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<br />
<br />RECOVERY PRffiRAM FOR
<br />THE ENDANGERED FISHES
<br />~~OF THE UPPER COIORAID
<br />
<br />Fall 1996
<br />
<br />. . ... . . .
<br />" '.. . .
<br />Fish 'ladder' now gateway to Gunnison River
<br />
<br />(GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.) - A fish ladder now being
<br />operated . ful~tinie .on the. Gunnison Riv~r has, provided a '
<br />gateway for endang~red fish to once again reach 50 miles of .
<br />upstream spaWning imd feeding habitat .that had been out pf .
<br />. reach for nearly a. century,
<br />At, a dedication ceremony Aug. 14 at the RedlandsFish
<br />. Ladder, fedelliIand state officials discussed why the $1 inil. .
<br />lion project was necessary and demonstrated how the ladder ,
<br />works, . ..' .. . .. '. .'. . '. ' . ..
<br />The fish passageway has been designed to help endan-
<br />gered Colorado squawfish. and razorback suckers overcome'
<br />tWo obstacles in the Gunnison River: the 12-foot-high
<br />Redlands. Diversion Da:m - which previously blocked' the
<br />. fishes~ migration - imd the effects of predation and compe- .
<br />tition from non-native fish, ..
<br />'The fish ladder has been used by about 7,000 mitivefish,
<br />. At press time, one endangered fish had passed through the
<br />ladder (see story below), Also, in an experiment conducted
<br />by V,S. .Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, tWo of six.
<br />endangered razorback suckers successfully swam to the. top,
<br />of the passageway, .. .
<br />Next year, the ladderwiIl be operated durirtga complete.
<br />spawriing season, giving biol<:>gists. a better opportunity to .
<br />test its use by endangered fish, ' .. .'. ,
<br />To swim through the ladder; fish enter downstream and'
<br />'.
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<br />Photo by Connie Yaung
<br />
<br />, See lADDER. Page 2
<br />
<br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Bob Burdick lowers
<br />a netinto a trap at the upper end of the Redlands Fish
<br />Ladder. TIle net.is used to hoist fish out of the water and
<br />onto a sorting table above.
<br />
<br />
<br />Firstsquawfish uses Redlands ladder
<br />
<br />. . The Redl,mds Fish Ladder took a.. students," iechnician. Meredee Lloyd
<br />big step toward success Aug, 28', when saici "We have been operating the fish
<br />V,S, Fish and Wildlife Service workers ladder for 10 weeks now and hadn't
<br />discovered the first endangered fish at . seen an endangered fish yet, so it took
<br />tlie top of the 3S0-foot structure, A ,us all by swprise,"
<br />22.S-inch, 3-pound Colorado squaw- Biologists, estimate the squawfish
<br />fish was discovered in the ladder by was at least 8 years old; the sex could
<br />three biological technicians operating not be determined, A handful of other
<br />the' fish trap while giving a. tour to a. . squawfish have been found immediate.
<br />. Mesa State College biology class, The Iy downstream. of the dam in recent
<br />workers releasedthe fish. upstream,
<br />"We were ecstatic and so were the ' See SQVAWFISH, Page 3
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