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Fishermen PLEASE RELEASE them and let U5 know. You can help save an impon;ant part of our Western heritage. Three of the unique native fiSh species Of the Colorado River system are threatened With extinction and protected under Colorado state and federal law: the Colorado squawtish, the bony tall Chub and the hump, , back chub. A fourth native tish species, the razorback sucker, is also very rare. 'Heavy penalties are possible for willfully destroyil\9 one of these fish, If you catch one, or if you're not sure of its identity, please return it to the water alive, Report the catch -:- along with number and type of tag It the fish is tagged - to: Colorado DiviSion Of Wildlife 711 Independent Avenue Grand Junction, Colorado 81505 13031 248:7175 "" ""Il.WILI1L1..r: liERVICE ~ ~ ~.>.. .~ RECOVERY PRCIiRAM FOR THE ENDANGERED FISHES (.i OF 11-IE UPPER COIDRAID Signs like this have been produced through the Recovery Program's Information and Education Subcommittee to alert anglers about the rare fish. The signs will be placed along the upper Colorado River and Its tributaries In Colorado and Utah. Homing instinct strong among squaw/ish (saUAW~lsH from Page 8) habitat the entire winter. When fish left their home habitat, they returned a short while later. Fish monitored the first year of the study returned to the same home sites the second year. During summer months, at least seven of the 20 radio-tagged fish tracked in this study left their winter homes and migrated about 100 miles downstream to a spawning site in Dinosaur National Monument. After spawning, the fish migrated back upstream to their original home site. 'This pattern indicates the keen homing instinct of these fish and their ability to recognize where they have lived previously. The other 13 fish either did not migrate or were not detected during their spawning migration. ,Researchers gathered the data by collecting 10 fish each year and surgically placing radio transmitters inside each fish. The fish ranged from 19 to 33 inches long, the typical size for squawfish in the Yampa River.' Each transmitter sent out a unique signal, allowing the fish to be identified with a special radio receiver. Researchers quickly learned how to identify unsafe ice conditions. Local ranchers gave access to private roads, and researchers were able to get to most sites by four-wheel drive or snowmobile. In remote areas they skied or snowshoed along the river searching for signals from the tagged fish. In two winters they accumulated more than 650 hours monitoring radio transmitters. On several occasions they continuously monitored fish for 24 hours. For more information or a copy of the final report, call or write John Hawkins or Ed Wick, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. 80523 (303) 491-5475. 10