BOARD00929

• Board Meeting Date: 11/9/1992
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos. Partial.
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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Letter - Dan Merriman
October 29, 1992
Page 2

case, I walked, photographed, and mapped each of the stream
segments. I will be prepared to show the Board the photographs at
the November meeting. -The streams were very different from one
another so I will discuss them separately.

MIDDLE FORK FISH CREEK

The Middle Fork of Fish Creek in the vicinity of the existing
reservoir is very steep, step-pool stream type. As a result of the
slope of the stream channel, the proposed enlargement of the
reservoir will only inundate approximately 82 feet of stream; of
this total, only approximately 10 feet will be inundated by the 200
acre foot enlargement. Above the proposed new high waterline, the
stream gradient is considerably less and several brook trout (5 to
7 inches in length) loTere observed in the plunge pools in this
section where no fish were observed in the inundated reach. In my
opinion the poorest habitat for fish (due primarily to the
gradient) in the Middle Fork of Fish Creek is the BO+ feet that
will be inundated by the proposed project.

. GRANITE CREEK

Granite Creek on the other hand is a beautiful mountain meadow
creek with outstanding habitat for brook trout. While several of
the deep pools had more than 50 fish in them, no fish above 5
inches in length were observed. Due to the gentle gradient of
Granite Creek in the vicinity of the existing reservoir,
approximately 1030 feet of Granite Creek will be inundated by the
proposed enlargement; of -this total, only roughly 90 feet of
Granite Creek will be inundated by the 200 acre foot enlargement.
The mountain meadow characteristics of this stream persist for
approximately 0.8 miles upstream of the proposed new high
waterline. Assessing the impacts on this stream is much more
difficult, but the following discussion might bring the proposed
project as a whole, into proper perspective.

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DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Due to the fact that the only issue before the CWCB is the 200
acre foot enlargement I will limit my discussion to the upper lO
feet and 90 feet of the Middle Fork of Fish Creek and Granite
Creek, respectively. The City of steamboat Springs has proposed
using the 200 acre foot enlargement to augment the low flows on
lower Fish Creek that have historically occurred during the late
summer and fall. In addition, they have improved the habitat in
lower Fish Creek as it passes through town and plan to continue
this project on sections of stream where access is possible. The
augmentation of low flows is a direct in stream flow benefit of this