C153699 Feasibility Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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. INTRODUCTION . The Colorado River Water Conservation District (River District) submitted an application to the Forest Service on April 3, 1985, for a Special Use Permit for the construction of a water storage reservoir on Rock Creek in the Yampa Ranger District. Routt National Forest. In May 1988, the River District applied for a right-of-way to construct a darn and reservoir on Muddy Creek in the Bureau of Land Management Kremmling Resource Area The reservoir will be utilized to meet both Metropolitan Denver and West Slope waler demands pursuant to the statutory mandate 01 the River District. Following . review of potential impacts associated with construction at both sites. the Muddy Creek Reservoir site was selected as the agency-preferred alternative. The proposed Muddy Creek Reservoir is located about 4 miles north of Kremmling, Colorado, on the western flank of Wolford Mountain at an elevation of about 7,300 feet (Figure 1). The proposal includes the construction of an earth embankment dam rising 120 feet from streambed to crest. The . reservoir impounded by the dam will hold 60,000 acre-feet of water, inundating approximately 1,447 acres. An additional 76 acres will be impacted by construction of proposed dam roads and other associated facilities. Details on the project area are presented in the SDEIS (USDI/USDA 1988). Impacts associated with the proposed Muddy Creek Reservoir project for wetland habitat, wildlife, and Osterhout's milkvetch are presented in detail in the Rock Creek/Muddy Creek SDEIS (USDI/USDA t 1988). The SDEIS (USDI/USDA 1988) also provides an outline of the conceptual approaches to mitigating impacts for these same resources. An interagency group including BLM, USFS, USFWS, COE, CDOW, EPA, and other interested parties participated in the selection of approaches to mitigating the identified impacts. This plan summarizes the impacts associated with the construction and operation of the proposed Muddy Creek Reservoir and presents a detailed plan for the mitigation of those impacts. I . Because no impacts to fisheries in Muddy Creek are attributable to the construction or operation of the proposed Muddy Creek Reservoir, no mitigation for fisheries will be necessary. However, after construction of the reservoir there will be an opportunity to enhance fisheries both in the reservoir and in the taitwaters below tl1e proposed dam. Because this is an enhancement rather than a mitigation measure, it will primarily be the responsibility of agencies or groups other than the River District. The River District is, however, supportive of tl1is program. Implementation of the enhancement program would likely be concurrent with implementation of the mitigation plan. A discussion for fisheries enhancement measures is presented in Appendix A 1