07/6/A-006 Supplemental Data - Laserfiche WebLink

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Summary The information contained in this report and the associated appendix forms the basis for staff's instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board. It is staff's opinion that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the findings required in Rule 5i. Colorado's Instream Flow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of the natural environment" (see 37 -92 -102 (3) C.R.S.). The statute vests the CWCB with the exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire instream flow and natural lake level water rights. In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the statute directs the CWCB to request instream flow recommendations from other state and federal agencies. The Bureau of Land Management recommended this segment of North Fork North Platte River to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. North Fork North Platte River is being considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural environment that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. The BLM is very interested in protecting stream flows because the North Fork of the North Platte supports one of the best fisheries in North Park, and it also supports an extremely healthy riparian community. North Fork North Platte River is 30.4 miles long. It begins at its headwaters on the northeastern flank of Red Elephant Mountain near Big Creek Lakes at an elevation of approximately 9,195 feet. It terminates at the confluence with the Platte River at an elevation of approximately 8,100 feet. Approximately 62% of the 9.8 -mile segment addressed by this report is located on federal lands. North Fork North Platte River is located within Jackson County. The total drainage area of the creek is approximately 28.3 square miles. North Fork North Platte River generally flows in a southeasterly direction. The subject of this report is a segment of the North Fork North Platte River beginning at the headwaters and extending downstream to the headgate of the Little Nellie Ditch. The proposed segment is located northwest of the town of Walden. The staff has received one recommendation for this segment from the BLM. The recommendation for this segment is discussed below. Instream Flow Recommendations) BLM recommended 7.1 cfs (summer), 5.6 cfs (winter), based on data collection efforts on September 29, 2005. The modeling results from these survey efforts are within the confidence interval produced by the R2Cross model. Land Status Review Upper Terminus Lower Terminus Total Length (miles) Land Ownership % Private % Public Headwaters Little Nellie Ditch 9.8 38% 62% Of the 62% of land under public ownership, 12% is managed by BLM and 50% is managed by USFS.