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<br />3-7 <br /> <br />located in Salt Lake City from 1978 to 1984, has been discontinued, and <br />CRFMP is now administered directly by the Regional Office. <br /> <br />Proposed work plans for FWS in the subject reach include: <br /> <br />1. Equip adult Colorado squawfish with radiotags to determine movement <br />in the region, and to attempt to locate spawning areas, <br /> <br />2. Seine for larvae and YOY Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker <br />during August and September, and <br /> <br />3. Conduct physical habitat measurements for PHABSIM (Physical Habitat <br />Simulation Model) by establishing cross sections at or near the possible <br />squawfish spawning sites at RM 178.3 or 176.0, or both. <br /> <br />Work elements 1 and 2 will be performed by the Grand Junction Field <br />Station, while element 2 will be conducted by a special team from the <br />Habitat Resources Staff of the FWS, Region 6. <br /> <br />3.4 Significance Of Reach <br /> <br />The IS-mile reach of the Colorado River between the Grand Valley Canal <br />and the mouth of the Gunnison River currently supports at least two species <br />of endangered fishes; Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker. These mayor <br />may not occupy the reach year around, but they have been found nearly every <br />year since 1974, between May and October; sampling has rarely been conducted <br />at other times of the year. <br /> <br />Reproduction by Colorado squawfish within the reach may have occurred <br />in 1982, as is indicated by an aggregation of ripe males and females at RM <br />178.3 and 176.0. The capture of larval squawfish (<1% of the catch) during <br />two sample efforts in August 1982, between RM 170.0 and 180.0, indicates <br />that the species did reproduce succeSSfully somewhere in that region of the <br />river; larval squawfish usually drift downstream shortly after hatching, and <br />their capture location does not necessarily reflect the spawning site. <br /> <br />Al though the razorback sucker has been found in spawni ng condition in <br />that reach of the river, there is no evidence of successful reproduction by <br />the species. Only one humpback chub is reported from the IS-mile reach; a <br />fish taken in 1977 by George Kidd. No bony tail chub have ever been reported <br />from this reach of the Colorado River. This IS-mile reach of the Colorado <br />probably holds no significance to either of these two species. <br /> <br />From this brief analysis, it ap,.ars that the significance of the 15- <br />mile reach lies in the possible use of the area by spawning Colorado <br />squawfish and razorback sucker. Larval squawfish collected in August 1982 <br />suggest success by the species somewhere in the region, but no evidence of <br />successful reproduction is available for the razorback. <br /> <br />Significance of this reach of river to the population of Colorado <br />squawfish in the upper basincannot be assessed on the basis of suspected <br />spawning sites. The contribution of young squawfish to the system is a more <br />readily attainable statistic for assessing this significance. <br />