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8-4 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Aquatic resources, although limited both in diversity and quantity, include natural prairie lakes and prairie potholes of Iowa, the farm ponds and small reservoirs throughout the subbasin, free-flowing reaches of the Missouri River, major tributary streams, and various stream-related ponds and wetlands. Fishery resources are of variable quality. Good fisheries occur in some of the natural glacial lakes of Iowa, in certain small farm ponds and small reservoirs, and in some oxbow lakes along the Missouri River. populations of fishes in most streams are dominated by rough fish, but in some reaches channel catfish can be harvested. Certain rare, threatened, or endangered fish persist in the Missouri River, including the unique paddlefish, the lake pallid rnd shovelnose sturgeons, and several native forage species. Waterfowl habitat is even more limited and is largely confined to the natural wetlands region in Iowa. Existing water resources including oxbow lakes, ponds, and reservoirs along the Missouri River are used heavily by waterfowl during migration. Such resources in the southern portion of the subbasin provide a wintering range. Large geese populations and small numbers of the nothern bald eagle are also common around Federal wildlife refuges during winter. The Missouri River corridor, especially the bluffs, forests, islands, and oxbow lakes, contribute much to the diverse landscape quality of this region. The corridor is nationally significant as part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The Loess Bluffs and prairie lakes landscapes in Iowa and the Nemaha, Nishnabotna, and Little Sioux bottomland forests are also significant natural and aesthetic resource areas. The subbasin contained the basin's third largest population in 1975. Future projections indicate the total subbasin population should continue stable growth and reach approximately 1.65 million persons, an increase of 25 percent, by the year 2000.