7358

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7358
• Author: Wydoski, R. S., K. Gilbert, K. Seethaler, C. W. McAda and J. A. Wydoski
• Title: Editor
• USFW Year: Series
• USFW - Doc Type: 1980
• Copyright Material: NO

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR AQUATIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER ECOSYSTEM

by

Richard S. Wydoski1, Kim Gilbert, Karl Seetha1er
Charles W. McAda2, and Joy A. Wydoski1

Utah Cooperative Fishery Research Unit3
Utah State University, UMC 52
Logan, Utah 84322

ABSTRACT

The development of water and other natural resources in the Upper Colorado River
Basin will continue to have an impact on the ecology of this unique ecosystem.. Numerous
water-development projects have been completed on the river, others are in progress, and
still others are contemplated, to provide water necessary for municipalities, irrigated
agriculture, and energy production. Four endemic fishes--Colorado squawfish
(Ptychocheilus 1ucius), humpback chub (Gila~), bony tail (Q.. elegans), and razorback
sucker (Xyrauchen texanus)--are considered rare and may be threatened with extinction if
their ecological requirements are not considered in the total management of the Colorado
River. Although much information is already available on this river, it is widely
scattered in the published literature and unpublished reports of various state and
federal agencies. This annotated bibliography contains 1,109 published or readily
available unpublished references that should be useful in decisions regarding effective
management of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Selected key words were assigned to all
references and indexed for ease of locating references on particular subjects.

INTRODUCTION

The Colorado River flows through 2,317 km (1,440 miles) of land so arid that the basin pro-
duces only about 7.4 hectare-meters (60 acre-feet) of water per 2.6 km2 (1 square mile)--less than
that produced by any other major river in the United States (Utah Water Research Laboratory 1975).
This river serves 15 million people by supplying water for cities, irrigated agriculture, energy
production, industry, and mining. The urban population of the Colorado River Basin is expected to
increase about 250% between 1960 and 2000, and to require a threefold increase in municipal water
(Crawford and Peterson 1974). In addition, the development of some of the largest sources of
natural energy fuels in the country will require a large quantity of water in the future.

The history and importance of the Colorado River Basin were described concisely by Crawford
and Peterson (1974): "The Colorado is probably the most utilized, controlled and fought over river
in the world. It flows through lands of incomparable beauty and includes nearly seven percent of
the nation's contiguous land mass, including parts of seven states. From the time of the early
settlers to the present, the water of the Colorado River has been the key to development of the
arid region."

Numerous water-development projects have been completed in the Upper Colorado River Basin,
others are in progress, and still others are contemplated. Although much information is available
on this valuable river basin, it is widely scattered among various private institutions and federal
and state agencies.

The original purpose of this annotated bibliography was to compile information on the distri-
bution, relative abundance, and ecology of fish and macroinvertebrates in the Upper Colorado River
Basin as a ready reference source for present and future studies. However, it soon became apparent
to us that the addition of selected references from various fields such as archaeology, ecology,
economics, geology, history, hydrology, and law, as well as other subjects, would greatly broaden

Ipresent address: National Fisheries Center-Leetown, Route 3, Box 41, Kearneysvi11e, WV 25430.
2present address: Colorado River Fishery Project, 447 East Main Street, Vernal, UT 84078.
3Cooperators include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and
Utah State University.