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" . . 9 of food and water. Red fox. coyotes and other mammals use it for feeding habitat and travel lanes. while birds use it for feeding, nesting and winter shelter. One active golden eagle nest is located atop a cottonwood tree on the Rasmussen canal bank. It has a record of fledging eaglets over the past several years. The combined wetland and riparian habitats are essential to wildlife in the project area. Wetland and riparian habitats provide nearly all the safe hiding. resting, winter shelter and wildlife nesting/birthing habitat and therefore are ranked as critical habitat values by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Long-billed curlew are found in wet-meadow type wetlands. The long-billed curlew is a Category 2 candidate species for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act (Act). Listing is possibly appropriate for Category 2 candidate species. but conclusive data are not currently available. Project area wetlands are important to several migratory nongame birds of management concern in the United States (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1987). The 1987 list prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) shows that of the 12 birds occurring in Region 6. which includes Utah, 3 are found in the project area (Service 1987). Those three birds are: white-faced ibis, northern harrier (marsh hawk), and loggerhead shrike. Primary reason(s) for listing each are, white-faced ibis and northern harriers - restricted/vulner- able habitat (wetlands) while the loggerhead shrike was listed because of an apparent negative breeding bird survey trend. A significant. but mostly unappreciated value of the wetlands found throughout the Price-San Rafael area is their role in supporting the prey base so necessary for raptors and other carnivorous animals including loggerhead shrike. weasels, etc. Below the project area in the Price and San Rafael River basins the upland habitat consists of dry desert shrub types dominated by fourwing saltbush (Atriolex canescens), mat saltbush (8. cuneata). winterfat (Eurotina lanata), black greasewood (Sarcobatum vermiculatus). and galleta grass (Hilaria iamesii). The streams are saline, turbid and of generally poor quality. The proposed project would not affect the vast area of desert shrub uplands, however. some downstream aquatic and riparian habitat and the wildlife dependent on it would be aff:cted by the project. The Price River and its mountain tributaries have good gamefish populations of brown. rainbow and cutthroat trout upstream from the proposed project area. As the water is diverted for agriculture, industrial and municipal use. the gamefish populations are eliminated and only a few non-game species remain. Below the project area return flows increase the streamflow and permanency of the Price River. Channel catfish and various non-game fish are found in the lower Price River. Channel catfish are game fish while the non-game fish provide food for great blue herons, common mergansers. and other fish eating birds. "..,' "'r n t.. '~I \,., . V-:J