BOARD00758

• Board Meeting Date: 3/21/2006
• Description: ISF Section - 2006 New Appropriations - Little Cottonwood Creek and Beaver Creek in Moffat County
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

County, they would work with Moffat County, The DOW belicved that the connectivity bctween
the reservoir and the stream is important for the Cut Throat Trout fishery in Little Cottonwood A
Creek. It should also be noted that the upper terminus for Beavcr Crcck has also been amendcd as a ..
result of Board discussion at the January 2006 Board meeting. Thc proposed upper terminus is at the
private-public (Colorado State Land Board Lands) boundary. This shortens the overall reach of the
proposed instream flow appropriation by approximately 1500 feet.

TECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS
In accordance with the the Instrcam Flow Rules, the two stream segments provided on the attached
tabulation are being recommended to the Board for Board action. Staff is requesting the Board
dcclare its intent to appropriatc thc recommended instream flows. CWCB staff has revicwed each
proposed stream segment to ensure each flow rccommendation and data sct was complete and
standard methods and procedures were followed. In addition, staff has completed its map work and
water availability studies. At the January 2006 CWCB meeting, Staff provided the Board copies of
executive summary reports of tcchnical data, contained in the Instream Flow Rccommendation
Notebook, which form the basis for the staffs rccommendations.

Natural Environment Studies
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) and thc Bureau of Land Managcment (ELM) havc
conducted field survcys of the natural environment resources on these streams and have found
natural environments that can be preserved. To quantify the resources and to evaluatc instream flow
and natural lake level requirements, the CDOW and the BLM have collected biologic and hydraulic
data that were analyzed by the Board staff. Based on the rcsults of these analyscs, the CWCB staff
prepared recommendations of the amount of watcr necessary to preservc the natural environment to a
a reasonable degree for each of the streams listed on the attached Tabulations of Instream Flow and ..
Natural Lakc Level Recommendations.

Water Availabilitv Studies
The CWCB staff has conducted an evaluation of water availability for the streams listed. To
determine the amount of water physically available for the Board's appropriations, the staff analyzed
available USGS gagc rccords, available streamflow models, and/or utilized appropriate standard
mcthods to develop a hydro graph of mean or median monthly flows for cach stream flow
recommendation. Staff also relied upon the flow measurements made as part of the field survey as
an indicator of the amount of water physically available in each stream; analyzed the water rights
tabulation for each stream; and consulted with the Division Engineer's Officc to identify any
potential watcr availability problems. Based upon its analyses, Staff has determined that water is
available for appropriation on each stream and lake to preserve the natural environment to a
reasonablc degree without limiting or foreclosing the exercise of valid water rights.

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Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Financing. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation Planning