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<br />~ '. <br /> <br />IN REPLY REFER TO: <br /> <br />United States Department of the Interior <br /> <br />BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT <br />Colorado State Office <br />2850 Youngfield Street <br />Lakewood, Colorado 80215-7093 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />www.co.blm.gov <br /> <br />CO-932 <br />7250 <br /> <br />DEe 2 0 2002 <br /> <br />Mr. Dan Merriman <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />1313 Shennan Street, Room 721 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Merriman: <br /> <br />The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is writing this letter to fonnally communicate its <br />instream flow recommendation for Horse Creek, located in Water Division 5. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Location and Land Status. Horse Creek is tributary to the Colorado River approximately 10 <br />miles northeast ofDotsero. The stream reach that was surveyed runs from Horse Lake <br />approximately 6.8 miles to the headgate of the Horse Creek Ditch. The creek flows through <br />approximately one mile of private lands in the upper part of the reach. The remainder ofthe <br />reach, approximately 85 percent, is in BLM ownership. <br /> <br />Biological Summary. Fishery surveys indicate that the stream environment is in good condition, <br />and supports a self-sustaining brook trout fishery. Channel and bank stability, substrate, and <br />water quality are excellent for salmonids. However, the low number of pools and suboptimal <br />cover are limiting factors for fish habitat, underscoring the importance of adequate flows to <br />prevent further stress to the fish population. <br /> <br />R2Cross Analysis. BLM collected two data sets on Horse Creek. To develop this <br />recommendation, BLM identified the flows needed to meet instream flow criteria in each data set, <br />and then averaged these flows to develop a recommendation for the entire stream reach. BLM's <br />data analysis indicates that the following flows are required to protect the fishery and natural <br />environment to a reasonable degree: <br /> <br />0.95 cubic feet per second is recommended for the April 1 to October 30 high temperature <br />period. This recommendation is driven by the average velocity and average velocity <br />criteria. In a stream of narrow width and generally shallow depth, these criteria are <br />important to meet to insure that the fish population has adequate spawning habitat and <br />adequate physical habitat for young of the year. <br /> <br />e <br />