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

in Colorado are to be maintained. Colorado and the Recovery Program
would have to seek opportunities elsewhere. including ponds above the
10-year floodplain. This might include agreements with entities such as
water districts that own waters not currently available to the public
for fishing. Colorado would likely berm some public waters to FEMA
standards to maintain fishing. Because warmwater fishing in Colorado
represents a small percentage of the total fishing, overall numbers of
fishing days are unlikely to decrease significantly.
3. Recovery of Endangered Fishes: The few ponds that might be bermed to
FEMA standards would reduce and isolate the amount of floodplain habitat
available to the endangered fishes during high flow events. Nutrients
and plankton in these floodplain habitats will be isolated from the
river. Ponds bermed to FEMA standards may also have positive benefits
including: 1) preclude re-invasion of the river by nonnative sport fish
stocked into that pond, 2) would not trap endangered fishes during high
flow events, and 3) preserve warmwater angling opportunities in some
ponds. Flogs greater than a 10-year event will still allow nonnative
fishes to escape to the river and establish in lower elevation ponds
that are reclaimed though Recovery Program efforts. Recovery would
continue to be impacted by nonnative fishes in the system.
4. Economy: Costs of berming ponds to FEMA standards could be
significant. It is likely that stocking of private ponds with warmwater
species would decrease causing impacts to the warmwater fish brokers in
the aquaculture industry. This may be partially offset by increased
trout purchases by the private sector. 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.
F. Alternative 5.
1. Aquatic Biological Resources: Stocking in the floodplain (above the
10-year floodplain) would continue and some escapement would continue to
occur. Any increases in the numbers of ponds with warmwater sport fish
above the 10-year floodplain would be offset by decreases in the number
of ponds below the 10-year floodplain. 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 compounding 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. 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 ponds below the 10-year
32