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<br />INTRODUCTION <br />In the past 50 years, the western United States has undergone <br />a period of population growth and development. In conjunction with <br />this trend has come an increased need for and systematic development <br />of the region's limited water resources. <br />The Colorado River drainage system has supplied a large portion <br />of those needs. Today all of the mean annual flow in the system has <br />been allocated among seven western states which results in an actual <br />overallocation during drought years (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1977). <br />Only one major tributary in the entire system, Colorado's Yampa <br />River, retains its historic character. Although subject to dewatering <br />for irrigation, it remains undammed and is not subject to industrial <br />uses in contrast to other western rivers its size. In this sense „ <br />it is relatively undeveloped. <br />As the west enters a period,of increased development of its <br />fossil fuel resources (coal, oil shale, and tar sands), even greater <br />emphasis will be placed upon water development. It is unlikely that <br />the Yampa River will remain undeveloped in the future. <br />Miller (1959) found that 74 percent of all fishes native to the <br />Colorado River system were endemic. Because of habitat alteration <br />via water development and the introduction of exotic fishes, this <br />preponderance of end,.;aics no longer exists and only 34 ?lercent of <br />the forms in the upper basin are endemic today (Holden and Stalnaker <br />1975a). Vanicek et al. (1970) documented the reduction of endemics <br />