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<br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />Bill Owens, Governor <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br /> <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br /> <br />AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br /> <br />Bruce McCloskeV. Director <br />6060 Broadway <br />Denver, Colorado 80216 <br />Telephone: (303) 297-1192 <br /> <br /> <br />December 20, 2004 <br /> <br />Mr. Dan Merriman and Mr. Todd Doherty <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Stream and Lake Protection Section <br />1313 Shennan Street, Room 723 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />Re: Colorado Division ofWijdjife Instream Flow Recommendations for Comet Creek. <br /> <br />Dear Dan and Todd, <br /> <br />The purpose of this letter is to officiallY transmit the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Instream Flow <br />Recommendations for Cornet Creek in San Miguel County. The reach of stream covered by this flow <br />recommendation is from the headwaters to the confluence with the San Miguel River, a distance of <br />approximately 3,6 miles, <br /> <br />In the fall of 1996, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), with the assistance of staff from the Colorado <br />Water Conservation Board (CWCB), collected stream cross section information, natural environment data, <br />and other data needed to quantify Instream Flow needs for the Cornet Creek. Cornet Creek is classified as <br />a medium stream (between 20 to 35 feet wide). Cornet Creek was sampled using standard electrofishing <br />equipment approximately 1/8 mile above the confluence with the San Miguel River. The aquatic sampling <br />summary shows that a self sustaining brook and brown trout fiShery exists in Cornet Creek. Cornet Creek <br />also has a healthy aquatic macroinvertebrate population indicative of high quality water. Comet Creek also <br />supports a healthy riparian community. Instrearn flows are needed to preserve and protect these biological <br />communities in addition to the existing brook and brown trout fishery. Cornet Creek also produces high <br />quality water that serves to provide assurance that mine clean-up activities in the upper San Miguel basin <br />(above the Town of Telluride) will continue to show improvements to the river's water quality and the river's <br />fish population. <br /> <br />The stream cross section data was analyzed using the R2CROSS program. The R2CROSS output was <br />evaluated using the methods described in Nehring (1979) and Espegren (1996). The CDOW has reviewed <br />the data collected to date and based on that review recommends that the CWCS appropriated the following <br />flow amounts to preserve the natural environment of the Cornet Creek to a reasonable degree: <br /> <br />. 9.0 cubic feet per second is recommended for the summer flow. This flow is required to <br />maintain the three principal hydraulic criteria of average depth, average velocity and percent <br />wetted perimeter; <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Russell George. Executive Director <br />WILDLIFE COMMISSION. Philip James. Chair. Jeffrey Crawford, Vice-Chair. Brad Phelps. Secretary <br />Members, Bernard Black. Tom Burke. Rick Enstrom. Claire 0' Neal. Robert Shoemaker. Ken Torres <br />Ex Officio Members, Russell George and Don Ament <br />