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<br />N J) \\1 1ct0~ ~\ '~+1 ~\v(\ \ \ <br /> <br />"~Oct "3 <br /> <br />Evolution of Recovery Programs for Upper Colorado River Fishes <br /> <br />Richard Wydoski and John Hamill <br /> <br />u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />P.O. Box 25486 <br />Denver Federal Center <br />Denver, Colorado 80225 <br /> <br />Abstract <br /> <br />Settlement of the arid West began over 100 years ago and employed "mastery <br />over nature". Control of the Colorado River water began with the construction <br />of major mainstem dams in the lower basin in the 1930s to control water <br />quantity because of drought conditions in the late 1800s and prolonged flooding <br />in the early 1900s. The Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 was enacted <br />to provide for water apportionments between the seven basin states and the <br />Republic of Mexico. Construction of these dams altered the natural flow <br />regimes, water temperatures and large reaches of stream habitat became <br />reservoirs. These changes were correlated to the decline of several endemic <br />large river fishes -- Colorado squawfish, Ptvchocheilus lucius; humpback chub, <br />Gila ~; bony tail chub, Gila eleqans; and razorback sucker, Xvrauchen <br />texanus. These species were drastically reduced in the lower basin before <br />biological studies could be made. Recent activity in the lower basin has <br /> <br />1 <br />