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2. Continue selective passage and operate the fish trap to remove all <br />nonnative fishes. Rationale: Nonnative fishes have become established <br />in rivers of the Upper Colorado River Basin, and certain species have <br />been implicated as contributing to reductions in the distribution of <br />native fishes primarily through predation and competition (e.g., <br />Hawkins and Nesler 1991; Lentsch et al. 1996; Tyus and Saunders 1996). <br />Controlling problematic nonnative fishes is necessary for recovery of <br />endangered Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker in the Upper <br />Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Tyus and Saunders (1996) identified <br />nonnative channel catfish as the principal predator and competitor <br />affecting humpback chub populations in the Upper Colorado River Basin, <br />and Tyus (1998) suggested that negative interactions with channel <br />catfish were major factors in the decline of humpback chub in Yampa <br />Canyon. There are various accounts of the piscivorous Colorado <br />pikeminnow "choking" on spines of channel catfish (McAda 1983; <br />Pimental et al. 1985; Ryden and Smith 2001). <br />The passageway should continue to be operated as a non-"run-of-the- <br />river" facility. That is, fish entering the fish trap at the upper <br />end of the passageway should not be allowed to pass freely upstream <br />and should be sorted as they have been over the past 5 years. <br />Operating the facility in this manner will preclude the invasion and <br />establishment of nonnative fishes such as channel catfish, which are <br />virtually absent upstream of Redlands, thus preserving the main <br />channel fish community which is predominantly comprised (79%) of <br />large-bodied native fishes (flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, and <br />roundtail chub; Burdick 1995). <br />All nonnative fishes moving through the fish passageway should be <br />excluded from moving upstream by removing them from the fish trap. <br />These include all centrarchid species, esocids, nonnative cyprinids, <br />ictalurids, and nonnative suckers that hybridize with native suckers <br />(e. g., white, longnose). Seventy-two percent of all nonnatives that <br />used the passageway from 1996-2000 did so in June, July, and August. <br />3. Investigate the extent to which sub-adult and adult Colorado <br />pikeminnow use the tailrace between the Redlands Power Plant and <br />Colorado River. The use of the tailrace by Colorado pikeminnow should <br />be determined, especially during the period that coincides with <br />pikeminnow use of the Redlands fishway. About 750-850 cfs of Gunnison <br />River water is diverted at the Redlands Diversion Dam on the Gunnison <br />River into the Redlands canal. Between 750 and 800 cfs of this water <br />is discharged into the tailrace below the Redlands Power Plant. This <br />50