BOARD01186

• Board Meeting Date: 1/25/2005
• Description: ISF Section - Instream Flow Appropriations - Smith Fork Gunnison River
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO

Bill Owens, Governor
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

DIVISION OF WilDLIFE

AN EOUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Bruce McCloskey, Director
6060 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80216
Telephone: [phone]

December 16, 2004

Mr. Dan Merriman and Mr. Todd Doherty
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Stream and Lake Protection Section
1313 Sherman Street, Room 723
Denver, Colorado 80203

Re: Colorado Division of Wildlife Instream Flow Recommendations for the Smith Fork ofthe
Gurmison River.

Dear Dan and Todd,

The purpose of this letter is to officially transmit the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Instream Flow
Recommendations for Smith Fork of the Gunnison River in Gunnison and Delta Counties. The reach of
stream covered by this flow recommendation is from the confluence of the North and South Forks of the
Smith Fork to the confluence with lillie Coal Creek, a distance of approximately 4 miles. This reach of
stream is located east of the Town of Crawford.

In the fall of 1998, the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), with the assistance of staff from the
Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), collected stream cross section information, natural
environment data, and other data needed to quantify Instream Flow needs for the Smith Fork of the
Gunnison River. The Smith Fork of the Gunnison River is classified as a large stream (between 36 to
59 feet wide) and fishery surveys indicate the stream environment of the Smith Fork supports a self-
sustaining cutthroat, brown and rainbow trout fishery.

The stream cross section data was analyzed using the R2CROSS program. The R2CROSS output was
evaluated using the methods described in Nehring (1979) and Espegren (1996). The CDOW has
reviewed the data collected to date and based on that review recommends that the CWCB appropriated
the following flow amounts to preserve the natural environment of the Smith Fork of the Gunnison River
to a reasonable degree:

. 12.9 cubic feet per second is recommended for April 1 through October 15. This flow is required
to maintain the three principal hydraulic criteria of average depth, average velocity and percent
wetted perimeter;

. 7.7 cubic feet per second is recommended for October 16 through March 31. This flow is
required to maintain two of the three principal hydraulic criteria of average depth, average
velocity and percent wetted perimeter.

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Russell George, Executive Director
WilDLIFE COMMISSION. Philip James, Chair. Jeffrey Crawford, Vice-Chair. Brad Phelps, Secrelary
Members, Bernard Black. Tom Burke. RiCk Enstrom. Claire 0' Neale Robert Shoemaker. Ken Torres
Ex Officio Members, Russell George and Don Ament