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endangered fishes in the Colorado River system has a separate recovery plan, but there is no comprehensive plan addressing recovery of the community, or ecosystem, as a whole. Experience has shown, however, that a broader perspective could be beneficial (Clark et al. 1994). In fact, the USFWS has determined recently that a ~ "multispecies" or ecosystem approach that combines several species in one recovery plan could "...improve the rate, fiscal efficiency, and effectiveness of recovery actions for listed species and...eliminate the need to list candidate species" (USFWS 1994b). In case of the Upper Colorado River (UCR), such an approach would address the needs of all species in different geographic areas. i In the Colorado River system, the foundation for adopting an ecosystem-oriented approach to recovery efforts was set in 1994 when the USFVNS designated critical habitat for the four listed species of the big river fish community (Maddux et al. 1993, USFWS 1994a). The Razorback Sucker Recovery Plan (USFWS 1998), completed ~ subsequent to designation of critical habitat, recognizes explicitly the new ecosystem framework. Formal adoption of a multispecies approach would represent a major step in the evolution of ideas and policies governing recovery of the Colorado River fishes. A preliminary draft of a multispecies plan was prepared for the USFWS, but was not accepted by the Colorado River Fishes Recovery Team (S.J. Petersburg, personal ~ communication) and developing a framework that would be acceptable to all interests would be a difficult task. Although it may take several more years to develop, a formal plan for multispecies recovery is likely to guide recovery efforts in the future. Consequently, it would be advantageous to begin evaluating recovery needs in that context. ~ The goal of this report is to facilitate recovery of fishes native to the UCR by focusing on major recovery needs identified through a new synthesis of available information. The main focus geographically extends from the confluence with the Green River upstream to Rifle, Colorado. Contributions made by many individuals from diverse institutions and agencies have provided the basis for characterizing the abundance and distribution ~ of the endangered fishes in the UCR basin, and their life history requirements. The next step involves an assessment of those environmental factors most likely to present obstacles to increasing the abundance of .these endangered species. In concept at least, identifying obstacles to population expansion should guide recovery efforts. To some extent, this has already occurred, but a review of previous efforts is warranted. ~ Finally, recommendations for future recovery actions are made on the basis of what is needed and what might work. PART 2. ENDANGERED FISHES IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN ~ Background The upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) consists of about 254,000 km2, and it drains parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona (lours et al. 1965). It has 2