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<br />The rough fish typically are carp, white sucker, the creek chuh, and <br /> <br /> <br />the fathead minnow, which represent dominant species of the warm water <br /> <br />fisheries (Li, 1968). These rough fish are found extensively in the <br /> <br /> <br />warmer plains streams due to species competition rather than to <br /> <br /> <br />pollution. The rough species generally lay 2 to 4 times as many eggs <br /> <br /> <br />as the desirable warm water species such as bass and crappie (Larimer- <br /> <br /> <br />Weld Regional Council of Governments and Toups Corporation, 1978). <br /> <br /> <br />Reservoirs located in the lower basin have been stocked with various <br /> <br /> <br />warm water game fish which include walleye, yellow perch, largemouth <br /> <br /> <br />bass, crappie, white bass, northern pike, channel and other catfish <br /> <br />species. A macroinvertebrate community similar to that described by <br /> <br /> <br />Wesche and Johnson (1980) probably exists in the downstream reaches of <br /> <br /> <br />the South Platte River. This community includes flies, beetles, <br /> <br /> <br />mayflies, bugs, dragonflies and damselflies, other insects, aquatic <br /> <br /> <br />worms, and various molluscs (Woodward-Clyde Consultants, 1980). <br /> <br />One native fish subspecies, the plains orangethroat darter, is a <br /> <br /> <br />state-listed threatened fish that may have occurred historically in <br /> <br />streams of the lower South platte River basin (Colorado Division of <br /> <br /> <br />Wildlife, 1978). The species now exists throughout the South Fork of <br /> <br /> <br />the Republican River, which may be of concern regarding the proposed <br /> <br /> <br />Trans-County Project, discussed in Chapter 5. <br /> <br />Mammals <br /> <br />Many mammals, including black bear, mountain lion, American elk, mule deer, <br /> <br /> <br />coyote, pika, Abert's squirrel, and numerous small mammals, such as deer <br /> <br /> <br />mouse, least shrew and spotted ground squirrel, are found within the South <br /> <br /> <br />Platte River basin. Larger mammals, such as black bear and mountain lion, <br /> <br /> <br />are located in the Sub-Alpine zone (Figure 5). other species, such as <br /> <br /> <br />beaver or muskrat, are located within all five broad ecological zones of <br /> <br /> <br />the basin, but remain close to aquatic habitats. <br /> <br />-14- <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />