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SUMMARY 9 <br />The committee could not find a recent national assessment of the <br />number of stream and river miles affected by channelization or lev- <br />eeing, but the total is probably much greater than the number of <br />miles of river dammed. Although water resources agencies track <br />their own development projects, the only nationwide inventory of <br />rivers and streams was conducted in the 1970s (DOI, 1982) in re- <br />sponse to passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. <br />Therefore, the committee believes there is a need fora comprehen- <br />sive up-to-date nationwide assessment of rivers, comparable to the <br />National Wetland Inventory. It would be very useful to know how <br />many miles of free-flowing, unchannelized rivers remain in the United <br />States, and where these reaches are located. <br />The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 and <br />Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217) now encour- <br />age the restoration and protection of wetlands. These laws should be <br />expanded to provide for the protection and restoration of large active <br />floodplains and riparian zones that are key components of riverine <br />ecosystems. In addition, the Conservation Reserve Program, the En- <br />vironmental Easement Program, and short-term agricultural set-aside <br />programs should be amended to ensure that riparian zones and flood- <br />plains of all kinds are eligible for inclusion along with wetlands. <br />Opportunities to allocate water to in-stream uses arise (1) when <br />land with water rights is sold or transferred, (Z) when municipalities <br />and irrigators decrease water withdrawals through conservation, and <br />(3) when operating permits for dams are scheduled for renewal. Al- <br />though the prior appropriations system (the basis of water lbw in the <br />West) initially did not permit in-stream flow rights, many western <br />states now recognize in-stream flow water rights. Therefore, states <br />that .have not established a water right for in-stream uses should do <br />so. Flow that becomes available as the result of water conservation <br />or lapse of permits should not automatically be reassigned to a con- <br />sumptive use or withdrawal. Instead, consideration should be given <br />to assigning the flow to in-stream uses. In addition, operating plans <br />for dams should consider the annual water regime required by river- <br />ine fish and wildlife. <br />Federal agencies should be requested to update channelization es- <br />timates and to estimate miles of bank stabilization work already per- <br />formed. The agencies should provide average and mean costs per <br />mile for construction and maintenance of these conventional river <br />management strategies, so that unit costs are available for compari <br />son of different strategies. Government agencies should also conduct <br />post-project evaluations of fluvial modifications, enhancement, im- <br />provement, channelization, and restoration projects to determine whether <br />