WSP04817

• File Number: 8273.600.20
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control - Federal Agencies - USDA
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 1/1/1995
• Title: Monitoring and Evaluation Report - Lower Gunnison - Colorado Unit - 1995 Annual Reprt
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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Represented below in tables 6 and 7 are the existing, planned and
applied cover type acres and HUV's for the 41 completed salinity
contracts. '

Table 6. Cover Type Acres For 41 Completed Salinity Contracts.
ACRES ACRES ACRES ACRES CHANGE
COVER TYPES EXISTING PLANNED APPLIED EXISTING VS APPLIED
Annual Cropland 41.3.5 395.8 422.2 +8.7
Annual Herbland 53.6 24.2 55.1 +1.5
Orchards 21.8.4 222.9 216.9 -1.5
Pasture/Hayland 679.0 754.6 670.1 -8.9
Lakes/Ponds 0.1. 5.8 4.3 +4.2
PEM 55.9 50.6 50;2 -5.7
Perennial Herbland 54.8 23.9 60.8 +6.0
Rivers/streams 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Native Rangeland 1.2.1 l1.7 11.0 -1.1.
Woody 15.3 1.3.2 12.1 -3.2

Table 7. Habitat Unit Values For 41 Completed Salinity Contracts.
HUV HUV HUV HUV CHANGE
WILDLIFE MODELS EXISTING PLANNED APPLIED EXISTING ,~S APPLIED
Pheasant 1041. 27 l029.2l 1103.10 +61. 83
Yellow warbler 3.76 4.00 2.99 -0.77
Mallard - Breeding 256.68 292.92 325.37 +68.69
Mallard - Winter 128.20 116.20 177.85 +49.65
Meadow Vole 167.1.7 1.37.99 1.84.21 +17.04
Marsh Wren 27.in 28.09 27.61 -0.20
Screech Owl 783.03 829.89 841. 77 +58.74
Total +254.98

Monitorinq sites
Twenty contracts were selected as annual monitoring sites to
evaluate impacts to wildlife habitat as irrigation and wildlife
habitat related practices are installed.
As expected, removal of habitat through improving irrigation
systems has an effect on wildlife based on our species models. Some
practices have short term impacts such as land leveling, while impacts
associated with delivery of irrigation water on and off farm (i.e.
concrete ditch, underground pipe, and gated pipe) are more permanent
in nature. Depending on the vegetative cover associated with earthen
ditches (willows, cattails, perennial grasses, or annual weedy forbs
and grasses), single cover type species models respond according to
the habitat loss. However, changes in cover types and species models
response are confounded, particularly for multiple cover type species
models, by changes in crops, and management practices on and adjacent
to the monitoring site.
The data from the monitoring sites is available, but has not been
analyzed in enough detail at this time to isolate the effects of
implementing specific salinity practices from those caused by factors

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