7158

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7158
• Author: Hickman, T. J.
• Title: Effects of Habitat Alteration by Energy Resource Developments in the Upper Colorado River Basin on Endangered Fishes.
• USFW Year: 1983.
• USFW - Doc Type: 537-550
• Copyright Material: YES

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CHAPTER 31

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EFFECTS OF HABITAT ALTERATION BY
ENERGY RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN
ON ENDANGERED FISHES

Terry J. Hickman
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Salt Lake City, Utah

er. 1981.
Preliminary
Salt Lake

INTRODUCTION

Colorado
rid habitat
~ra1 Aid to
Wildlife.

For its size, the Colorado River might be the most used,
controlled, and fough t-over river in the world. Waters of
the Colorado now serve millions of people for municipal and
industrial purposes, electric power generation, mining,
irrigation, grazing, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Huge
volumes of water are exported from the Colorado River system
to adjoining areas. Institutions dealing with the water of
the Colorado River include the following: resource agencies
of seven states, at least 15 federal agencies, several
irrigation districts, numerous municipalities, and many
energy and environmental agencies.

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The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado and Wyoming and flows southwesterly for about 2700
km (1700 mi) to the Gulf of California. Its drainage area of
627,000 km2 (242,000 mi2) (in the U.S.) represents one-
fifteenth of the area of the United States.

The Colorado River drainage is divided into the upper
and lower basins, with the demarcation being Lee Ferry,
Arizona, about 24 km (Is mt) below Glen Canyon Dam. The
Upper Colorado River Basin comprises about 279,000 km2
(107,900 mi2) covering portions of five states: Arizona,
New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. This discussion
will deal primarily with the Upper Colorado River Basin
above Lee Ferry, Arizona.

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Except for the mountainous areas, much of the Upper
Colorado River Basin is arid or semi-arid. Many of the

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