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• altered the timing and quantity of flows in streams and <br />rivers; <br />• affected patterns of sediment transport and the shape <br />of stream channels; <br />• resulted in point and nonpoint source discharges of <br />pollutants into streams and wetlands; <br />• fostered in some cases competition between native and <br />introduced species to the detriment of native species; <br />and <br />• converted or degraded important riparian habitat, <br />thereby altering water temperature and nutrient inputs. <br />Our knowledge about the specific causal links between these <br />physical and chemical habitat changes and responses in water - <br />dependent biota is, on the whole, limited. Nonetheless, the <br />trend toward decline appears to be indisputable. <br />Based on existing information, 29 percent of native amphibious <br />species and 56 percent of native fishes in Colorado are <br />considered at risk or already have been lost. The population <br />status of the majority of native amphibians, mollusks and <br />crustaceans is unknown. Many of these species are located <br />principally on federal lands. As more information is obtained, <br />it is likely that many will be found to be in decline. <br />The species experiencing decline run from the well - known, such as <br />the whooping crane and Colorado River squawfish, to the obscure, <br />like the flannelmouth sucker and boreal toad. Declining species <br />and aquatic communities are evident in every major river basin in `x <br />Colorado. <br />Recent information from the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the( <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that there are several <br />additional water dependent species which are candidates for UUU <br />protection under the federal Endangered Species Act if actions f <br />are not taken quickly to protect or enhance their remaining <br />habitat. These include the boreal toad, the Arkansas darter, the <br />flannelmouth sucker, the plains topminnow, the brassy minnow, the <br />Johnny darter, the Rio Grande sucker, and the Colorado River <br />cutthroat trout, and others. The protection of these and other <br />species is likely to become increasingly expensive if their <br />decline toward extinction is a= d to continue. The <br />conservation of these species, and t e avoidance of protracted <br />regulatory conflicts, may require e preservation or improvement <br />of water quality and physica i a s we 1 as modifications <br />in nagement o water r ources. 11 <br />lT [ <br />