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nursery habitats. In some areas, levees are being removed to allow for natural flooding. Water quality and land use issues are being increasingly scrutinized. While we have spent 3 decades studying and restoring physical features, biologists have generally either ignored or not recognized the conflicts between native fish communities and the goals of optimizing recreational fisheries. It wasn't until recently that fishery managers have seriously examined the impact that recreational fisheries are having on native populations. This transition has been difficult. Unfortunately, most fish management programs in the USA are funded primarily through the sale of fishing licenses. Programs were focussed on recreational fisheries while native fish communities at best were ignored, and in some cases were even eradicated to enhance non-native fish production (Holden 1991). However, this management philosophy is changing. During the past 5 years, new regulations have restricted the introduction of new fish species, limited recreational stocking to specific waters, and possibly reduced non-native fisheries through increased creel or mechanical harvest. These changes in management philosophy have occurred due to research, environmental legislation, increased public awareness, and the growth of environmental activist groups. Stocking Augmentation The plight of the razorback sucker was recognized in the 1960's and efforts to Federally protect the fish intensified in the late 1970's. The Federal listing process includes designation of critical habitat which is often controversial with water and land development interests. A political compromise was reached in 1980 which allowed for a 10-year massive stocking program in Arizona if Federal listing were postponed (Johnson 1985: Minckley et al. 1991). The object was simple: to reestablish self-sustaining populations of razorback suckers in their fonner range. It was hoped that by stocking razorback suckers in generally pristine river reaches they would establish self-sustaining populations, thus eliminating the need for Federal protection. Stocking was restricted to larger portions of the river system, away from major reservoir or diversion structures. Young suckers were propagated at Dexter National Fish Hatchery, New Mexico, and stocked in the upper reaches of the Gila, Verde, and Salt Rivers. Here, and elsewhere, grow-out and rearing facility space is extremely limited. Annual production was geared at producing hundreds of thousands of smaller fish, rather than fewer but larger fish. Survival rates were evaluated of the different sized fish stocked. Post-stocking surveys jndicated larval suckers were gone and only the larger stocked juveniles had survived (Brooks et al. 1985). Follow-up monitoring suggested non-native fish predation was a serious problem. Researchers discovered that channel catfish (Ictalurus puncta/us) on average had consumed six razorback suckers apiece. Based on the standing crop of catfish, researchers estimated several thousand stocked fish could be lost to predators in just 72 hours (Marsh and Brooks 1989). Over 12 million razorback suckers were stocked during the 1 O-year program. Follow-up sampling recaptured less than 100 razorback suckers suggested there was extremely poor survival. Among those few fish that did survive, no successful recruitment or spawning attempts have been reported. The massive stocking effort was unsuccessful in reestablishing populations, let alone self-sustaining populations, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proceeded to have the razorback sucker listed as endangered in 1990. Recovery Program The first recovery program for Colorado River fishes began in 1976 with the creation of the Colorado River Fishes Recovery Team ( Miller 1982). The Colorado River Fishery Project office was opened by the USFWS in 1979. A conference was held in 1980 that consolidated existing knowledge and had leading experts discuss recovery needs. Initially, activities focused primarily on research, field surveys, and the development of recovery