Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Summary <br />The information contained in this report and the associated instream flow file folder forms the <br />basis for staff s instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board. It is staff's <br />opinion that the information contained in this report is sufficient to support the fmdings required <br />in Rule 5.40. <br /> <br />Colorado's Instream Flow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature <br />recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of <br />the natural environment" (see 37-92-102 (3) C.R.S.). The statute vests the CWCB with the <br />exclusive authority to appropriate and acquire instream flow and natural lake level water rights. <br />In order to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the <br />statute directs the CWCB to request instream flow recommendations from other state and federal <br />agencies. The Colorado Division of Wildlife recommended this segment of East Branch Sayres <br />Gulch to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. East Branch Sayres Gulch is <br />being considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural <br />environment that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. The <br />CDOW is very interested in protecting stream flows because East Branch Sayres Gulch is one of <br />the streams managed by CDOW in the Arkansas River basin that supports a pure greenback <br />cutthroat trout fishery. The East Branch of Sayres Gulch is identified as a conservation <br />population for greenback cutthroat trout in the recovery strategy for this species of fish. <br /> <br />East Branch Sayres Gulch is 2.5 miles long. It begins west of Alan Lake at an elevation of <br />approximately 12,270 feet and terminates at the confluence with Sayres Gulch at an elevation of <br />approximately 11,000 feet. The entire 2.5-mile segment addressed by this report is located on <br />federal lands. East Branch Sayres Gulch is located within Chaffee County. The total drainage <br />area of the creek is approximately 2.75 square miles. East Branch Sayres Gulch generally flows <br />in a northerly direction. <br /> <br />The subject of this report is a segment of East Branch Sayres Gulch beginning at the headwaters <br />and extending downstream to the confluence with Sayres Gulch (see Map). The proposed <br />segment is located west of Winfield. The staff has received only one recommendation for this <br />segment, from the CDOW. The recommendation for this segment is discussed below. <br /> <br />Instream Flow Recommendation(s) <br /> <br />CDOW recommended 1.0 cfs, summer and winter, based on its August 14, 2003, data collection <br />effort (see Appendix A). The modeling results from this survey effort are within the confidence <br />interval produced by the R2Cross model. <br /> <br />land Status Review <br /> <br /> Total Length Land Ownership <br />Upper Terminus Lower Terminus (miles) % Private % Public <br />Headwaters Sayres Gulch 2.5 0% 100% <br /> <br />100% of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the USFS. <br /> <br />-2- <br />