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In 2010, following the completion of construction maintenance to the dam, the reservoir was <br /> briefly filled and drained. Normal fill and drawdown operations began in 2011. Normal <br /> operations consist of filling the reservoir to the high water level until late spring and then <br /> releasing portions of water for irrigation throughout the summer. <br /> ' Special conditions of the permit were modified on June 2, 2010. An adaptive management <br /> approach was designed to assess potential secondary impacts to wetlands as a result of increased <br /> ' water storage. Vegetation baseline conditions were established at this time. <br /> The reservoir site was to be monitored for a period of at least 3 years. Monitoring would include <br /> ' identifying vegetation species and percent cover within established plots. The Grand Mesa <br /> Function and Value Assessment, or "Grand Mesa Method" (GMM) (WestWater 2009) would be <br /> completed annually to monitor potential changes to function within the wetland. Annual reports <br /> of findings would be prepared and submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). <br /> After three years of monitoring the ACOE would then review the findings, concluding the amount <br /> ' of impacts, if any, due to inundation and determine whether additional compensatory mitigation <br /> would be required. A decision on whether addition annual monitoring is be needed would also be <br /> made by the ACOE. <br /> ' In 2014, a wetland delineation was performed by WestWater biologists at Bull Creek Reservoir <br /> #4. A site visit was made by WestWater and the ACOE on September 5, 2014 to verify the <br /> wetland delineation. <br /> This report contains results obtained from analysis of vegetation data and functional assessment <br /> ' from 2010—2014 and the wetland delineation in 2014 at Bull Creek Reservoir#4. <br /> SITE CONDITIONS <br /> ' Yearly Precipitation Accumulations <br /> Precipitation accumulations from the Mesa Lakes SNOTEL site determined the average <br /> precipitation accumulation is 34.4 inches (NRCS 2014). Precipitation accumulation, peak snow <br /> depth, and date snow melt reached zero inches at Mesa Lakes is depicted in Table 1. Overall <br /> 2011 was a wetter than average year, 2012 was a drier than average year, and 2010 and 2014 were <br /> ' average precipitation years. <br /> Table 1. Mesa Lakes Colorado SNOTEL Site— 10,000 feet. <br /> r Water Year Precipitation Peak Snow Depth Date Snow Melt <br /> Accumulation (in) (in) reached Zero Inches <br /> 2010 35.7 68 May 28th <br /> ' 2011 44.8 57 June 15th <br /> 2012 28.5 57 Ma 5th <br /> 2014 33.8 57 May 3151 <br /> WestWater Engineering Page 2 of 14 February 2015 <br /> 1 <br />