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<br />
<br />,RECOVERY PRClJRAM .FOR
<br />THE ENDANGERED FISHES
<br />~~OF THE UPPER COIORAID
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<br />Winter 1995
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<br />Public'sllpportsfish'recovery, CSU survey finds
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<br />FORT COLLINS,'COLO. -A
<br />,majority of citizens who live along the
<br />, upper Colorado River basin would like
<br />to se'e four s'pecies of endangered fish
<br />',recovered, a Colorado'State University,
<br />study conducted for the, Col~rado ,
<br />, Division of Wildlife and U.S. Fish and'
<br />WIldlife Service has found.
<br />Completed by CSU's Human
<br />Dimensions m NaturalResources Unit,
<br />the survey found 66 percent of the 897
<br />respondents supported efforts to pro-
<br />tect the Colorado squawfish, ~orback
<br />sucker, bonytail and hllinpbackchub
<br />from',extinction: Another' 21 'percent
<br />opposed such efforts, while 13 percellt
<br />had no opinion. '
<br />John Hamill,. a U.S. Fish and
<br />Wildlife Service biologist who directs
<br />the' Recovery , Program ' for
<br />Endangered " Fish 'of the, Upper'
<br />Coiorado River Basin, views the sur-'
<br />vey's resultsas support for the fish as
<br />weU as ihe environment., '
<br />"I think ,the resulisequate to ~up-
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<br />'Support for efforts to 'recover endallgeredfish
<br />
<br />100%
<br />
<br />66%,
<br />
<br />
<br />75%
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<br />50%
<br />
<br />
<br />21%
<br />
<br />13%
<br />
<br />
<br />25%
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<br />i~liIJI\il'~1~1'
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<br />:jJ,~t+~~1Ij~tt1i;~;~f~S
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<br />0%
<br />
<br />. ,
<br />Support
<br />
<br />" Neutral
<br />
<br />Oppose
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<br />',When asked whether they'supported or opposed efforts to recover endan- ,
<br />gered .Colorado River fish, two-thirds of all, respondents 'said, they were sup-
<br />portive;13 perceritwere rieutral; and 21 percent were opposed. ,
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<br />'See SURVEY, Page 2
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<br />Rare fish stocked in Green,'Gunnison rivers'
<br />
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<br />Biologists 'with the U.S. Fish and
<br />Wildlife' Seivi~e stocked about 900 5-
<br />inch endangered razorback 'suckers in
<br />the Green River at Dinosaur National
<br />MoniJrnent in Jjtah and about 300 4- to
<br />8-inch nizorbacks in' the Gunnison
<br />River upstream of Delta, "Colo., in
<br />early OCtober.
<br />Stocking these fish is aimed at pre-
<br />venting extinction of one of the most
<br />endangered fish species in the West. In
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<br />the upper Colorado River basin, which
<br />il)cludes the Green and Gunnison
<br />rivers; only about 500 wild razorback
<br />suckers are left. ,These fish once were
<br />common throughout the basin.
<br />"The, Green River supports the last
<br />of the wild razorback sucker popula-
<br />tion in the upper Colorado River basin
<br />and the only remaining riverine popu-
<br />'Iation in the world," said Pat Nelson, a
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<br />See RAZORBACKS, Page 4
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