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<br />Summary
<br />The information contained in this report and the associated instream flow file folder forms the
<br />basis for the instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board, It is staff's opinion
<br />that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the findings required in Rule
<br />5i.
<br />
<br />Colorado's Instream Flow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature
<br />recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of
<br />the natural environment" (see 37-92-102 (3) c.R.S,), The statute vests the CWCB with the
<br />exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire in stream flow and natural lake level water rights,
<br />In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the
<br />statute directs the CWCB to request in stream flow recommendations from other state and federal
<br />agencies, The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CD OW) recommended this segment of the South
<br />Fork of the Smith Fork to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program, The South
<br />Fork of the Smith Fork is being considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because
<br />it has a natural environment that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow
<br />water right
<br />
<br />The CDOW is forwarding this stream flow recommendation to the CWCB to meet the State of
<br />Colorado's policy ".., that the wildlife and their environment are to be protected, preserved,
<br />enhanced, and managed for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the people of this state and its
<br />visitors .., and that, to carry out such program and policy, there shall be a continuous operation
<br />of planning, acquisition, and development of wildlife habitats and facilities for wildlife-related
<br />opportunities" c.R.S, 33-1-101 (1), The CDOW Strategic Plan states "Healthy aquatic
<br />environments are essential to maintain healthy and viable fisheries, and critical for self-
<br />sustaining populations, The Division desires to protect and enhance the quality and quantity of
<br />aquatic habitats,"
<br />
<br />The South Fork of the Smith Fork is approximately 5,9 miles long, It begins on the north side of
<br />Bald Mountain at an elevation of approximately 10350 feet and terminates at the confluence with
<br />the North Fork of the Smith Fork at an elevation of approximately 7580 feet Of the 5,9-mile
<br />segment addressed by this report, approximately 92.4% of the segment, or 5,5 miles, is located
<br />on public lands, while the remainder of the segment, 0,5 miles, is located on private lands, South
<br />Fork of the Smith Fork is located within Gunnison County, The total drainage area of the river is
<br />approximately 15,9 square miles, The South Fork of the Smith Fork generally flows in a
<br />westerly direction,
<br />
<br />The subject of this report is a segment of the South Fork of the Smith Fork beginning at its
<br />headwaters and extending downstream to the North Fork of the Smith Fork. The proposed
<br />segment is located east of the Town of Crawford, The staff has received one recommendation
<br />for this segment from the CDOW, The recommendation for this segment is discussed below,
<br />
<br />Instream Flow Recommendation(s)
<br />
<br />The CDOW has recommended 6.4 cfs, summer, and 4,1 cfs, winter, based on their data
<br />collection efforts (see Table 1 and Appendix A), The modeling results from this survey effort
<br />are within the confidence interval produced by the R2CROSS modeL
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