Laserfiche WebLink
34 <br />In contrast, the river reach below Cross Mountain Canyon contains <br />few backwater habitats. The Little Snake River enters the Yampa at <br />river km 82 (mile 51) and provides numerous eddies, sand islands and <br />bars. The Yampa River between the confluence with the Little Snake and <br />the entrance to Yampa Canyon (river km 74, mile 46) is characterized by <br />sand deposition and braided channels. Fish numbers 1, 2 and 3 implanted <br />below Cross Mountain Canyon used predominantly eddy, run, and side <br />channel habitats. The fish implanted above Cross Mountain Canyon, where <br />more backwater habitats are located, accounted for the high percentage <br />of backwater use reflected in Figure 5. <br />In 1982, work conducted by the U.S. FWS on the Colorado River <br />indicated that gravel pits, similar hydrologically to some backwater <br />habitats, were used by both Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker <br />(Miller et al., 1983a). Thirty-six Colorado squawfish were collected <br />from four gravel pits, 23 were captured in Walter Walker Wildlife Area <br />(WWWA), just west of Grand Junction, where most collecting efforts were <br />concentrated. In late June and early July, when water levels began to <br />recede, 13.Colorado squawfish were captured in fyke nets as they were <br />apparently leaving WWWA. When significant reductions in water levels <br />threatened to isolate the gravel pits, squawfish left the habitat as <br />evidenced by lack of squawfish in collections in isolated gravel pits or <br />connected pits during low water. Movement patterns of 16 radiotagged <br />Colorado squawfish were monitored in the Grand Junction area by USFWS in <br />1982. Twelve fish were collected in gravel pit and backwater habitats <br />while four were collected in river habitats. The fish from WWWA <br />exhibited the most dramatic movement patterns migrating both upstream <br />and downstream. These observations on habitat use and subsequent