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<br />\.J M 'E> <br /> <br />The Floodplain Habitat Restoration Program supports the hatchery <br />production and rearing of endangered fishes, and subsequent stocking <br />based on an approved stocking plan. Although hatchery-produced <br />endangered fishes will be required by the Program in some instances <br />to evaluate habitats that have been restored and to assist in <br />reestablishment of populations, the Program is not a propagation <br />program, but a habitat restoration program. In its present form, <br />the Program defines restoration of flooded bottomlands as <br />reconnecting floodplain habitats to the main channel of the river in <br />such a way that flooding occurs at near-historical frequency, <br />timing, and duration. Therefore, proposals to use ponds and lakes <br />which remain isolated from the river for use in propagation or <br />growout of endangered fishes would fit better under the Propagation <br />Element of the Recovery Program, because they would not be <br />cons i dered "restored habitats" as defi ned by the Fl oodp 1 a in Habitat <br />Restoration Program. <br /> <br />Another philosophical issue pertains to the role that restored <br />floodplain habitats will play in restoring overall lotic ecosystem <br />productivity. Production in flooded bottomlands has been found to <br />be orders of magnitude greater that in the main river channel. As <br />bottomlands are reconnected to the river, they will likely become <br />seasonal sources of allocthonous materials, nutrients, and food for <br />aquatic biota, thereby influencing production. Whether or not these <br />increases in system productivity will benefit native fishes more or <br />less than nonnative fishes is unknown. The Floodplain Habitat <br />Restoration Program assumes that all species of fishes will benefit <br />to some degree, and that razorback suckers will respond positively <br />(i.e., will survive and grow), but only if floodplain habitats are <br />restored and managed properly (i.e., to favor razorbacks over <br />nonnatives). Since monetary resources are limited, quantification <br />and evaluation of habitat restoration effects on ecosystem <br />productivity may be included in the Program, but only to the extent <br />that results can be applied directly to management of floodplain <br />habitats to assist in razorback recovery. <br /> <br />7 <br />