WSP10543 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Squawfish active, not passive, in winter, researchers find Water Conservancy District to assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in making recommendations for winter flows on the Yampa River. The recommendations are part of the biological opinion on the operation of Stagecoach Reservoir project near Steamboat Springs. Most of the fish stayed in areas away from the main river current in habitats called "backwaters," the researchers found. Fish often cruised around in these habitats, probably searching for food. Two critical winter periods were identified: when ice fonns in late fall and when it breaks up in the spring. Ice started fonning in November and continued to thicken until March. It created a protective cover for fish during winter periods of low flow and extreme cold. Water depths under the ice remained constant, providing a stable environment for the fish. The researchers' findings indicated that the fish need adequate water flows when ice is fonned during the fall and when the ice breaks up in the spring. Flows iri the spring may help protect fish from being crushed or trapped under the ice. They also found that squawfish seemed to have a sense of "home," often staying in one backwater (See sauAwFlsH, Page 10) By John Hawkins Research Associate Larval Fish Laboratory Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colo. Colorado squawfish in the Yampa River remain active throughout the winter, even in 32-degree water covered by 2 feet of ice, according to a Colorado State University research study. Prior to this two-year study, very little was known about the winter behavior of squawfish. Earlier reports had suggested that fish may lie quietly in deep pools and show little, if any, movement or feeding activity during winter months. Researchers John Hawkins and Ed Wick, from the Larval Fish Laboratory at CSU, followed the winter movement and behavior of Colorado squawfish in the Yampa River from 1986 to 1988. The study was conducted in lO-mile stretches of the river near the town of Maybell, Colo., upstream from Juniper Springs Canyon, and at Lily Park, just upstream from Dinosaur National Monument. The research was funded by the Upper Yampa MAJOR TRIBUTARIES TO THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN UTAH Upper COIorad'O[ River Basin Lowsr COloradO-j River Basin ARIZONA D COLORADO NAVAJO RESERVOIR NEW MEXICO 8 A Dinosaur National Monument B Kenney Reservoir C Ruedi Reservoir DAspinall Unit E Black Rocks area & Westwater Canyon F Desolation and Gray canyons G Canyonlands National Park H Cataract Canyon I Marble Canyon J Grand Canyon