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r, RESTORATION POTENTIAL This and similar gravel pits along the major tributaries of the Colorado River are known to be used by endangered fishes. Some fishes have even been trapped in ponds of this type during high water events. It has been suggested that gravel ponds may function as fish habitat if they could be filled during high water events and drain as the river stage lowered. This would require that most of the pond bottom be higher in elevation than the river during low flow. Our investigations of this pond showed it to be approximately 5.5 feet deep, and water levels were approximately 0.45 feet higher than the river. To grade this pond so that it would drain at low stage would require filling much of the pond with 4 to 5 feet of fill. This is a tremendous amount of fill. We agree that these ponds could provide important fish habitat. Chironomid densities in the wetland benthos were much higher than in the river benthos and could provide important forage habitat as we~.l as slack water. We suggest that there is no need for grading the pond to fill and-then drain completely with river stage. Merely breaking the dike and creating a permanent access channel into the pond would create the connection between the two water bodies. The pond level would then be regulated by the river during high stages, but most likely there would still be the positive flow from the pond into the river in late summer. Fish could move into and out of the pond at will during the year and have access to the slack water and increased water column and benthic food resources. Periodic maintenance may be required to keep the entrance from being filled with sediment, but no other maintenance is required. Organic detritus from surrounding trees will continue to blow into the pond, feeding its benthic community. Deposit of sediment during high stage will most likely not harm the site.. 4