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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 staff's instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board, It is staff's <br />opinion that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the findings required <br />in Rule 5.40i, <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 United States Forest Service recommended this segment of East Fork Escalante <br />Creek to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program, East Fork Escalante Creek is <br />being considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural <br />environment that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. <br /> <br />East Fork Escalante Creek is 9,8 miles long, It begins on the northeastern flank of Uncompahgre <br />Plateau at an elevation of approximately 8,900 feet and flows in a northeasterly direction, It <br />terminates at the confluence with Middle Escalante Creek at an elevation of approximately 6,440 <br />feet. Approximately 94% of the 9,8-mile segment addressed by this report is located on federal <br />lands (9,2 miles is owned by USFS in this reach), East Fork Escalante Creek is located within <br />Mesa County, The total drainage area of the creek is approximately 25,7 square miles, <br /> <br />The subject of this report is a segment of East Fork Escalante Creek beginning at its headwaters <br />and extending downstream to the confluence with the Middle Fork Escalante Creek. The <br />proposed segment is located southwest of the City of Delta, The staff has received only one <br />recommendation for this segment, from the USFS, The recommendation for this segment is <br />discussed below, <br /> <br />Instream Flow Recommendation(s) <br /> <br />USFS recommended 3,9 cfs, summer, and 1.2 cfs, winter based on its June 2004 data collection <br />efforts (see Appendix A), Only the summer flow recommendation was within the accuracy <br />range of the predicted flows based on Manning's Equation (240% and 40% of Q), CWCB staff <br />relied on the recommending agency, the USFS, for the winter flow recommendation based on <br />their expertise and biological judgment. <br /> <br />Land Status Review <br /> <br /> Total Length Land Ownership <br />Upper Terminus Lower Terminus (miles) % Private % Public <br />Confluence with Headgate of 9,8 0% 100% <br />Points Creek Campbell Ditch <br /> <br />94% of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the USFS and 6% is on state lands <br />managed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, <br /> <br />-2- <br />