Page 14

and related water requirements for the achievement of optimum overall project benefits. The most important new facility for wildlife in the plan is the proposed Cibola National Wildlife Refuge on the main stem of the Colorado River. This 16,200-acre refuge would provide urgently needed wintering waterfowl habitat in the Pacific Flyway and add substantially to the public hunting opportunities of the area. Public lands involved are being withdrawn for the establishment of this refuge. Two large fish hatcheries are included in the plan for mitigation of damages to major anadromous fish runs of streams utilized for California North Coast storage. Adequate minimum flows would be supplied below major dams on these streams to insure protection of the fishery resource. Stream habitat improvement measures and land acquisition to improve access and mitigate losses to wildlife are included in the plan. Following detailed studies, a further determination will be made of the necessary volumes and schedules of the streamflows for protecting and enhancing fish runs of California streams affected by the Pacific Southwest Water Plan. Such flows would be nonconsumptive of water by fish and wildlife and would be available to satisfy other downstream requirements. The annual benefits from the investment in the fish and wildlife features of the plan would far exceed the costs assignable to that purpose. Features Requiring More Detailed Studies Brief descriptions of the features of the Initial Plan requiring further study before submission for authorization are as follows: Background--Northern California Water--As previously indicated, the Initial Pacific Southwest Water Plan herein proposed includes facilities for the conservation of 1,200,000 acre-feet of surplus northern California water and its conveyance south for use in the southern California area of the Pacific Southwest region. This continues and expands upon the maturely conceived procedure now being followed by the State of California. The Northwest Coastal area of California, from San Francisco Bay to the Oregon boundary, is by far the most prolific water-producing area in California. The North Coast streams, the largest of which are the Klamath, Trinity, Mad, Van Duzen, and Eel Rivers, drain the western slopes of the Coast Range, the Klamath Mountains, and southern portions of the Cascade Range. At the present time, Trinity Reservoir, a feature of the Federal Central Valley Project, VI-14Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 14,061,568 byte