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<br />Nevertheless, despite its diminished state, the delta <br />plays a significant ecological role that goes far beyond <br />its bounds. For migratory birds, the delta is a key stop- <br />over along the Pacific Flyway (Payne et ai., 1992), and it <br />supports large numbers of wintering waterfowl. <br />Although resident and migratory bird densities have not <br />been studied extensively, the delta is considered a key <br />element of the flyway, and the only significant fresh- <br />water wetland among the Mexican Pacific Coast marshes <br />(See Appendix A for a list of birds recorded in the delta). <br />Species under threat elsewhere in the Colorado basin <br />still find refuge in the delta, which is also home to the <br />largest known populations of two endangered species, <br />the desert pupfish and the Yuma clapper rail (Glenn et <br />aI., 1996). Delta marshes still have the capacity to <br /> <br />Photo 1. Rio Hardy <br /> <br />provide nursery habitat for marine life that, in turn, <br />supports other marine life across the entire upper Gulf. <br /> <br />Significant riparian areas and wetlands include: <br /> <br />. riparian areas along the Colorado River from the <br />border to the delta (82,000 acres [33,000 hal), which <br />have recovery potential, in part because gallery <br />forests of cottonwood and willow have shown a <br />capacity for self-restoration during recent floods; <br /> <br />. the Rio Hardy fRio Colorado wetlands, an area that <br />fluctuates with floods and was recently measured at <br />23,719 acres (9600 ha), in the western delta near the <br />confluence of the Rio Hardy and the Colorado, <br />supported by flows from the Rio Hardy and <br />Colorado River flood flows; <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />./" -{.At-. ! <br />'~'oM'" ,;-1 <br />.' .r;,. <br /> <br />6 <br />