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<br />the endangered fish nor water users and developments. This EA has been prepared for the <br />Recovery Program by Reclamation and the Service, <br /> <br />The Recovery Program consists of 5 major elements (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1987a and <br />1987b): <br /> <br />I. Provision of in-stream flows for habitat <br />2. Habitat development and maintenance <br />3, Native. fish stocking <br />4. Management of non-native species and sport fishing <br />5. Research, monitoring, and data management <br /> <br />Colorado River <br /> <br />From high in the Colorado mountains, the Colorado River and its tributaries flow 1,440 miles to <br />the Gulf of California. It serves millions of people with drinking, irrigation, and industrial water, <br />hydropower, and recreation. These water uses have lowered natural spring-time flows as well as <br />led to channelization of the river, water quality changes, and other habitat changes. In the <br />immediate project area, irrigation diversion dams, including the GVIC Diversion, provide <br />irrigation to thousands of acres. In the project area, three low-head, irrigation diversions are <br />barriers to migratory endangered fish. The first downstream barrier occurs at the GVIC <br />Diversion. The Price-Stubb Dam, located 3 miles upstream, presents the second barrier. The <br />third occurs at the Government HigWine Diversion Dam, 5.4 miles upstream of the Price-Stubb <br />Dam, Presently, the Colorado squawfish is absent from its historic range from the Price-Stubb <br />Dam upstream to Rifle and the razorback suckers are extremely rare upstream from Palisade (see <br />frontispiece map). Critical habitat (critical to the fishes survival and recovery) includes the <br />Colorado River from Lake Powell in Utah to Rifle, Colorado (Maddux et al. 1993). <br /> <br />Critical habitat for two other fishes, the bonytail (Gila elegans) and humpback chub (Gila cypha) <br />does not include the reach of the Colorado River between Palisade and Rifle, <br /> <br />Endangered Fishes <br /> <br />The endangered fish evolved in a river system that has been altered significantly over the last <br />century. Appendix A includes information on the fish, their habitat, their behavior, and other <br />factors that have led to the conclusion that fish passageways are necessary for their recovery, <br /> <br />Habitat Availability Upstream <br /> <br />Anderson (1997) summarized the aquatic habitat available in the 54 miles upstream from the <br />diversion dams (palisade to Rifle). Depending upon the section of river, runs (deep, moving <br />water) and pools comprise a large percentage"(49-70 percent) of the available habitat. These <br />habitats are known to be excellent feeding and wintering areas for both Colorado squawfish and <br /> <br />2 <br />