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000182 2. A thorough evaluation of the Colorado River Wildlife Management Area should be conducted to evaluate its value to fish and designation as a National Wildlife Refuge. The limited acquired acreage does not afford the habitat needs necessary to self sustain a viable population of endangered Colorado River fishes. Other habitats in public and private ownership do not provide long term preservation. 3. CR WMA has no funding for equipment or additional staffing to conduct habitat management activities within the easements despite an urgent need for control of noxious weeds. It is hoped that future funding can be secured for this and other habitat improvement projects which will restore ecosystem integrity to these valuable and dwindling riparian habitats. Weare not required to control the weeds but we do reserve the right to do so under the terms of the easement. 4. CRWMA has no dedicated vehicle or facilities. The management area is fortunate to have access to a vehicle, office space, and office equipment provided by Ouray NWR. It is hoped that funding will be forthcoming for equipment and facilities in the future. C-6 Construction: Proceed with Thunder Ranch, Ela Sanctuary, and Hot-Spot Complex. C-6 RZ/BT: This project should continue as scheduled in the approved scope of work. C-6 Larval Entrainment: Our experience using biodegradable gelatinous neutrally buoyant beads (beads) has shown that this method is very useful and practical for evaluating entrainment of drifting particles. We recommend evaluating drift and entrainment rates of beads released at known (Razorback/Escalante bar) and potential spawning sites into selected floodplain wetlands. Continue to evaluate the most effective breach connections for entraining drift at various points on the hydro graph and to use this data to refine the Floodplain Drift Model and for testing floodplain management scenarios. C-6 Razorback Sucker Model: Parameters (i.e., input variables) that determine floodplain area necessary to support a given population size of razorback sucker are largely unknown, and use of these parameters gives the model output varying degrees of uncertainty. However, a reasonable range of values for some parameters is known and can be used as a starting point to gauge the value of other lesser known parameters. This allows the user to "game" with the model in trying to better understand unknown variables and inter-relationships. Initially, the model may have limited utility, but as more is known about conservation of the razorback sucker and the population expands, there will be more opportunity to ground-truth and refine the model. The area of floodplain habitat necessary can be more precisely assessed as empirical data are collected from ongoing investigations that provide greater accuracy for model inputs. Empirical data needed for this model refinement include estimates of longitudinal survival/and retention of drifting larvae, 2003 Report Recommendations,