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CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION OF AREA . muskrat, beaver, badger, prairie dog, and various species of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and rodents. Several species of upland game birds and waterfowl are found in the area, including blue grouse, sharptail grouse, mourning doves, pheasant, sagegrouse, ducks, and Canada geese. The most significant of these is the sage grouse, especially in Moffat County where Colorado's largest population of that species exists. The western portion of the area lies within the Pacific Central Flyway, and several species of waterfowl migrate through the area. Some birds stay to nest, especially mallard ducks and Canada geese. Duck nesting occurs on streams and waterbodies throughout the area. Geese nest each year along the Yampa River west of Craig and along suitable sections of the Green River. The Ouray National Wildlife Refuge and Utah's Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area have been established along the Green River between Jensen and Ouray to protect and enhance waterfowl populations. Fish . Trout fisheries are present in the cold water streams and lakes north and east of Steamboat Springs in the Yampa River drainage and east of Meeker in the White River drainage. The principal species in these higher waters are cutthroat, brook, rainbow, and brown trout, and white- fish. In the warmer waters of Green River and the lower reaches of its tributaries, the whitefish and cutthroat trout become rare and fish populations become predominantly warm water species such as chub, carp, catfish, squawfish, and suckers. The State of Colorado has constructed eight reservoirs in the study area for sport fisheries. Ralph White Lake and Elkhead Reservoir, located north of Craig on Fortification and Elkhead Creeks, and Rio Blanco Lake, an off stream impoundment beside the White River west of Meeker, contain populations of such species as green sunfish, bullhead catfish, channel catfish, rainbow trout, and northern pike. The higher elevation impoundm8nts of Steamboat Lake, Lake Pearl, and Hahns Peak Lake north of Steamboat Springs and Lake Avery and Vaughn Lake east of Meeker contain mostly trout. Threatened and endangered species Two species of mammals on the State of Colorado list of endangered species--the river otter and the black-footed ferret--historically lived in the study area. Neither of them has been observed in the area in recent years, however, and it is doubtful whether they are present. . 33