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<br /> <br />on f)!: " 0. <br />LJ U iJ iJ J .j <br /> <br />(bottomland hardwood) forest, and lotic (stream) habitat, all recognized <br />as habitats of national importance to wildlife. Substantial acreages of <br />these highly productive wildlife habitats have already been cleared, <br />drained, or inundated by reservoirs in the flood plains of the lower <br />Mississippi River alluvial plain. Conversion to soybean production has <br />been the most significant factor reducing these ecosystems. Loss of a <br />significant portion of the remaining flood plain forest to storage <br />reservoirs would affect many species of wildlife dependant on this type <br />habitat. The most seriously affected species of economic importance <br />would be whitetailed deer, fox and grey squirrel, waterfowl (including <br />resident breeding wood ducks), and various furbearers. The flood plain <br />forest inundated would also cease to support many species of <br />woodpeckers, songbirds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. <br /> <br />In addition to direct impacts, source storage reservoirs and <br />diversion of water from source streams will have a potentially <br />significant indirect impact on wildlife habitats in downstream flood <br />plain areas. While beyond the scope of this assessment, these indirect <br />impacts are discussed briefly here. Alteration of streamflow, both <br />along streams affected by holding reservoirs as well as streams from <br />which source water is taken would have impacts on fish and wildlife <br />resources potentially as significant as inundation of habitat by the <br />storage reservoirs themselves. Oiversion of water, and subsequent <br />alteration of downstream flow regimes, would impact aquatic ecosystems <br />in the streams affected and alter wetlands and flood plain forest <br />through changes in flooding patterns (timing and duration). Both of <br />these impacts have the potential for causing the loss of extensive, and <br />highly important, lotic aquatic habitat and flood plain forest and <br />wetland habitat. The third, and most indirect potential impact of <br />diversions from source streams, involves impacts to estuarine fish and <br />wildlife resources along the Louisiana coast. <br /> <br />Each source stream, and each stream affected by storage holding <br />reservoirs, has a flow regime which supports the stream ecosystem. This <br />constitutes base, or maintenance flows, and cycles of high flows, <br />overbank flooding, and flushing of stream substrate. The combination of <br />periodic hydrological phenomena occurring in the stream dictates the <br /> <br />051 <br />