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<br />'J <br />' activities will be focused on those areas to achieve the number of genetic refugia <br />and self-sustaining populations required under the Recovery Goals. <br />STRATEGY DESCRIPTION <br />' <br />' The LCRMP identifies three strategies to successfully achieve the maintenance. <br />of genetic refugia and self-sustaining populations in the lower basin. <br />' Strategy 1: Augmentation <br />' The first strategy involves the use of production facilities to raise either hatchery- <br />produced fish, or fish from wild-collected early life stages, to a size suitable for <br />stocking to augment existing populations and establish new ones. This strategy <br />' will initially contribute to the establishment of genetic refugia and the expansion <br />and persistence of existing mainstem adult populations. Over time, as <br />opportunities are identified through monitoring and research, this strategy may <br />' contribute to the eventual establishment of self-sustaining populations through <br />future management actions such as enhancement of cover attributes and habitat <br />complexity, use of connected backwaters, and selective nonnative fish control. <br />This strategy will involve the stocking of large numbers of fish into backwaters, <br />reservoirs, and/or riverine reaches for several years to achieve the Recovery <br />' Goals of genetic refugia and self-sustaining populations for razorback sucker and <br />bonytail. Continued smaller maintenance stockings will be required to maintain <br />and stabilize populations until recruitment occurs. The total number of fish that <br />' will need to be stocked over the entire life of the recovery program to meet these <br />Recovery Goals is unknown; however, they will be considerably higher than the <br />final population sizes contained in the Recovery Goals. There are several <br />' reasons for this. <br />1. Mortality of stocked fish in the wild is unknown; but information from past <br />' stockings in the lower basin indicate a <10% survival and recruitment into adult <br />stocks under most circumstances (Marsh 1999). <br />' 2. The proposed riverine and reservoir areas are expansive, making it necessary <br />to stock large numbers of fish. Stocking success will be gaged by monitoring <br />subunit populations to evaluate rearing techniques, stocking protocols, fish size, <br />' etc. Large numbers of fish are necessary to monitor and assess stocking efforts <br />with statistical accuracy. The paucity of returns for bonytail from recent stockings <br /> <br />8 <br />J