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CHAPTER IV LNVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ' a fish passageway might be practical on existing or proposed low-head diversion dams. However, the high cost of retrofitting large dams with a fish , passageway may discourage this activity. Stocking of Rare Fish Species ' To date, only limited propagation and stocking efforts have occurred or been planned. In the future, propagation and stocking efforts will proceed at a slower pace than in the Proposed Action. Current research indicates that recruitment may not be adequate for all rare fish species, particularly the bonytail chub and razorback sucker, and if left as is, continuing adult mortality would eventually lead to extinction. The "window of opportunity" for developing and maintaining a genetically diverse hatchery population will shrink each year, increasing technical difficulties and financial costs in creating a successful propagation and stocking program. As the genetic diversity of the wild population decreases, so does the opportunity to ' establish a genetically diverse captive broodstock. Nonnative Fish Species and Sportfishing Control of problem nonnative species will occur more slowly than in the Proposed Action. Such delay could adversely impact the rare fishes and increase future control costs. Mortality to rare fishes from incidental take by fishermen is expected to continue, even if known concentrations of rare fishes are protected by State ' fishing regulations. State efforts to manage sportfishing to minimize incidental take of rare fish may occur more slowly. Reduced efforts in conducting education programs emphasizing proper fish handling and release practices might decrease the possibility of allowing sportfishing to continue in areas where rare fishes congregate, and could necessitate more sportfishing closures than under the Proposed Action to protect the rare fishes. Greater Federal intervention may become necessary, i.e., using Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act to minimize incidental take of rare fishes. Research and Monitoring Research and monitoring actions will continue, but at a lesser level of effort and slower pace than in the Proposed Action. These actions will result in mortality to individual specimens, but this mortality will have an ' insignificant impact on rare fish populations as a whole. The slower pace of research will have an adverse impact on the overall effort to recover the rare fishes, inhibiting the ability to identify and maintain habitat while it is ' available and before any additional degradation can occur. IV-H-5 I