in instream uses of water. The midsection of the paper will concentrate on the 

 hydraulic based microhabitat approaches presently in vogue. Finally, it will offer 

 research needs which should advance the state-of-the-art and chart a course for 

 continued progress during the 1980s and beyond. 



EARLY EFFORTS 



Prior to the 1970s the consideration of the instream values of water in the water 

 administration arena was inconsistent, frustrating, and confusing at best. The first 

 documented instream flow study for water planning purposes was conducted in 

 Colorado on the Colorado River below the Granby Dam site in the late 1940s by 

 Ralph Schmidt of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Although this study had little 

 influence on the construction agency, it employed concepts which are still being 

 applied today. 



Biologists have been attempting for 30 years to integrate protection for streamflows 

 for fish and wildlife resources into the planning efforts of federal water development 

 agencies. The relative success of these efforts depended upon such factors as existing 

 state law, personal salesmanship in presenting the recommendations, but probably 

 most of all, on the prevailing philosophy of the construction agencies and the 

 politicians in control. In the eastern states, the philosophy reflected the existence of 

 riparian doctrine and few streams were totally diverted, although many did suffer 

 adverse effects. In the western states where an appropriation doctrine prevailed, the 

 philosophy of protecting instream values simply did not compete with the frontier 

 ethic of conquering the wilderness and harnessing the natural resources for economic 

 gain. This philosophy was evident in the water development planning for the Bureau 

 of Reclamation. Corps of Engineers, and State Water Development Agencies. When 

 some measure of protection was afforded to instream values, it was more a matter of 

 allocating dam leakage or water excess to project need for instream values than a 

 matter of attempting to sincerely protect the fluvial ecosystem. The result was that 

 stream-flows became depleted from 40 to 100 percent in many western rivers as the 

 decade of the 70s arrived. 



No state had adequate legislation on the books to purposefully protect instream 

 values. In Oregon there was a policy of recognizing instream values and supposedly 

 protecting sufficient flow to sustain fisheries. As the drought of 1977 later revealed, 

 this policy fell short of adequate legal protection. 



The methodologies for determining instream flow needs before 1970 were limited 

 to several approaches developed by individual biologists which relied heavily on 

 professional judgment. Ironically, it was this reliance on professional judgment that 

 seemed to be largely responsible for the failure to get recommendations accepted. 

 The state engineers and water policy boards were trained to deal with quantified data. 

 Even if inclined to protect instream values, most state engineers were reluctant to 

 make decisions solely on the judgment of a biologist. 



During the 1950s and 1960s the water planning community began to recognize that 

 instream flow needs were a legitimate part of water administration. This largely came 

 about as a result of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and its amendments 

 through 1958. However, investigations into instream flow requirements for fisheries 

 and maintenance of the aquatic ecosystem was inappropriately viewed as only a 

 part-time job. Such work was conducted by biologists in various state and federal 

 agencies, working independently and using a variety of methods. 



The major impetus to instream flow assessments came as a spinoff of the Water 

 Resource Planning Act of 1965 which established the Water Resources Council and 

 authorized regional river basin commissions. 



Through the Water Resources Council and the regional river basins, a new 

 program of comprehensive, coordinated interdisciplinary planning by representa- 

 tives of a wide variety of agencies was begun. It was through such efforts, most 

 notably in the Pacific Northwest, where salmon and steelhead runs were recognized 



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