Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Final Report <br /> <br />April 2.004 <br /> <br />and commercial activities consistent with federal laws and regulations governing <br />National Forests. <br /> <br />Because water diversions are linked to most ofthe instream flow issues and concerns, the <br />streams on the National Forest lands were characterized or sorted into major categories <br />based on levels of diversion. Watersheds were sorted into groupings based on the <br />percentage of annual water yield (stream flow) being diverted (annual average) for out- <br />of-channel use. The Steering Committee selected the four levels of diversion to <br />characterize and differentiate streams on the GMUG National Forests that are: <br /> <br />. no recorded diversions (No Diversions) <br />. water right diversions with no recorded volume of diversion or with less <br />than 20 percent of the total calculated annual yield (0 to 20 % Diverted) <br />. quantified water right diversions with a range of20 to 50 percent of the <br />total annual yield (20 to 50% Diverted) <br />. quantified water right diversions with a percentage greater than 50 <br />percent of the calculated annual yield (> 50% Diverted) <br /> <br />These four categories were further sorted as to whether the streams were inhabited by <br />wildlife species of concern (which includes federally listed threatened and endangered <br />species) or had potential populations of such species (Table I). One of the key species <br />triggering this sort is the Colorado River Cutthroat trout because ofthe Forest Service's <br />commitment to the multi-state, multi-agency Conservation Agreement and Strategy for <br />Colorado River Cutthroat Trout (April 2001) that outlines a plan for sustaining that trout <br />population in Colorado and other western states. <br /> <br />T bl 1 W t h d b S t" C t <br /> <br />a e -- a ers e s lY: or Ill!! I a e!!ones <br /> No Recorded o to 20% Diverted 20 to 50% > than 50% Diverted <br /> Diversions Diverted <br /> Species No Species No Species No Species No <br /> of Species of Species of Species of Species <br /> Concern of Concern of Concern of Concern of <br /> Concern Concern Concern Concern <br />6th Level 4 70 56 67 4 11 3 8 <br />HUC's <br />7'h Level 40 301 72 150 9 23 4 21 <br />HUC's <br />CWCS ISF 18 46 29 51 5 8 3 3 <br />Filings <br /> <br />The number of streams in any of these eight sub-categories is subject to change over <br />time. This type of database is dynamic in that as new or updated information is acquired <br />and as new diversions occur it could change the characterization of the watersheds based <br />on presence or absence of species of concern or the amount of water diverted. It is <br />important to note that as the size ofthe watershed increases (e.g., from 7th level to 6th <br /> <br />- 6- <br />