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.. . , - upland habitats and are not known to occur in any of the sections of the Dolores or San Juan rivers that would be affected by any of the alternatives. Similarly, the spotted bat, black tern, loggerhead shrike, white faced ibis, ferruginous hawk, cronquist milkvetch, schmoll milkvetch or Mesa Verde cactus, all Candidate species, are also not addressed as they are either strictly associated with upland habitats or are otherwise not known to occur in association with the affected portions of San Juan or Dolores river corridors. BALD EAGLR Bald eagles overwinter in the area and regularly use that reach of the Dolores River just downstream from the dam. Since the closure of the dam, as many as thirty of these federally-protected raptors have been reported from this portion of the Dolores River during the winter (pers. comm. Mike Zgainer, CDOW, 1993). Strongly associated with riparian areas and open water, bald eagles are attracted by an accessible food source, consisting primarily of waterfowl and fish. Over the last three years, the availability of open water associated with a 30 cfs winter time flow is restricted to the first 1-2 miles downstream of the dam. Water released during the winter has been averaging near 380 F. From 1984 through 1989, wintertime flows through the dam were never reduced below 78 cfs, as prescribed under McPhee Dam's original . operating criteria. It is expected higher winter releases would result in more of the river remaining ice free; however, flows other than 30 cfs have not been monitored. Further downstream, the river more frequently ices over, as does much of McPhee Reservoir. Because of limited open water in recent years, waterfowl tend to concentrate in the tailwater area below the dam. These waterfowl may well constitute the primary food source of bald eagles wintering along this reach of the Dolores. Also, as has been documented in numerous other reports, Reclamation assumes carrion, primarily elk and deer, also are part of the bald eagles winter diet. The availability of a concentrated and reliable food source, along with closure to public access of the road paralleling the first 4 miles of the river below the dam, combine to provide an attractive wintering site for bald eagles. The nearest known nesting pairs of bald eagles have been reported in the Lost Canyon area (10-20 miles from the dam) and west of Cortez (pers. comm. Jerry Craig, CDOW, 1993). Neither of these two nesting pairs are dependent on the Dolores River downstream from McPhee Dam, although the availability of suitable nesting habitat in the drainage could result in summer use of this portion of the Dolores at some time in the future (pers. comm. Jerry Craig, CDOW, 1993). Over the long term, implementation of the Proposed Action Alternative and other pool management alternatives would likely benefit wintering bald eagles. All of the pool management alternatives would avoid returning to the extreme, chronic low flow (20 cfs) years (No Action Alternative), which would reduce the extent of open water downstream of McPhee Dam during the winter. since downstream fish communities would benefit from pool management, a valuable eagle prey base would remain available. Depending on the volume of water available for pool management, the alternatives discussed above may increase the potential incidence and extent of river icing during the winter due to maintenance of lower base flows during "normal" (50 cfs) and "wet" (78 cfs) years than would occur under the No-action Alternative. Reclamation has no data relating the winter time use of the Dolores River by bald eagles at flow higher than 30 cfs. While more of the river may be open at higher flow, Reclamation cannot project how many. more bald eagles, if any, the river might support under these conditions. In the absence of data to the contrary Reclamation; therefore, believes none of the proposed pool management alternatives would adversely affect wintering bald eagles downstream of McPhee Dam. 11