Summary of
Energy Development in the Southwest: Problems of Water, Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Colorado River Basin
By Walter O. Spofford, Jr., Alfred L. Parker, and Allen V. Kneese
Summary written by T.A. O'Lonergan, Conflict Research Consortium
Citation: Energy Development in the Southwest: Problems of Water, Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Walter O. Spofford, Jr., Alfred L. Parker, and Allen V. Kneese, (eds), (Washington DC: Resources for the Future, 1980), 541 pp.
Energy Development in the Southwest: Problems of Water, Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Colorado River Basin is a comprehensive examination of the effects on the species and habitat of the Colorado River Basin of the development of energy sources, both hydroelectric power development and surface coal mining. The text is supported by numerous tables, graphs, maps and charts.
Energy Development in the Southwest: Problems of Water, Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Colorado River Basin is the second volume of a two volume work. It will be of interest to those who seek to broaden their understanding of the threats to endangered species and habitats in the Colorado River Basin posed by energy development in that region. The work is divided into three parts each of which is comprised of works by several authors addressing a central overarching topic. The first of these sections focuses upon the impacts of water quality on fish and wildlife. The first concern in this section is the influence of reduced streamflows on water quality. This is followed by consideration of the potential impacts of alterations in streamflow and water quality on fish and microinvertebrates in the Upper Basin. Manuel Molles examines the impacts of habitat alterations and introduced species on the native fishes of the Upper Basin. The impacts of habitat alterations on the endangered and threatened fishes of the Upper Basin are also discussed. Loren D. Potter addresses the ecology of Colorado reservoir shorelines prior to an examination of the impacts of energy development on big game in Northwestern Colorado.
The second part of this work is an examination of fish and wildlife management in the Upper Basin, with a focus upon evaluation considerations and procedures. In this context, the potential impacts of energy development on water resources in the Yampa River Basin are discussed. Richard A. Smith offers predictions about the impacts of surface coal mining on trout populations in the same river basin. Finally, habitat evaluation procedures are considered. The final section addresses political and legal institutions affecting the uses of the lands and waters in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Specifically, implications for fish and wildlife under institutional allocation schemes is examined. Energy Development in the Southwest: Problems of Water, Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Colorado River Basin is a collection of essays focused upon the biological impacts of energy development in both the Colorado River Basin and the Yampa River Basin which will be instructive to: professional biologists, hydrologists and the well-informed reader.
