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<br />1. Do not restore floodplain habitats. <br /> <br />This would maintain the "status quo" of present habitats in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin ecosystem. Endangered fishes would receive no <br />benefits from floodplain restoration, but neither would nonnative <br />fishes. Selection of this option would be based on the assumption that <br />endangered <br /> <br />species can be recovered by implementing measures other than floodplain <br />restoration. <br /> <br />2. Install additional levees/dikes to prevent use of floodplain habitats by <br />nonnative fishes. <br /> <br />This option assumes that, if nonnative fishes would use and/or benefit <br />from restoration of floodplain habitats, then existing floodplain <br />habi tats shoul d be "walled-off" to prevent thei r use by nonnat i ves. <br />However, some nonnative fishes are also abundant in main-channel <br />s 1 ackwater habitats. It is not feas i b 1 e to "wall-off" all backwaters, <br />embayments, and tributary mouths to prevent nonnatives from using or <br />benefitting from those habitats. Such measures would result in a river <br />that resembles a concrete-lined canal where the numbers of all fish <br />species would be reduced. <br /> <br />3. Restore sites only in locations where there are no "problematic" <br />nonnative fishes. <br /> <br />All parts of the Upper Basin contain some "problematic" nonnative fish <br />species. Some biologists believe that, wherever habitat is enhanced or <br />restored, nonnative fishes will use them. The response of fishes to <br />newly created habitats will vary among the various species. <br /> <br />4. Control access to (and from) restored sites by nonnative fishes <br /> <br />There are two degrees of control for nonnative fishes: total and <br />partial. Total control can be accomplished only if the habitat is <br />totally isolated from the main channel of the river. In this case, the <br />habitat (e.g., pond or hatchery) could be drained or poisoned to remove <br />all fishes; then stocked with razorbacks for rearing. <br /> <br />One means of partial control can be accomplished via inlet and outlet <br />screens, which prevent access to the habitat by larger fishes, but <br />permit access to early life stages of fishes. During high flow years, <br />however, the screens, dikes, and levees can be breached or over-topped, <br />allowing access to any or all species and sizes of fish. <br /> <br />Another technique for partial control is to install an outlet control <br />structure with a fish kettle. This allows draining the habitat back <br />into the river through a screen, and harvesting all of the fishes. <br />Nonnative fishes can then be removed from the kettle, thereby preventing <br />them from getting into the river. <br /> <br />4 <br />