BOARD00933

• Board Meeting Date: 1/25/2005
• Description: ISF Section - Instream Flow Appropriations - West Fork Dry Creek
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Summary
The information contained in this report and the associated instream flow file folder forms the
basis for staff's instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board. It is staff's
opinion that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the findings required
in Rule 5.40.

Colorado's Instream Plow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature
recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of
the natural environment" (see 37-92-102 (3) c.R.S.). The statute vests the CWCB with the
exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire in stream flow and natural lake level water rights.
In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Plow Program, the
statute directs the CWCB to request in stream flow recommendations from other state and federal
agencies. The Bureau of Land Management recommended this segment of West Pork Dry Creek
to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Plow Program. West Pork Dry Creek is being
considered for inclusion into the Instream Plow Program because it has a natural environment
that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. The BLM is very
interested in protecting stream flows because the creek is a remote, undeveloped environment
that supports a self-sustaining population of rainbow trout, and a riparian community that is in
very good condition.

West Pork Dry Creek is 9.2 miles long. It begins near Silesca Pond and Iron Spring
Campground on the southeastern flank of the Uncompahgre Plateau at an elevation of
approximately 9,200 feet. It terminates at the confluence with East Pork Dry Creek at an
elevation of approximately 6,300 feet. Approximately 68% of the 5.9-mile segment addressed
by this report is located on federal lands. West Pork Dry Creek is located within Montrose
County. The total drainage area of the creek is approximately 17.8 square miles. West Pork Dry
Creek generally flows in a northerly direction.

The subject of this report is a segment of West Pork Dry Creek beginning at the confluence with
Gray's Creek and extending downstream to the confluence with East Pork Dry Creek. The
proposed segment is located south of the City of Delta. The staff has received only one
recommendation for this segment, from the BLM. The recommendation for this segment is
discussed below.

Instream Flow Recommendation(s)

BLM recommended 3.40 cfs (April I to June 30), 0.85 cfs (July I to July 31), 0.30 cfs (August I
to Pebruary 28), and 0.85 cfs (March I to March 31)(see Appendix A). The modeling results
from these survey efforts are within the confidence interval produced by the R2Cross model.

Land Status Review

Total Length Land Ownership
Upper Terminus Lower Terminus (miles) % Private % Public
Confluence with Headgate of 5.9 32% 68%
Points Creek Campbell Ditch

68 % of the reach is located on federal lands.

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