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Idaho Creek is now firmly established as part of a manmade network of <br />irrigation ditches and laterals that divert water from Boulder Creek. The Idaho Creek <br />headgate (the source of water for the initial section of Idaho Creek) is located on the east <br />bank of Boulder Creek, immediately north of Weld County Road 16 1/z in the Southwest <br />'/a of the Northeast '/a of Section 29, Township 2 North, Range 68 West. Located <br />approximately 0.25 miles downstream on Boulder Creek is the headgate for the Rural <br />Ditch. Approximately 0.4 miles east of the Rural Ditch Boulder Creek headgate, the <br />Rural Ditch and Idaho Creek join and flow 0,25 miles east-northeast before entering the <br />Cottonwood Site (located just south of the Duckworth site). The combined flows of <br />Idaho Creek and the Rural Ditch flow northeast 1.7 miles across the Cottonwood site <br />before separating. The flows from Idaho Creek are diverted into an excavated channel <br />on the north part of the Cottonwood site which flows through a culvert under the <br />county road and then onto the Duckworth site. <br />Wetland Delineation. Wetland areas on the Duckworth Property occur primarily <br />as streamside wetlands developed in association with Idaho Creek, irrigation ditches <br />excavated in upland areas and a wetland developed in depression that collects flood <br />irrigation water (see attached map). Human activity has played a major role in the <br />development of wetland areas that are associated with the irrigation ditches and the <br />pooling of fload irrigation water. Non-wetland upland areas on the Duckworth site are <br />used for the production of irrigated hay crops (mostly smooth brome) and for grazing <br />cattle. The riparian wetlands in the study area consist of wet meadows dominated by a <br />variety of perennial grasses and grasslike species. The wet meadows mostly occur in the <br />areas adjacent to Idaho Creek and constitute the most abundant wetland type on the <br />site. Descriptions of mapped wetlands are presented in Table 1. In all, 3.25 acres of <br />wetland areas were mapped. <br />The wet meadow type is the most prevalent of the wetland types within the <br />study area. Wet meadows occur in the moist zones adjacent to stream channels and <br />irrigation ditches. Major species in this type include reed canary grass (Pltnlaris <br />atundinacea), chairmaker's rush (Scirpus americanus), common spikerush (Eleocltaris <br />macrostaclt~a), foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) and prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata). <br />In all, 63 species were observed on the Duckworth Property (Table 2). Approximately 71 <br />percent of the species in these wetland areas were either obligate wetland, facultative <br />wetland or facultative species. <br />Wetland Functions. The major functions for wetlands within the study area <br />include wildlife habitat and bank stabilization. A limited amount of flood storage is <br />available in the floodplain depressions. Currently the site is utilized for livestock <br />grazing and irrigated grass hay production. <br />Threatened Species. <br />Ute Ladies Tresses Orchid No orchids were found within the wetlands <br />on the site (Table 3). Suitable habitat for Ute Ladies Tresses Orchid consists of moist to <br />saturated soils in floodplain meadows (USDI 1992), usually in vegetation that is not <br />-3- <br />