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<br />G <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />m <br /> <br />11/20/96 <br /> <br />10:46 <br /> <br />'6'303 275 5557 <br /> <br />USDA/OGe/DENVER <br /> <br />IaJ 0021007 <br /> <br />O"l1il:ed Sl:ates <br />Department of <br />Agric:ult:urll . <br /> <br />Po:est <br />Service <br /> <br />Rocky <br />Kow>tain <br />Re9':!.on <br /> <br />P.O. Box 25J.27 <br />Lakewood, CO 80225-0J.27 <br />Delivery: 740 Simms St. <br />Golden, CO 60401 <br /> <br />File Code: 2500 <br /> <br />Date: ,AI"" .2..0, (9'1(, <br /> <br />Mr. Dan Merriman <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br /> <br />Dear Dan: <br /> <br />This letter states the findings of our cooperative instream flow studies on <br />four stream reaches of the Dead Hors. Creek water.hed in the Glenwood Canyon <br />area. The.recommendations are based upon recreation, aesthetic, and selected <br />biological purposes. as originally requested in Regional Forester Elizabeth <br />Estill's letter to the Board on April 25, 1995. Transmitted with this letter <br />are the various technical reports from forest specialists, floW data, pertinent <br />National Fo~est System management prescriptions, and the April 25, 1996 letter <br />trom Re9io~l For.st Est:!.ll. As previously discussed, the instream flow filing <br />should be h_ld in both the names of the Board and the United states. <br /> <br />The Dead Horse Creek watersbed is 10.6 square miles in area. ~ast and ~est <br />Forks join #bout one mile above the mouth of the watershed to form main Dead <br />Horse Creek, The upper two-thirds of the watersbed lies atop ehe White River <br />Plateau. T!1e lower third forms' a steep canyon plunging down to the Colorado <br />River. Hanging Lake and Spouting Roclc are just. above the fork~, have seen <br />heavy r.cre~tion-visieor use for more than 100 years, and are the focal point <br />of the area ~ the primary basis for ehe inseream flow filing. A seretch of <br />East Fork above Ranging Lake has a series of !alls, cascades, ~d flats that <br />provide habitat for some rare flora aJld fauna. <br /> <br />The geology of the waeershed consises of interbedded sedimentary rocks that <br />include sub~eantial limestone and dolomite and overlie a quart~ite wieh a base <br />of conglomerate. The sedimentary rOC~8. especially carbonates, are permeable <br />to water flow. Limestone supports many springs in East and WeGe Forks. Many <br />fracture systems in the quartzite are flow paehs for water that often emerges <br />through the conglomeraee. The Grizzly Creek Fault crosses ehe watershed about <br />one-half mile above Hanging Lake. Other faults follow stream "lignmenes. <br /> <br />The geology, hydrology, and biology of the watershed are inextricably linked <br />and create the strong recreation and aesthetic attraction of Dead Horse Creek, <br />Spouting Rock, and Hanging Lake. Und.:rground water in Upper East Fork emerges <br />in Lower I!:ast Fork, where it alternately loses through sinks and gains through <br />springe. Rare sullivaneia and black ,wift live in mists behind the many falls <br />in lower East Fork above Hanging Lake. Red-osier dogwood thickets occupy the <br />flats in this stretch. Yellow columbine occurs in seeps above and below <br />Hanging Lake. Most West Fork water flOws underground into East Fork through <br />fracture systems and enhances ehese communities. unique travertine deposits <br />form the Hanging Lake dam. Main Dead Horse Creek has many springs and a <br />natural rock arch, and its flows vary by more than 100-fold d~ing the year. <br /> <br />Caring for the Land and Serving People <br /> <br />PrinlM !VI R......,,,.......... 0..-..,.. __ <br />