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<br />u~~ <br /> <br />-COLORADO RIVER ACTION PLAN: MAINSTEM <br />ACTIVITY II, RESTORE HABITAT <br />II,A, Restore and manage flooded bottomland habitat, <br />-COLORADO RIVER ACTION PLAN: GUNNISON RIVER <br />ACTIVITY II, RESTORE HABITAT <br />II,A, Restore and manage flooded bottomland habitat. <br /> <br />III, Study Goals, Objectives, End Product: <br /> <br />Naturally functioning. highly productive low-velocity habitats are <br />thought to be an essential component of the life history of some or <br />all of the native fishes of the upper Colorado River basin. but many <br />such habitats have been hydrologically cut off from the main channel <br />of the river and no longer provide benefits to the native fishes, <br />The goal of the Floodplain Habitat Restoration Program is to restore <br />or enhance natural floodplain functions that support recovery of <br />endangered fishes in the Upper Basin, Natural floodplain functions <br />include provision of food. enhanced water temperatures. high quality <br />water. shelter from high velocities, vegetative cover for predator <br />avoidance, nursery rearing habitats, and spawning habitats, <br /> <br />The Floodplain Habitat Restoration Program is based on the premise <br />that an ecosystem approach offers the best opportunity for <br />reestablishing natural attributes and functions of low-velocity <br />habitats and. therefore, achievement of the Program goal, This is <br />because the occurrence, availability to fishes, and bioproduction of <br />low-velocity habitats are spatially and temporally dynamic, and <br />depend upon ecosystem attributes and processes (e,g" flow dynamics, <br />sediment regimes. channel morphology, and food web dynamics), Jack <br />A. Stanford (1994, Instream flows to assist the recovery of <br />endangered fishes of the upper Colorado River basin, U,S,O,I, <br />National Biological Survey Biological Report 24, Washington. O,C, 47 <br />pp,) presented a comprehensive ecosystem approach for identifying <br />the flow needs for the endangered fishes in the Upper Basin that <br />focuses on development of a better understanding of the coupling of <br />physical processes associated with flow. geomorphology, and riverine <br />bioproduction. Stanford's suggested ecosystem approach encompasses <br />floodplain wetlands and other low-velocity habitats and provides a <br />foundation for the Habitat Restoration Program conceptual framework, <br /> <br />Finally. the Floodplain Habitat Restoration Program should be <br />considered in the context of the larger Colorado River Recovery <br />Program, The scope of the framework is limited to those objectives <br /> <br />6 <br />