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INTRODUCTION Study Area The Price River is a tributary to the Green River that drains approximately 1,892 square miles of southeastern Utah (Figure 1). The upper portion of the drainage is located at 9,200 feet above sea level, while the confluence of the Price River with the Green River is located at 4,200 feet above sea level. Habitat in this drainage changes dramatically near Helper, Utah (Figure 2). Upstream from this point, the Price River is ahigh-gradient stream supporting fish species that prefer clear, cold water (e.g. mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi), mountain sucker (Catostomus platyrhynchus), bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus), and salmonids). Vegetation in this portion of the drainage is dominated by montane species (e.g. conifers and aspen (Populus tremuloides)) in upland areas, with willows (Salix spp.) and sedges (Carex spp.) in riparian zones. Instream habitat is composed of pools, riffles and runs in the unaltered portions. However, much of the stream has been channelized for highway and railroad construction. Habitat in these sections is dominated by long riffles with large substrates. The upper portion of the drainage also has a 2,815 surface acre impoundment, known as Scofield Reservoir. This reservoir is used for irrigation and culinary water, and is located at an elevation of 7,618 feet above sea level. This reservoir was originally built in 1926 (Judd 1992}, and enlarged to its current size in 1946 (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1998a). A proposed dam and transbasin diversion project (known as the Narrows Project) to be located above Scofield Reservoir would deplete 5,709 acre-feet of water from the basin (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1998a). Depletions would occur in the spring and summer in average and wet years and during the fall in dry years (Table 1), and could have dramatic impacts on habitat-forming flows throughout the drainage. Below Helper, upland vegetation is dominated by species that are better adapted to xeric conditions (e.g. sagtbrush (Atriplex spp.), galleta grass (Hilaria jamesii), sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)). Riparian plants include willows, tamarisk (Tamarix pentadra), canary reed grass (Palaris arundinacea), and Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii). Instream habitat in the lower portion of the Price River is dominated by long, uniform runs separated by riffles or rapids in the higher gradient areas. The channel is characterized by steep banks and fairly uniform depths and velocities. High amounts of sediment are carried through this part of the river during much of the year, and summer water temperatures are much warmer than those found in the upper portion of the basin. Farnham diversion, an irrigation structure located 88.5 miles upriver from the confluence with the Green River (Figure 2), is a complete barrier to upstream movement of fish. The river enters a deep, high-gradient canyon at river mile 19.5. Hereafter, the reach below river mile 19.5 will be referred to as the Canyon section. The area from this point up to river mile 48.75 (the confluence with Grassy Trail Creek) will be referred to as the Woodside section. Historical Accounts of Fish in the Price River Relatively little is known about the fish community of the Price River downstream from the town of Price, Utah. Originally, this area was probably inhabited by razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus Lucius), roundtail chub (Gila robusta), flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis), bluehead sucker, speckled dace 1