Laserfiche WebLink
<br />An endangered fish hatchery is needed in the UCRB. One hatchery (Dexter <br />NFH) for holding all the reserve populations of Colorado River endangered <br />fishes is not adequate to protect these fishes. Reserve populations <br />should be held at more than one hatchery to prevent an unexpected event, <br />such as a flood, disease, vandalism, etc. from destroying an entire <br />stock of fish. Further, two hatcheries working together', one in the <br />UCRB and another in the LCRB are needed to support the CP and Region 2 <br />programs. More than one hatchery to hold and rear these Colorado River <br />endangered fishes is called for in the Recovery Plans. <br /> <br />Region 6 has no warm-water hatchery facilities in the UCRB or nearby <br />capable of rearing the needed endangered Colorado River fishes. However, <br />there are prospects for building warm-water hatchery facilities at <br />Ouray NWR and/or Fish Springs NWR that could produce Colorado River <br />endangered fishes. <br /> <br />Ouray NWR is on the Green River and has ample water rights to Green <br />River and Pelican Lake water. Soil conditions and topography appear to <br />be favorable for construction of warm-water ponds and raceways. Its <br />location in the UCRB is highly desirable, in that, some of the obstacles <br />to stocking such as disease clearance, and possible accidental introduc- <br />tion of exotic fish to the UCRB could be avoided. A pond culture <br />hatchery at this site could produce 3-inch humpback and bony tail chub in <br />one growing season (June to October). Colorado squawfish could be <br />produced, as well, but would reach only two inches in one growing season <br />(July to October). However, they would be equal in size to the native <br />yoy and would still be large enough to be injected with a half-length <br />coded wire tag. ' <br /> <br />Besides being an acceptable hatchery site, Ouray would be an excellent <br />site for many of the studies called for in the CP (see Appendix 2). <br />With water from the Green River, tests on the effects of turbidity, <br />salinity and contaminents (bioassays) could be performed without having <br />to simulate water quality or turbidity. Fish passage studies could be <br />done in flumes, using the 90 ft. head of the warm Pelican Lake water for <br />testing swimming performance and fishway designs. Also, migration and <br />homing movements of Colorado squawfish could be studied at this Green <br />River site by releasing young fish directly from this hatchery and <br />recapturing them when they mature, perhaps when they return to the <br />hatchery during the spawning season. <br /> <br />For these reasons, the Ouray site should be considered for establishin9 <br />a warm-water hatchery for the production of the three Colorado River <br />e~dangered fishes and for establishing a Development Center for their <br />study and conservation. This would be an excellent opportunity to <br />consolidate most of the CP related programs at one l&cation and demon- <br />strate our work with these fishes to the public and our interest in <br />them. A thorough engineering investigation of the Ouray site will be <br />needed, starting in FY 1984 to'determine engineering needs and to <br />estimate actual construction costs. <br /> <br />71 <br />