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<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 findings 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 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended this segment of Keyser Creek <br />to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. Keyser Creek is being considered <br />for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural environment that can be <br />preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. The BLM is very interested <br />in protecting stream flows because the stream has natural barriers that make it an excellent <br />candidate for reintroduction of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. <br /> <br />Keyser Creek is a tributary of East Canyon Creek and is approximately 3.8 miles long. It begins <br />at Blue Lake at an elevation of approximately 10,500 feet, and terminates at the confluence with <br />East Canyon Creek at an elevation of approximately 7,800 feet. Of the 3.8 mile segment <br />addressed by this report, approximately 75% of the segment, or 2.9 miles, is located on federal <br />lands, while the remainder of the segment, 1.1 miles, is located on private lands. The creek is <br />located within Garfield County. The total drainage area of the creek is approximately 3.4 square <br />miles. Keyser Creek generally flows in a southwesterly direction. <br /> <br />The subject of this report is a segment of Keyser Creek beginning at the out let of Blue Lake and <br />extending downstream to the confluence of East Canyon Creek. This segment is located <br />northwest of the City of Glenwood Springs. The staff has received one recommendation on this <br />segment, from the Bureau of Land Management. The recommendation for this segment is <br />discussed below. <br /> <br />Instream Flow Recommendation(s) <br /> <br />BLM recommended 2.4 cfs, summer, and 2.1 cfs, winter, based on its August 28, 1996, data <br />collection effort (see Appendix A). The modeling results from this survey effort are within the <br />confidence interval produced by the R2Cross model. <br /> <br />Land Status Review <br /> <br />Upper Terminus <br />Outlet Blue Lake <br /> <br />Lower Terminus <br />East Canyon Creek <br /> <br />Total Length <br />(miles) <br />3.8 <br /> <br />Land Ownership <br />% Private % Public <br />25% 75% <br /> <br />Approximately 75% of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the BLM. <br /> <br />Biological Data <br /> <br />The BLM has conducted field surveys of the fishery resources on this stream and have found a <br />natural environment that can be preserved. As reported for this reach of stream in the letter to the <br />CWCB "Fishery surveys indicate that the stream environment is in pristine condition, and <br /> <br />- 2- <br />