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<br />I <br />~ <br />~~ <br /> <br />002021 <br /> <br />Zone 1 includes the stretch of the ri~er that is also the International Boiindary between the <br />US and Mexico, from Mor~los Dam to the Southerly International Boundary (SIB), just above the <br />San Luis Rio Colorado Bridge. This area retains its relatively natural ecological conditions. The <br />Cocopah Tribe, the US indigenous people that traditionally subsisted on Delta resources, maintains <br />its reservation in this zone. This area is the first to receive excess flows in wet years. On both sides <br />of the river, the two intensively irrigated farming areas sustain groundwater at levels that help <br />maintain good stands of cottonwoods and willows. <br /> <br />The riparian corridor just below the Southerly International Boundary south to the San <br />Felipito Dip (above the railroad crossing) is defined in Figure 2 as Zone 2 and part of Zone 3. It <br />includes areas dominated by large stands of cottonwoods and willows 7. The lower portion of Zone <br />3 is a narrow stretch of the river corridor where the two levees are the closest. Built to contain <br />floods, the levees extend for most of the length of the river in Mexico. The zone extends southwest <br />from the San Felipito Dip to just above the confluence of the Colorado River and the Rio Hardy. <br />This area of the Colorado River corridor has been identified as a priority for landscape design and <br />management (Valdes et al 2000). It is an area that contains major stands of cottonwoods and <br />willows, as well as a system of ponds and old-river meanders. It is the beginning of an ecological <br />transition zone where areas maintained by agricultural runoff interacts with areas influenced by high <br />tide. <br /> <br />Zone 4, the Rio Hardy area, is used for human activities - outdoor recreation, aquatic <br />activities, aquaculture, ecotourism, hunting. and recreational and commercial fishing. This area <br />requires continuous water quality monitoring and improvement. The Rio Hardy area has great <br />potential for community-based ecological management. Recreation activities such as aquaculture <br />and aquatic recreation can coexist with the establishment of various habitats for wildlife, including <br />cattails, open water ponds, and riparian vegetation. <br /> <br />'.1.~ <br />" <br /> <br />f.: <br />,: <br /> <br />Zone 5, the Cucapa Complex, is the zone that offers the greatest potential for sustainable <br />hunting and fishing. if ,the water supply can be stabilized. TIlls area Includes the main activity area <br />for the Cucapa community, and is also influenced 'by the estuarine tides. This zone requires a <br />detailed study for engineering design, to create and maintain optimal conditions for hunting, fishing, <br />waterfowl wintering and feeding. <br /> <br />Zone 6 includes the tidal flats and areas covered by endemic salt grasses, which are very <br />important to shorebirds and to stabilize the estuarine conditions at the mouth of the Colorado <br />River. <br /> <br />Zone 7 includes the Cienaga de Santa Clara, a large cattail marsh. The Cienaga's habitat <br />supports 60 percent of the total population of the Yuma clapper rail as well as the desert pupfish- <br />both endangered species. <br /> <br />6 <br />