Laserfiche WebLink
• <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This report documents completion of the Instream Flow Group (IFG) <br />phase of the Colorado River Fisheries Project (CRFP) as directed by an <br />Amendment to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed upon by U.S. <br />Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />(FWS) in January of 1981. <br />As outlined in the original MOU, the overall objective of the CRFP <br />was to gather and interpret data for use in resolving Endangered Species <br />Act (Section 7) consultations regarding several proposed Reclamation <br />projects or operations. The CRFP became a multiple project study with <br />diverse objectives generally outlined in the executive summary. The IFG <br />phase of the study was contracted to compliment the biologic phases by <br />providing certain analytic tools to aid in.determining past, present, and <br />future habitat conditions. To provide these general capabilities, IFG, <br />in 1980, began a project component with the following objectives: <br />1. To gather physical habitat data at selected locations on <br />the Green and Colorado Rivers; <br />2. To gather and compile temperature and other water quality <br />related data for use in a system based water temperature <br />model, and <br />3. To provide the capabilities of a physical habitat and water <br />quality simulation system as a partial analytic framework <br />which might aid FWS and others in resolving current endan- <br />gered species problems. <br />This completion report primarily describes the tools and capabili- <br />ties available as of November 1981. Additional refinements in the model <br />components and a more comprehensive representation of the basin's physi- <br />cal habitat distribution are to be expected in the future. <br />THE SIMULATION MODELS - GENERAL <br />PHABSIM <br />Two forms of habitat simulation were used during this period of the <br />project. First, the PHABSIM model, developed by the IFG, was applied to <br />six reaches, three each on the Green and Colorado River mainstems. This <br />technique was applied as a component of the Instream Flow Incremental <br />Methodology (IFIM) which is a systematic approach to solution of water <br />allocation problems for stream resources. Proper use of the IFIM re- <br />quires consideration of the watershed, food base, water quality and flow <br />regime components of a river system, noting probable changes in each and <br />determining the effects of such changes. Given reasonable assurance that <br />changes in these components will be minimal or predictable, the effects