8231

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8231
• Author: Maddux, H. R.
• Title: Draft Environmental Assessment For Procedures For Stocking Of Nonnative Fish Species In The Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: Grand Junction, CO.
• Copyright Material: NO

current public warmwater fishing in the floodplain is below the 100-year
floodplain and would have to be trout only. Localized losses in fishing
opportunities would occur, especially during summer months. if
alternative fishing locations were not obtained.
3. Recovery of Endangered Fishes: The reduction of nonnative fishes
escaping into the river would decrease, somewhat, competition with and
predation on the endangered fishes. Survival of eggs. larvae. and
juveniles of the endangered fishes would slightly increase. External
sources of nonnative fishes would no longer compound recovery efforts.
Other recovery actions would exhibit measurable positive responsQS in
the endangered fish populations.
4. Economy: Stocking of private ponds with warmwater fishes would
decrease causing impacts to the aquaculture industry and loss of future
fishing opportunities in private ponds. Stocking of rainbow trout
produced by the aquaculture industry should correspondingly increase.
Substitutes--for mosquitofish and grass carp would be in the form of
pesticides and herbicides. The change in overall fishing days in
Colorado would be minimal. The change in overall fishing days in
Colorado would be minimal. This alternative may reduce fishing
expenditures by some unknown amount. As an example, if future warmwater
fishing opportunities are reduced by 20 surface acres, assuming 100 days
fishing/acre at $40/day expenditure, the direct economic impact could be
$80,000/year: if reduced by 100 surface acres the direct impact would be
$400,000/year.
E. Alternative 4.
1. Aquatic Biological Resources: Stocking in the floodplain would
continue and some escapement would continue to occur. Stocking of ponds
in the 10-year floodplain would require berming to FEMA standards.
Therefore. because of the cost of such berming, the numbers of new
private ponds contributing nonnative fish to the system would not likely
increase. Stocking above the 10-year floodplain would allow for the
periodic escapement of nonnative fish into the river. These same fish
would serve as seed fish for ponds that had been reclaimed, thereby
compromising pond reclamation efforts. Because of the problem of fish
above the 10-year floodplain and upstream of critical habitat reseeding
lower elevation ponds, numbers of nonnatives in the river would rebound
periodically: thus progress towards recovery would be less than would
occur under alternatives 2 and 3. Nongame nonnative fishes with
established riverine populations would continue to be a major problem.
2. Recreation: Recreational opportunities in Utah and Wyoming would be
unaffected by this alternative. Future private pond owners, below the
10-year floodplain, wishing to have fishing would have to purchase trout
rather than warmwater fishes from the aquaculture industry. Ponds would
probably not be suitable for trout during summer months. Fishing in
private ponds would be concentrated during spring and fall months.
Warmwater fishing opportunities would continue to increase above the 10-
year floodplain. If the same level of warmwater fishing opportunities
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