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1 ill so that it can be circulated for outside review. USBR w make final comments to FWS on the biological opinion which then should become official about April, 1997. In discussion among the group, FWS indicated they have been working in phase with USBR during development and will continue as comments are returned to USBR during the public review process. The situation regarding various environmental groups is clouded. It is speculated that most environmental groups will concur with the public dissemination and comment methodology. There are some groups, however, such as the Southwest Center for Biodiversity which appear to be entirely against the process and may take positions which could delay the final assessment. It will become a matter of just how far FWS can go for one or two organizations to reach unanimous conclusions. If it appears this is impossible, the process will likely go forward as indicated and see what happens. LOWER BASIN NATIVE FISH WORK GROUP Tom Burke (USBR) provided an overview of the accomplishments and objectives of the lower basin fish work group. The group has been primarily focused on the humpback chub and razorback sucker that were captured in the original impoundment of reservoirs. Data show large numbers of native fish remained in the reservoirs--large numbers showing in spawning aggregations, areas of habitat and recovery from angling. Over the years, these populations have lost individuals until they are present only in small numbers of old age fish. Professionals feel that without recruitment of young these populations will become smaller until, perhaps shortly after the turn of the century, they phase out of the picture. In Lake Mojave, genetics research confirms that the number of individuals are still sufficient to create wide genetic diversity. The fish work group is primarily composed of individuals from various government and private agencies believing they can volunteer and provide a recovery or conservation technique for the Mojave razorback sucker. The group works by donating individual time, equipment and possession. There are no records of the individual group members' contribution in time or equipment; however, the USBR carries a budget item of $125,000 per year for the work group to maintain the program. The group is not a clearinghouse nor the official focus of any other broad based programs, but specifically to carry forward a technique on Lake Mojave whose objective is to replace the adult population of razorback suckers with a genetically diverse new generation. As Lake Mojave has a quite predictable 15 foot annual fluctuation, the group has 14