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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />SECTION III: SETTING AND RESOURCES STUDIED <br /> <br />Below Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado River passes <br />through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen <br />Canyon). In this lS-mile reach of river between Glen <br />Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry can be found one of the <br />finest trout fisheries in the western united states. <br />Below Lees Ferry, the river enters Grand Canyon <br />National Park (Grand Canyon), with its world-famous <br />scenery and white-water rapids (see location maps in <br />Figures I-1 and I-2). <br /> <br />Study Targeted critical Resources <br /> <br />Agencies and individuals involved in the GCES, working <br />together, identified and selected for study the down- <br />stream resources that were both important to the <br />agencies and the public and likely to be affected by <br />dam operations. These are termed the "critical re- <br />sources." Although analyzed independently in the <br />studies, related critical resources have sometimes been <br />grouped here for ease of discussion. <br /> <br />The Critical Resources Are The Humpback Chub, <br />Common Native Fish, Rainbow Trout, camping Beaches, <br />Riparian vegetation And wildlife, White-Water <br />Boating, And Trout Fishing <br /> <br />HumDback chub. Humpback chub use the warm, highly sa- <br />line waters of the Little Colorado River to spawn and <br />rear larval young (Figure III-1). This is the only <br />breeding population of humpback chub in the Colorado <br />River Basin below Glen Canyon Dam. Chub are afforded <br />legal protection through the Endangered Species Act, <br />which assures that no federal action can be taken <br />which would affect critical habitat of the species or <br />jeopardize its continued existence. Further, all <br />federal agencies are directed to use their authorities <br />to help recover the species (exceptions to this are <br />possible under the law, but have never been granted) . <br /> <br />17 <br />