Proposed Workplan for Yampa River Basin Sediment Monitoring Program with Notes

• Description: Yampa River Management Team
• State: CO
• State: UT
• State: WY
• Basin: Yampa/White/Green
• Water Division: 6
• Date: 5/7/1997
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, George Smith
• Title: Proposed Workplan for Yampa River Basin Sediment Monitoring Program with Notes
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Project Overview

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entities to reduce sediment yield in the Little Snake River Basin in Wyoming,
• Potential flow modifications in the Yampa River associated with the operation of
Elkhead and /or Stagecoach Reservoirs,
• Flow reduction in the Little Snake River due to transbasin diversions by the Cheyenne
project,
• Potential water quality problems associated with nutrient loading to the Yampa River
in the Craig area.
Specific critical areas within the system that could be affected by the flow modifications and
landuse activities include:
• Spawning habitat at the Razorback Bar near Jensen, UT,
• Channel capacity and overbank flows in the flooded bottomland area between Split
Mountain and Sand Wash,
• Sediment storage and movement through Browns Park, Lodore Canyon, and
Rainbow - Island Park on the Green River,
• Sediment storage in Deedodge Park on the Yampa River,
• Channel adjustments, sediment storage and cottonwood regeneration in Echo Park,
• Squawfsh spawning habitat in the lower Yampa Canyon, at Three Fords West, and
at other sites on the Green River,
• Razorback sucker spawning habitat near the mouth of the Yampa River, at the
Razorback Bar and Escalante reach, and near the mouth of the San Rafael River,
• Low -flow fish passage in the Cross Mountain reach of the Yampa River, and
• Fish passage at Tusher Wash on the Green River.
The work proposed here will build on the existing body of knowledge and will provide
information to specifically address those portions of the above issues that relate to sediment
movement and storage and their effects on channel dynamics of the Yampa and Green River
systems.
IV. Study Goals, Objectives, End Products:
A. Goals:
The goal of the sediment monitoring program is to provide information with which to evaluate
changes in the magnitude, timing, and caliber of sediment delivery to the Yampa and Green
River systems resulting from water resource development and land use changes in the
basin, and their potential effects on the riverine ecosystem, specifically as they relate to
recovery of the endangered fishes.
B. Objectives:
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