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enlarged storage reservoir is recommended, this project must be funded through FY 2000 to provide the means by which to evaluate alternatives and develop a coherent management plan for the Yampa River. Potential benefits of such a plan go well beyond the Yampa River Basin, The Yampa provides spawning habitat for endangered fish, such as razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow (fonnerly Colorado squawfish), which disperse to not only the Yampa, but also the Green and White rivers, It also provides spring peak flows otherwise absent from the Green River since Flaming Gorge Dam was constructed, Spring floods create quiet backwaters which serve as nursery habitat for these species, Therefore, maintenance of a "natural" flow regime in the Y ampa could have significant implications for the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam and the viability of nursery habitats within the Green River downstream from its confluence with the Yampa, If we cannot protect the relatively pristine Yampa River from the same impacts that already imperil native fishes in the mainstem Colorado and Green rivers, how can we ever hope to recover these species? A commitment to a Yampa management plan by the Recovery Program would demonstrate its support for a collaborative process which can serve as a model for other subbasins in the Upper Colorado River Basin, VIII, Project Status: Due to delays in hiring a Coordinator and completing the fish flow report, the project is about 6 months behind schedule, In FY 98, funding for Task 5 was reduced by $49K from $92K to $43K, and funding for Task 6 ($4IK) was eliminated, Funding approved for FY 99 was limited to $125K for Task 5, $31,600 for Task 12 and $40K for Task 14 (through completion of Task 5 in March 1999), The decision to fund Tasks 6 and 7 and the balance of Task 14 ($40K) was deferred, pending completion of Task 5 in March 1999, However, Task 5 may not be completed before June 1999, So additional funds for Task 14 (program Management) may be needed regardless of the decision to proceed, Even if approved and funded, it is doubtful that Tasks 6 and 7 will be completed in FY 99, But that should not influence the decision to fund these tasks, If necessary, funding and workload for these tasks could be carried over to FY 2000, The RIPRAP schedule calls for completion ofNEPA documents, ROD and Implementation Agreement in September 2000, If the project continues beyond FY 99, a more realistic target date would be January 2001, CAP-9, Yampa O&M Plan - Page 4