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beak <br />• <br />AQUATIC RESOURCES INVESTIGATION <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />Beak Consultants Incorporated (BEAK) was retained by Western Slope Carbon <br />Incorporated (WSC) to assess the aquatic biological resources of the North Fork <br />Gunnison River relative to WSC's Hawk's Nest Mine permit area in west-central <br />Colorado. BEAK developed this program to be responsive to the Colorado Mines <br />Land Reclamation Board's regulations for coal mining (1980) and the Office of <br />Surface Mining's Permanent Regulatory Program for Surface Coal Mining and <br />Reclamation Operations (1979). <br />The principal objectives of the investigation were to inventory the exis- <br /> <br />ting aquatic biota and assess aquatic resource and habitat quality in the per- <br />mit area. Atrophic level approach to sampling the aquatic community was <br />utilized. Studies included in-field and laboratory water quality determina- <br />tions, aquatic habitat and channel stability evaluations, and assessments of <br />periphyton (attached algae), benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish resources. <br />In the following text, these components are discussed separately although <br />pertinent relationships are pointed out. <br />Information for each study component was derived from a review of the <br />• <br />existing literature and on-site field sampling. A preliminary review indicated <br />that site-specific data on aquatic resources of the permit area were dated or <br />lacking; therefore, a one-week site survey was recommended and subsequently <br />conducted by BEAK November 10-14, 1980. This allowed a site-specific assess- <br />ment of aquatic resources during crucial conditions of low flow and declining <br />temperatures when ambient stresses on aquatic organisms are particularly high <br />and sampling efficiency is maximized (Hynes 1970, Merrit and Cummins 1978, <br />Vibert 1967). <br />1-I <br />