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33 Starvatio~~ Reservoir, situated on the Strawberry River above the town of Duchesne, Utah, contains trout, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, and a walleye fishery. Starvation Dam has a slide gate outlet works 117 feet below the surface at full pool, however there are no fish screens. Since it began filling in 1971 Starvation Reservoir has spilled 20 out of 27 years (Personal Communication. Gene Shawcroft, Central Utah Water Conservancy District). Periodic captures of walleye pike in the lower Duchesne River would strongly suggest that escapement of nonnative fishes is also occurring from Starvation Reservoir. The potential for continued escapement of warm water fish from impoundments in the basin remain a concern. Therefore, a removal strategy for eliminating predatory fish should be prepared to reduce potential impacts of nonnative species on the native fishes. ~fects of the Action Factors to be Considered Continued operations of existing and proposed Federal projects identified ors Table 1 will result in an average annual depletion of 447,000 acre-feet of water from the Duchesne River Basin. When compared to the environmental baseline of 648 KAF, impacts associated with Federal projects further reduces that volume by 447 KAF annually, resulting in remaining flows of only 201 KAF. The effects of this depletion (447 KAF) on the endangered fish species will be considered in the conclusion section of this biological opinion. The conclusion section aggregates the effects of the action with other factors analyzed under environmental baseline and cumulative effects to determine whether the proposed action will likely jeopardize the continued existence of the species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. B~,y~es for Effects of the Action The Duchesne River Water Availability Study (CH2M Hil1.1997) was conducted by the RIP to identify possible water sources on the Duchesne that could be used to augment flows for endangered fishes. An important first step in the determination of water availability is to identify water historically available in the basin. Historical use and water availability was subject to certain assumptions because gage records at Randlett. Utah, only extended back to 1943 and were extended based upon mathematical correlation with the Myton gage which extends back to 1912. Recognizing the assumptions used towards establishment of are appropriate long period of record for determining water