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e e ei 0.9 mile segment of Butcher Creek beginning at the headwaters and extending to the Brewery Pipeline Diversion (see Figure 1). This segment is located near the Town of Telluride. To date, staff has received only one recommendation for this segment, this recommendation is discussed below. Instream Flow Recommendation(s) The CD OW has recommended 0.65 cfs for the summer/winter time period. Land Status Review Total Length Land Ownership Upper Terminus Lower Terminus (miles) % Private % Public Headwaters Comet Creek 1.2 20% 80% This segment is approximately 80% public land. 100% of the public land is managed by the USFS. Biological Data As reported for this reach of stream in CDOW'S recommendation letter to the CWCB, when Butcher Creek was sampled for the presence of fish, no fish were collected; this is not to be interpreted in such a manner to say that Butcher Creek is incapable of supporting fish. Butcher Creek supports a wide variety of aquatic macroinvetebrates indicative of high quality water and it supports a healthy riparian community. The geology of the Telluride area is unique in that the water of many the San Miguel's tributary streams have extremely low conductivity; in other words, the water quality of nearly all of the San Miguel's tributary streams is extremely pure - pure to the point that electro fishing is not possible with standard electrofishing equipment. Fish may exist in these streams but they are not readily sampled with standard electro fishing gear. The CDOW believes that the lower reaches of these streams are used by fish that are residents of the mainstem San Miguel River and are important to the San Miguel's fish community during some periods of the year (i.e. spawning, rearing, and refugia from high flow events). CDOW also believes that the high quality water that is produced by the tributary streams is extremely important to the impaired water quality of the San Miguel River. Mine drainage into the San Miguel River and mill tailings piles adjacent to the river are currently being cleaned up as a result of comprehensive reclamation effort above the Town of Telluride. Dissolved levels of heavy metals in the San Miguel River continue to be a problem for the river's fishery but conditions are improving; the high quality water from tributary streams such as Butcher Creek are vital to the continued improvement of water quality and the San Miguel's fish population. Field Survey Data CDOW and CWCB staff used the R2Cross methodology to quantify the amount of water required to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. The R2Cross method requires that stream discharge and channel profile data be collected in a riffle stream habitat type. Riffles are most easily visualized as the stream habitat types that would dry up first should streamflow cease. This type of hydraulic data collection consists of setting up a transect, surveying the stream channel geometry, and measuring the stream discharge. Appendix B contains copies of field data collected for this proposed segment. - 3 -