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STATE OF COLORADO <br />Bill Owens, Governor <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br />AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />Russell George, Director <br />6060 Broadway <br />Denver, Colorado 80216 <br />Telephone: (303) 297 -1192 <br />10 December 2001 <br />Mr. Dan Merriman <br />Mr. Mark Uppendahl <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Stream and Lake Protection Section <br />1313 Sherman Street, Suite 721 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Subj: CDOW Natural Lake Level Recommendations for Jewell Mountain Lake <br />Dear Dan and Mark: <br />For Wildlife - <br />For People <br />The purpose of this letter is to formally transmit the Colorado Division of Wildlife's natural lake level recommendation for Jewel Mountain <br />Lake. Jewel Mountain Lake is in Jefferson County (near the Jefferson - Boulder County line) west of the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats <br />property between Boulder and Golden. The City of Boulder Open Space Department has recommended Jewel Mountain Lake for protection <br />under the Colorado Water Conservation Board's Stream and Lake Protection Program. CWCB has requested the Division of Wildlife to <br />investigate Jewel Mountain Lake for inclusion in the CWCB's Natural Lake Protection Program; CDOW submits this letter reporting our <br />findings and our recommendations. <br />First, we would like to note that Jewel Mountain Lake is unique from a statewide perspective. In Colorado, there are nearly 2000 natural lakes; <br />over 90% of these natural lakes are above 8200 feet, only two natural lakes are known to occur at elevations less than 7000 feet. The surveyed <br />water surface elevation ofJewel Mountain Lake is 6263 feet above mean sea level in elevation. In 1999, the CDOW sampled Jewel Mountain <br />Lake at the request of Boulder Open Space staff. We set five nets (two gill nets and three trap nets) for a period of 18 hours on August 11, 1999. <br />A total of 51 painted turtles were collected as well as one tiger salamander larvae. It is assumed that no fish are present in Jewel Mountain Lake <br />because none were collected in the nets and fish and tiger salamanders are rarely found together. Jewel Mountain Lake is currently being <br />considered by CDOW and Boulder Open Space as a refuge for some of the eastern plains fishes (plains topminnows, common shiners, northern <br />redbelly dace, or brassy minnows) that the CDOW is attempting to protect and proactively manage. Based on our sampling efforts at Jewel <br />Mountain Lake (copy attached), the CDOW is of the opinion that a natural environment exists at this lake and this natural environment is <br />worthy of consideration for protection with a CWCB natural lake level water right. <br />City of Boulder Open Space has provided us with information regarding the size of the lake (6.87 acres) and the elevation of the historic high <br />water line (6263.17 feet). Seasonal evaporation appears to reduce the elevation by as much as five feet in extreme years but the normal amount <br />of evaporation is typically approximately two feet. Given the unique nature of this lake from a statewide perspective, the Division of Wildlife <br />believes that an elevation of 6261 feet is the minimum amount of water necessary needed to preserve the natural environment ofJewel Mountain <br />Lake to a reasonable degree. The estimated lake volume at this elevation is 28.9 acre feet. <br />If you have any questions regarding this natural lake level recommendation please contact me at you earliest convenience. <br />Sincerely, <br />Jay W. Skinner <br />CDOW Instream Flow Program Coordinator <br />cc: Steve Puttmann, CDOW <br />Bob Crifasi, COBOS <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Greg E. Watcher, Executive Director <br />WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Rick Enstrom, Chair • Robert Shoemaker, Vice -Chair • Marianna Raftopoulos, Secretary <br />Members, Bernard Black • Tom Burke • Philip James • Brad Phelps • Olive Valdez <br />Ex- Officio Members, Greg E. Watcher and Don Ament <br />