BOARD01016

• Board Meeting Date: 1/27/2004
• Description: ISF Section - Instream Flow Appropriations - Birdseye Gulch
• 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 [mdings required
in Rule 5.40.

Colorado's Instream Flow 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 instream flow and natural lake level water rights.
In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the
statute directs the CWCB to request instream flow recommendations from other state and federal
agencies. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended this segment of Birdseye
Gulch to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. Birdseye Gulch is being
considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow 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 Birdseye Gulch is one of the few streams in the
historic mining district surrounding Leadville, which has water quality that is capable of
supporting a salmonid fishery.

Birdseye Gulch is 3.4 miles long. It begins on the western flank of Mosquito Pass at an elevation
of approximately 11,700 feet and terminates at the confluence with the East Fork Arkansas River
at an elevation of approximately 10,200 feet. Approximately 2.4 miles of the segment addressed
by this report is located on federal lands. Birdseye Gulch is located within Lake County. The
total drainage area of the creek is approximately 5.2 square miles. Birdseye Gulch generally
flows in a northwest direction.

The subject of this report is a segment of Birdseye Gulch beginning at the Headwaters and
extending downstream to the East Fork Arkansas River (see Map Appendix D). The proposed
segment is located northeast of Leadville. The staff has received only one recommendation for
this segment, from the Bureau of Land Management. The recommendation for this segment is
discussed below.

Instream Flow Recommendation(s)

BLM recommended 1.6 cfs, summer, and 0.9 cfs, winter, based on its July 17, 2003, and
September 29, 2003, data collection efforts (see Appendix A). The modeling results from this
survey effort are within the confidence interval produced by the R2Cross model.

land Status Review

Total Length Land Ownership
Upper Terminus Lower Terminus (miles) % Private % Public
Headwaters East Fork 3.4 29% 71%
Arkansas River

71 % of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the BLM.

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