7815

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7815
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Title: Strategy for Determination of Habitat Requirements for the Rare Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1988.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

monitoring species response under a variety of natural flow conditions (e.g.,
average, wet, and dry years). Provisions for refinement will be made when.new
information on species response becomes available, and whenever the river
system is changed or when changes are proposed. Institutional procedures need
to be developed to allow instream flow appropriations to be adjusted (up or
down) to account for new information.
Finally, there exists no %standard" set of approaches for determining habitat
and flow needs of fishes. Professional judgement enters into every step of the
process. A strategy may be thorough and comprehensive, but still not result
in consensus as to what constitutes optimal habitat conditions or a reasonable
flow recommendation. However, peer review and review by interested parties
will continue to be solicited as input to ensure that the Service's
recommendations are biologically and hydrologically sound.
Implementation of the strategy will require well-defined roles and
responsibilities, and coordination/cooperation among all involved participants.
The Service is designating individuals responsible for each component. Current
studies will be reviewed, and those found to be inconsistent with the strategy
will be altered where possible; proposals for new studies will be evaluated to
ensure compatibility. Service efforts will be directed towards enhancing
habitat quality and quantity in areas where habitat is determined to be
limiting; and preventing habitat from becoming limiting in the other areas of
the basin.
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