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UPDATED NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY FOR <br />SOUTH OF DIVIDE STUDY AREA <br />TABLE 3 <br />Summary of Updated Inventory Compared to 1997 Inventory' <br /> 20041nventory 19971nventory <br />Acres of riparian area 103.5 90.0 <br />Acres of wetlands 77.2 64.1 <br />Number of seeps 82 823 <br />Number of springs 16 16 <br />Number of stock ponds 25 31 <br />'Drawing 1A/1 B shows the results of the 2004 updated inventory. <br />s Includes riparian plus wetlands. <br />3 Not all at the same locations. <br />In 1997, 90.0 acres of wetland and riparian area were inventoried; 103.5 acres were found in <br />2004. The increase in acreage in 2004 is believed to be due to several relatively large wetlands <br />found in 2004 that were not previously included, and information which suggests the acreage in <br />1997 was likely underestimated. There was likely not a real increase in the amount of riparian <br />areas and wetlands. While some seeps and associated wetlands disappeared in 2004, the majority <br />. of wetlands in the study area are associated with watercourses and high groundwater and have <br />existed for many years. An equal number of seeps, springs, and stock ponds were found in 2004 <br />versus 1997, however, the same features did not exist. Some new features were located in 2004, <br />and other features identified in 1997 did not exist. <br /> <br />Table 4 shows the average annual precipitation for the Paonia weather gauge from 1980 through <br />2003, along with 5-year running averages. The 5-year running average in 1996, when the original <br />fieldwork and reports were completed, was 17.15 inches. This number had decreased to 11.77 <br />inches in 2003. This represents a reduction in precipitation of 31 percent, which is significant. It <br />would be anticipated that less wetlands, and fewer seeps and springs would be found in 2004 due <br />to the decrease in precipitation. However, as shown in Table 3, this is not the case. It is <br />concluded that the reduced precipitation between 1997 and 2003 did not have a significant effect <br />on the natural resources included in this inventory. The importation of water from Deep Creek <br />into Dry Fork may explain the constancy of the wetlands/riparian areas along this drainage. <br />831-032.690 Wright Water Engineers, Inc. Page 9 <br />March 2006 <br />