Pagosa Springs San Juan/Delores River Div 7 Additional Correspondence

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• Who will be responsible for the maintenance of the play features should they fail under a high flow situation? • What mitigation will occur for the trout fishery? There will be impacts to the fishery no matter what time of year the project occurs. Timing, level of impact, use of machinery in the river, sediment control, and oil spills from equipment--all of these things need to be addressed in a mitigation plan. • An adaptive management type approach needs to be developed as a contingency in case the proposed actions do not work out as expected. What will happen if the boulders are not stable in the river?What will happen if sediment collects rather than passes through the system? What happens if the trout fishery is reduced in quality? A plan for addressing these unforeseen events should be developed ahead of time. 4. Recommendations • Permit for Past Activities—absolute necessity • Explanation of why past efforts failed—this is necessary in order to not commit the same steps with resulting same impacts • A geomorphic analysis that takes into account the watershed dynamics(hydrology and sediment), fluvial controls upstream and downstream of the project,water quality concerns(construction and post construction) and likely fishery impacts should be accomplished before a permit is issued. • The proposal should take into account the development of these types of whitewater parks elsewhere on high dynamic streams and what lessons have been learned from these experiences. There are several projects in Colorado that could be used as an example. The problems found in Durango would be a good one to include in the analysis. • The public should be included in a further discussion of this project based on the comments provided. This project will change the dynamics of the San Juan River and the public should be aware of what the changes may lead to in terms of river dynamics. 4