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impacts cannot be avoided, the Bureau will provide appropriate mitigation or compensation. No Indian trust assets occur in the floodplain ponds along the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Therefore, control of nonnative fish species will not adversely impact such assets if they did exist in the floodplains of either river. H. Environmental Justice. Executive Order 12898 established environmental justice as a federal agency priority to ensure that minority and low-income groups are not disproportionately affected by Federal actions. The ethnicity of the majority (90%) of residents in the project area is white (Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce 1997). However, other ethnicities of persons in the area include (hispanic (8%), Native American 0.7%), Asian (0.6~), and black (0.4%). A public news release was issued by the Bureau to all potential affected interests (i.e., agencies, organizations, or =__ individuals) who may be affected by the proposed action. Access to floodplain ponds on private and public land will be gained through landowners who are willing to participate in this Recovery Program effort. No disproportionate negative impacts are known that~may affect low-income individuals or groups through control of nonnative fish species. IV. ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES AND PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE None of the five alternatives discussed below will adversely impact historic and cultural resources, Indian trust assets, or environmental justice (Table 2). Therefore, these environmental factors will not be discussed in detail under the various alternatives. Other environmental factors that will be affected will be discussed under the appropriate alternative(s). A. Alternative 1 - No Action. Under this alternative, nonnative, warmwater fish species in floodplain ponds along the Colorado and Gunnison rivers would continue to enter the river from ponds with outlets or during connections with the rivers during high streamflows. No additional impacts to vegetation and land use, historic and cultural resources, or socio-economic factors would result from this alternative because nothing would be done that would affect the present use and condition of floodplain ponds. Discharge water from ponds with outlets to the rivers would continue to be released into the rivers. During high spring streamflows, floodplain ponds would be connected with the river for varying lengths of time depending upon the runoff for any particular year, the rate of snow melt in the mountains, and elevation reached during flood conditions. Chronic escapement of nonnative fish species into the rivers would continue through outlets from the ponds or when high streamflows cause overbank flooding. The negative impacts on the endangered Colorado River fishes from predation and competition by nonnative, warmwater fishes would continue. 14