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Headwater populations of westslope cutthroat trout are being studied along the <br />Continental Divide-of Montana to collect information for use in developing methods <br />for assessing risk of extinction associated with small population size and degraded <br />habitat. Some populations have persisted in geographic isolation without genetic <br />infusion while other populations have been isolated for much shorter time periods <br />by features related to human activity. Comparison of characteristics of isolated <br />populations of varying size and length of isolation should provide insight into what <br />habitat features allow persistence. This ongoing study is being conducted by <br />White, a MTFWP biologist assigned to the Unit, an MS student and 3 field <br />assistants. <br />2. Prior to Last Promotion <br />When White became Assistant Leader of the Idaho Cooperative Fishery Research <br />nit in 1974, there was a large number of students left by the previous leader. <br />D ring the first 3 years, most of White's time was spent assisting Bjornn in <br />dire tina these studies. <br />During t t time, instream flow problems were just beginning to receive national <br />attention. ince Idaho did not have an instream flow program, and since no <br />methods wee available to assess instream flow needs of fish in large rivers, <br />White's initial cus was to develop a rpethodology for recommending instream <br />flow on large riv s (1,2) which would first be applied to the Snake River in Idaho. <br />The method was u d to negotiate flows for large rivers in the Pacific Northwest <br />during the late 197 's and early 1980's and was a forerunner of more <br />sophisticated approach . This work led to the pursuit of other instream flow <br />related research (5,22,63). <br />Because of serious stock deple ' n of Idaho's anadromous fish, White and Bjornn <br />designed research to evaluate effe is of dam operation on upstream migration of <br />chinook salmon and steelhead trou . 20). These studies provided information <br />used in operations management of \an ams. Several other research <br />efforts were directed to effects of hydrking. White designed a study <br />for BOR to predict impacts of changing flow operation to hydroelectric <br />peaking. This study resulted in desipatible plan for fisheries and <br />hydroelectric power production. Reresented at an international <br />symposium, a completion report (23) S esis. <br />33 <br />