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<br />PREFACE <br /> <br />The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-205) provides for the <br />conservation of threatened and endangered species and their ecosystems. <br />Section 7 of the Act, and subsequent regulations, require federal agencies to <br />consider the needs of listed species, consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service (USFWS), and obtain biological opinions concerning potential effects <br />of projects involving listed species. Due to continuing water resource <br />development in the Green River basin, the USFWS and Bureau of Reclamation <br />(BR), in cooperation with the states of Colorado and Utah, have investigated <br />habitat needs of rare and endangered fishes. Government reports summarizing <br />results of these efforts (e.g., Miller et al. 1982abc; Tyus et al. 1987) <br />suggested that flows from Flaming Gorge Dam were adversely affecting habitats <br />of listed species. In 1986, BR and USFWS initiated the Flaming Gorge Study <br />(Interagency Agreement 6-AA-49-04070), a project involving government and <br />private researchers under the direction of the BR Biological Studies office in <br />Salt Lake City, and the USFWS Colorado River Fishes Project station in Vernal, <br />Utah, <br /> <br />This report summarizes existing information on distribution, abundance, <br />life history, and habitats of endangered fishes in the Green River, Utah. <br />Flaming Gorge Study reports are summarized and referenced herein, and <br />recommendations for flow and other management activities are provided. The <br />metric system was used throughout the document and the following conversions <br />may be used to obtain measurements in the English system: kilomete3 (km) X <br />0.625 = miles; meter (m) X 3.281 = feet; cubic meter per second (m Is) X <br />35.336 = cubic feet per second (cfs). This document is the second of two <br />whose purpose is to evaluate habitat use of endangered fishes in the Green <br />River basin and to recommend flows for their conservation. The first document <br />"Habitat use and streamflow needs of rare and endangered fishes, Yampa River, <br />Colorado," was published in 1989 (Tyus and Karp 1989). <br /> <br />Further information about the rare and endangered Colorado River fishes <br />can be obtained from the Colorado River Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service, P.O. Box 25486 Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. <br />Information about BR programs and the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam can be <br />obtained from the Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, P,O. Box 11668, <br />Salt Lake City, Utah 84147. <br />