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the greatest opportunity for water depletion occurs during the low flow periods of the year, exaserbating low flow impacts on fish. If the anticipated frequency of low instream flows cannot provide adequate protection of endangered fish, it is incumbent upon the participants of the Recovery Implementation Program for the Recovery of the Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin (RIP) to provide alternatives for the recovery of affected listed species. Options to provide adequate flow protection include purchasing and converting existing senior water rights to instream flow rights, or to develop water storage for augmenting flows during the low flow period. Enlargement of Elkhead reservoir, on Elkhead Creek, could store up to 25,000 acre feet of water during spring runoff for flow augmentation in the summer, but would cost nearly 30 million dollars (Maddux, pers. comm.). However, the benefits of providing baseflow augmentation to the cost of retaining spring high flows for endangered fishes is uncertain. In an effort to address the future water development and recovery options for endangered fishes in the Yampa Valley, the RIP initiated the Yampa River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery and Water Management Plan. The goal of this plan is "to provide water for existing and future human needs, to provide and protect the instream flows and habitat needed to maintain and recover the endangered fishes, [and] to protect other native fish and wildlife resources in the Yampa River Basin ". This project will conform to the requirements of the NEPA process. As a part of the NEPA process, the following study was initiated to address concerns related to low flow needs of the endangered fishes in the Yampa River. The approach taken was to define the relationship of habitat availability to reduced flows and relate habitat use by fishes to that relationship. Flow/habitat/fish relationship studies PA