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For two of these cases, the endangered species was not known to inhabit the area before the project was begun. (In fact, the two species were not even known to exist.) As noted, the Furbish lousewort was discovered during the preparation of the EIS for the Dickey-Lincoln project. The snail darter was discovered in 1973, well after construction of the Tellico Dam had started. This suggests that there is indeed some chance that a given project will be affected by the discovery of a species unknown at the start of the project, although in neither of the cases cited were the species in question discovered by environmental groups using the Act as a tool to halt development. In six of these eight cases, a water resource development project was involved; the threat to endangered species was either too much water (inunda- tion of critical habitat) or not enough (streamflow depletion) as follows: Inundation M~amec Dam (Indiana bat) Dickey-Lincoln Dams (Furnish lousewort) . ~Dr.. Tellico Dam (snail darter) -1' ~YlJ> Juniper Dam (Colorado Squawfish),- /rNfi .,. ...~:~.'..'. . \ ck,"y~ ! ! :rr. \ t i tJ" !, c\ ,""- U. tl~{ ~ Depletion Grayrocks Dam (whooping crane) Warner Valley (wound fin) . The distinction between inundation and depletion is important for three reasons. First, all the cases involving inundation evidently resulted in ir- resolvable conflicts, whereas for the cases involving depletion, a compromise has been reached or is apparently within reach. This is not at all surprising because even "a little" inundation implies a complete change of habitat (from terrestrial or riverine to lacustrine). Conflicts between such developments ,.r.:A :\'\ f d h b" . ... 1 * '~vr 'an a l.tat preservatl.on are absolute and l.ndl.vl.sl.b e. On the other hand, ,~,}t f\~ J\1Ji the impacts of projects that reduce flows are marginal, and for this reason \,' ..-\:5 LV \u~~ much more amenable to compromise. \I'" \ \. A second important difference between inundation and depletion is the amount of certainty that attaches to the impact of development on species sur- viva 1. Inundation drastically alters habitat with complete certainty. The *This is not entirely true. One of the alternatives proposed for the Tellico Project was to operate it as a dry dam, which some felt would allow the species to be preserved and some of the benefits of the dam to be realized. 16