Laserfiche WebLink
<br />DRAFT-45/10/85 <br />can be completely eliminated from the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin. Irrigation projects and other water development <br />projects, including large Federal water resource and hydro- <br />electric projects, cannot feasibly cease operat-ions or be <br />rig.'` physically removed. There may be opportunities for <br />~~ modifying the operation of certain Federal facilities to <br />~ create slightl~ more favorable conditions for endangered <br />ti~ species, or for selective elimination of predatory game <br />~~* species, provided that the impacts of such actions are <br />socially and economically acceptable. <br />The challenge in the development of a realistic recovery <br />plan for endangered species is to mesh the goal of <br />endangered species preservation into the existing and future <br />conditions which, in fact, result from attainment of other <br />longstanding national goals and objectives. Conservation of <br />endangered species will require an innovative, <br />scientifically based approach which recognizes the realities <br />of the present situation, and the changing social, economic, <br />and physical environment of the Upper Colorado River Basin. <br />2.2 CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS <br />Quantitative scientific investigation of the status of the <br />endangered fish species only began in the early 1960's, and <br />intensive quantitative data collection programs were <br />initiated in 1979. These programs were designed to serve a <br />variety of objectives, and, as a result, incorporated <br />varying sampling techniques at different geographic <br />locations. The best available scientific information does <br />not allow precise correlation among numerous, constantly <br />changing environmental conditions in the Upper Basin and the <br />present condition of endangered fish species. Historical <br />accounts of the presence of endangered species are nebulus <br />4 <br />