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OJ1"'!" . . .... L. U rel ati vely steepsi ded, sceni c, tree-covered canyon. With a concrete structure, the canyon could be dammed to create a deep, narrow reservoir that would be only about 1-1/4 miles long and less than 1/4 mile at its widest point. Igneous and metamorphic rocks are common throughout the alternative reservoir site and bordering areas. Most of the soils are light colored, gravelly sandy loams to loamy sands. They are well drained and vary considerably in depth. Some soil s are rel atively shallow over 'bedrock, while the soils over much of the area have good to moderately good soil depths. In most instances, it is almost impossible to penetrate the soil profile below 6 to 12 inches using a soil auger or a shovel due to various sized rocks that are mixed with the gravelly loamy sand subsoil. This stoniness increases with depth. Most of the soils have derived from schist, gneiss, and granite. The soil survey conducted for the east half of Boul der County in 1975 in cooperation with the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station i denti fi ed only two soil s in and surroundi ng the Crescent Reservoi r site. The mountainside north of South Boulder Creek was designated as Juget-Rock compl ex wi th slopes rangi ng from g to 55 percent. Soil s south of the creek were mapped as Ferncl iff Allenspark Rock outcrop complex with slopes ranging from 15 to 60 percent. None of the soils of the area are suitable for cultivation. Most of the area has an evergreen forest cover wi th a sparse understory of grass. The forest cover cons i sts primari ly of a mi xture of ponderosa pi ne, Douglas fir, and cedars. Land use includes grazing, woodland, wildlife, and recreation. Much of the land in the general vicinity of the reservoir site is being developed for summer homes and cabi ns. The reservoi r site and 1 and immediately adjacent to it are part of the Boulder Mountain Park system and are being developed for recreation. Description of the Environment Coal Creek Site Vegetation Field studies were conducted in the fall of 1979 to sample vegetation at the proposed Coal Creek and Crescent dams i tes. Transects, used to record relative abundance data, were located in areas judged to be representative habitat types. The Coal Creek site is located within the Plains grassland area and is typical of grasslands throughout the foothills of the Front Range (Marr, 1967). Vegetation can be used as an indicator to show the history of the particular area. Characteristics such as soil conditions, slope stability, water availability, and land use can be interpreted from the existing vegetation. The proposed reservoir site reflects the continual 9