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(3) Native Fish Conservation: ($2.2 million) <br />Native fish conservation management strategies are part of an ongoing effort to preserve and <br />enhance native fish species/communities. These actions are necessary to assure the continued <br />existence of native fish populations to preclude or eliminate the need for state and/or federal <br />listing. Eastern plains native fish communities will be monitored on a broad scale ecosystem and <br />at the population level to assess the impacts of declining water resources including quantity and <br />quality aspects, migration barriers, and habitat availability. Native cutthroat trout species <br />projects will target establishment of core conservation populations for the three sub-species <br />through reclamation and fish passage barrier work. Native Colorado River species of special <br />concern (Fla.nnelmouth sucker, Bluehead sucker, Roundtail Chub, sculpin and whitefish) projects <br />will focus on updating species distribution, genetics, aquaculture enhancements, and <br />development of long-term management objectives and goals. <br />(4) Prairie grouse conservation: ($1.4 midlion) <br />Colorado is home to three species of prairie grouse, all of which are of conservation concern. <br />Lesser prairie chickens are candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and <br />have declined significantly in Colorado in recent years. Columbian sharp-tailed grouse were <br />recently found not warranted for listing, but were identified by the Fish and Wildlife Service as a <br />Species of Concern. Greater prairie chickens were formerly state-listed, and are at threat from <br />wind energy development and associated infrastructure. Funding requested would go towards <br />cooperative habitat improvements on private land, taking advantage of Farm Bill cost-share and <br />programs where possible. In addition, a research project to evaluate mitigation strategies to <br />minimize impacts of wind turbines and associated roads and powerlines on prairie grouse would <br />be conducted. <br />(S) Research and Management of Disease agents in Wildlife Conservation: <br />($800, 000) <br />Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is arguably the most ecologically important <br />wildlife health problem in Colorado. Sporadic plague epidemics cause catastrophic mortality in <br />black-tailed, white-tailed, anci 1-junnison prairie dogs, thereby destabilizing affected grassland <br />and shrub-steppe ecosystems by altering predator-prey and herbivore-vegetation relationships as <br />well as the physical structure of colonized landscapes. A number of Colorado's species of <br />concern (e.g., mountain plover, burrowing owl, black-footed ferret) depend wholly or partially <br />on landscapes colonized by prairie dogs. Two studies are proposed, one to compare and refine <br />field methods for detecting plague and applying these to assessing the occurrence of plague in <br />the three species of prairie dogs in Colorado; the other will be a field experiment to develop and <br />test approaches for controlling plague epidemics. Together these two projects will greatly <br />enhance our ability to manage plague so as to minimize impact to these species.