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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <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 />statut~ 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 Spring Creek <br />to the CWCB for inclusion into the Instream Flow Program. Spring 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 streamflows because Spring Creek supports a population of Colorado River <br />Cutthroat Trout, and BLM is working to prevent a listing of this species under the Endangered <br />Species Act. <br /> <br />Spring Creek is a tributary of the Eagle River and is approximately 5.0 miles long. It begins at a <br />spring on the northwest flank of Hardscrabble Mountain at an elevation of approximately 8000 <br />feet, and terminates at the Eagle River at an elevation of approximately 6,350 feet. Of the 1.0 <br />mile segment addressed by this Feport, 100% is located on federal lands managed by BLM. The <br />creek is located within Eagle County. The total drainage area of the creek upstream of the Best <br />Ditch is approximately 1.4 square miles. Spring Creek generally flows in a northwest direction. <br /> <br />The subject of this report is a segment of Spring Creek beginning at the headwater springs and <br />extending downstream to the headgate of the Best Ditch. This segment is located southeast of <br />Gypsum_ The staff has received only one recommendation on this segment, from the Bureau of <br />Land Management. The recommendation for this segment is discussed below. <br /> <br />Instream Flow Recommendation(s) <br /> <br />BLM recommended 0.35 cfs, summer and winter based on its 1999 and 2000, data collection <br />efforts (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 />Upper Terminus <br />Headwater Spring <br /> <br />Lower Terminus <br />Best Ditch <br /> <br />Total Length <br />(miles) <br />1.0 <br /> <br />Land Ownership <br />% Private % Public <br />0% 100% <br /> <br />Approximately 100% of the reach is located on federal lands managed by the BLM. <br /> <br />- 2 - <br />