Stream channel and habitat changes due to flow augmentation

A previously ephemeral stream is being used to convey water and create fish habitat as part of mitigation for impacts of a transbasin water diversion project. This stream, the South Fork of Middle Crow Creek, is located in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. After two years of increased flow to the 8.8 km study reach, the amount of stream channel had increased 32 per cent and the total area of beaver ponds had more than doubled. Brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) stocked into the beaver ponds are surviving and growing. Factors limiting fishery development in the augmented stream include interrupted flow, discontinuous channels, and summer water temperatures exceeding 25°C. Analysis using the Physical Habitat Simulation System indicated that a flow of 0.07m 3 s −1 would maximize the amount of weighted usable area for brook trout under the channel conditions present in 1987.