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<br />. . .'...
<br />Biologist hitedto.work on YampaRiver water planning
<br />
<br />TheU.S, Fishand Wildlife Service
<br />has seiected Gerry.Roehin to serve as,
<br />the coordinator for the Yampa ,River
<br />. Endangered Fish Recovery and Water.
<br />ManagementPlan, The purpose of th-e
<br />plan is to provide 'adequate in-stream ..
<br />flow for' endangered
<br />, species,. while con-
<br />tinuing, to l1)eetthe
<br />water needs ,of the .
<br />. basin's'. . growing
<br />'human population, .
<br />"We're trying to pre-
<br />servethe . natural
<br />.Iandscape of the area
<br />, Gerry ~oehm and the fish and
<br />... . ... wildlife species that .
<br />. live there as well as people's .way'-of .
<br />. life;" Roehm said.. "It boils down to'
<br />prote~ting both the natUral aPd human .
<br />enviroTul1"ents." , .
<br />He recently got his feet wet, figura,
<br />lively 'arid literally, . when. he joined
<br />. Fish and .Wildlife 'Service personne,l
<br />from Vernal, Utah, on a float trip look-
<br />. ing for humpback chubs on the Yampa
<br />River through Dinosaur National.'
<br />Monument,
<br />. But his primary mission involves
<br />working with the Yampa River Basin
<br />Partnership, . Yampa. ,Project.
<br />Management, Team and contractor.
<br />Ayres Associates to identi.fyand eyahi, .
<br />ate alternatives for, managing water
<br />, resourc'es of the Yampa basin in com-
<br />pliance with,th~ National
<br />, Environmental Policy Act'
<br />NEPA requires federal agencies to
<br />,evaluate' ,the environmen'tal conse"
<br />quences of their actions and disclose:
<br />. them to the public, Roehm explained.
<br />This can take' the,' , form - of an
<br />Enviroiunental Assessment or, depend- .
<br />'ingupon the nature' and' severity of
<br />'impacts, ' a more " involved
<br />Environmental . Impact' Statement.
<br />NEPA work plans and scopes of work
<br />have been developed for fiscal years
<br />1998 and 1999. The tentative timetable
<br />calls for a ,plan to be' approved and
<br />funded for implementation by January
<br />2000, )1e said,
<br />
<br />
<br />, ,
<br />. Public i~volvement will bel. key
<br />component of this pro'cess, according
<br />to Roehm,The public was invited to a
<br />Yampa River Partnership meeting last
<br />May to, interact with scientists who
<br />presented Yampa River.. research.
<br />results. Speakers ,included ,Roehm, ,
<br />Moffat County Commissioner- T,
<br />Wright. Dickinson; Routt County
<br />Commissioner Ben Beall; John Hamill
<br />. ,. .
<br />oftheU,S. Fish and Wildlife Se~ice; .
<br />and Ray Jenney of the Colorado River
<br />, Wat~r ,Conservation District: Also,
<br />Doug. Robotham .of the.' Colorado
<br />Department of-Natural Resources'dis-
<br />cussed the status of the' state's in-
<br />streain ,flow. water riilhtsfiling". Bill
<br />Miller, a hydrologist.. with Ayres
<br />Associates, ,reviewed the, endailgered
<br />fish water needs study. Tom Nesler of
<br />the Colorado Division of Wildlife
<br />
<br />talked about the Vamp'; River aquatic
<br />management plan.
<br />The' next milestone is to convene the
<br />scientists to review and, summarize
<br />their research results within the next
<br />few months: The meeting will be open
<br />to' the public,
<br />. Roehm has been' with the Service
<br />since 1976, most recently at Rocky
<br />. Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife
<br />Refuge. near I)enver, Previously. he
<br />,worked on the Columbia: River near
<br />White Salmon; Wash.; Honolulu and
<br />. Albuquerque. While in'Albuquerque
<br />he becaine involved in upper Colorado
<br />River basin Issues and participated in
<br />,fisheries activitie's on the San Juan,
<br />, '
<br />,Animas and La PIata rivers.
<br />He can be reached .at (303) 236-
<br />'8155; ex!. 272, or' bye-mail at
<br />,<geri'y Joehm@fws.gov>,
<br />
<br />
<br />Photo courtesy of Colorado DiviSion of Wildlife
<br />
<br />The purpose of the Yampa River, Endangered Fish Recovery and Water
<br />Management Plan is to ensure the availability of 'water resources in the
<br />Yampa River basin for fish, wildlife and people.
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