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I A SURVEY OF ENERGY PROJECTS AND INSTREAM RESOURCES IN THE UPPER COLORADO AND UPPER MISSOURI RIVER BASINS by David Abbey and Colleen Olinger ABSTRACT Numerous streams in the Rocky Mountains/Northern Great Plains represent valuable wildlife, aesthetic, and recreational resources. Water for energy projects is likely to affect these resources. Assessment of these effects, however, is necessarily sophisticated and site-specific. Protection of instream resources is also difficult because many states do not recognize streamflow reservations as a beneficial use. Enforce- ment of federal environment legislation as well as more sensitive management of, and planning for federal water projects benefits instream resources without necessar- ily constraining energy development. I. INTRODUCTION Western energy production is certain to affect fisheries, recreation, aesthetic values, and water quality. Spec ification of these effec ts requires analysis of individual stream reaches. This report directs energy-related assessments to the most valuable and critical stream reaches. Section I iden- tifies 1) reaches in the Rocky Mountain/Northern Great Plains Region with high quality instream resources and 2) energy projects in the vicinity or upstream from those reaches. Part A of Section II reviews methodologies for assessing streamflow modifications; Part B reviews legal aspects of streamflow protec- tion--state water law and federal environmental legislation. The final section draws limited conclusions concerning the impacts of and constraints on energy development. II. SURVEY OF CRITICAL REACHES Tables I and II list stream reaches 1n the Upper Colorado and Upper Missouri River Basins with high value fishery, recreational and aesthetic resources. Reaches designated as "Class I" by state fish and game departments 1