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Native fish composition and abundance were found to be poor downstream of the San Miguel <br />confluence, a river reach heavily impacted by poor water quality due to uranium tailings (Valdez <br />et al. 1992). The river upstream of the San Miguel confluence appears to have the greatest <br />potential for native fishes, but this river reach is highly vulnerable to altered flow regimes. <br />Concerns about adequate instream flows and releases from McPhee dam have been an issue <br />since the reservoir became operational in 1986. The Dolores River Biology team was formed in <br />1990 to provide biologically sound recommendations for managed releases from McPhee Dam <br />(Mike Japhet, personal comm.). This Biology Team consists of one member from each of the <br />following agencies and organizations: Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, <br />Colorado Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Trout <br />Unlimited. <br />The Biology Team considered their flow recommendations to be the nunimum necessary to <br />avoid degraded trout and native fish communities. As biological minima, they felt fish flows <br />should not be subject to shared water shortages in dry years. In recent years releases from <br />McPhee have been much less than the recommendations. The observed decline in native fish <br />abundance appears to be a consequence reduced runoff and base flows. The provision that <br />included the fish pool in sharing shortages during the recent drought period appears to be <br />problematic for persistence of a thriving native fish community. <br />Currently management of roundtail chub, flannelmouth sucker and bluehead sucker has been a <br />state and not a federal responsibility. There are currently few rivers in the state that have high <br />biomass populations of these species and in recent years large declines have been documented in <br />the Yampa River. Roundtail chub had a secure population in the Dolores River until recently. <br />Habitat protection for roundtail chub in the Dolores River has become a priority issue for state <br />fisheries managers. <br />17 <br />