of the other sites are <br />now inundated less frequently because of the loss of the (historical) high- <br />volume years, which are important to inundating off-channel habitats in the <br />floodplain. Not only has the magnitude of runoff flows in May and June been <br />reduced by about 45% in both the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, and by 22% in <br />the Green River but the duration of flooding has also been reduced. Much of <br />this is a result of upstream water development projects, primarily <br />transmountain diversions and reservoir storage. The construction of levees <br />and dikes, particularly along the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, has further <br />reduced the likelihood of flooding by further isolating the floodplain from <br />the main stream reaches and preventing water access during runoff. Given the <br />present hydrologic regime, current water availability, and future compact <br />water development in the Upper Colorado River Basin, inundating bottomland <br />sites might be best accomplished by removing portions of- or entire human-made <br />dikes or natural obstructions (e.g., levees) to increase flooding frequency. <br />Those sites that flood more frequently under the existing hydrologic regime <br />will also flood more frequently in the future, and will provide more benefits <br />to endangered fish. <br />The priority recommendation was to collect additional flow and elevation <br />data during runoff in 1995 at seven bottomland sites established in 1994 on <br />the Green River and at four bottomland sites (Pike's and Adobe Creek on the <br />Colorado River and Confluence Park and Johnson Boy's Slough on the Gunnison <br />River) established in 1994 to verify and refine stage vs. discharge <br />relationships. These data are particularly important for estimating flows <br />necessary to inundate bottomland sites and vital in determining which sites <br />can be practically restored. Other recommendations include, 1) completing <br />contaminant screening for the remaining 19 bottomland sites investigated in <br />1994, 2) determining if three bottomland depression sites along the Colorado <br />River between Moab, Utah, and the Green River confluence have suitable habitat <br />for restoration, 3) obtaining a complete set of current color aerial <br />photographs of the entire Upper Colorado River Basin, and 4) developing <br />alternative or additional selection criteria, if warranted by site visits, to <br />xv