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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 staffs instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board. It is staffs <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 Thompson <br />Creek to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. Thompson Creek is being <br />considered for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program because it has a natural environment <br />that can be preserved to a reasonable degree with an instream flow water right The BLM is very <br />interested in protecting stream flows because the area surrounding Thompson Creek has been <br />designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and protection of the stream corridor <br />is one of the primary reasons for the designation. <br /> <br />Thompson Creek is a tributary of the Crystal River and is approximately 3.3 miles long. It <br />begins at the confluence of the North Thompson Creek and South Thompson Creek at an <br />elevation of approximately 6,900 feet, and terminates at the confluence with the Crystal River at <br />an elevation of approximately 6,400 feet Of the 2.8 mile segment addressed by this report, <br />approximately 90% of the segment, or 2.5 miles, is located on federal lands, while the remainder <br />of the segment, 0.5 miles, is located on private lands. The creek is located within Pitkin County. <br />The total drainage area of the creek is approximately 75.4 square miles. Thompson Creek <br />generally flows in an easterly direction. <br /> <br />The subject of this report is a segment of Thompson Creek beginning at the confluence of North <br />Thompson Creek and South Thompson Creek, and extending downstream to the headgate of the <br />Northside Thompson Ditch, This segment is located southwest of the City of Carbondale. To <br />date, the CWCB has appropriated instream flows on North Thompson Creek (Case No 5- <br />75W2775 - 7 cfs (5/1-9/30) & 3 cfs (10/-4/30)), Middle Thompson Creek (Case No 5-75W2774 <br />- 9 cfs (5/1-9/30) & 3 cfs (10/-4/30)), and South Thompson Creek (Case No 5-75W2777 - 5 cfs <br />(5/1-9/30) & 2 cfs (10/-4/30)). The segment that is the subject of this report is located <br />downstream of all of the above segments. 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 12.4 cfs, summer, and 10.8 cfs, winter, based on its September 2, 1997, 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 />- 2- <br />