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razorback sucker, and <br />3. Increasing the amount of available habitat that adult razorback sucker may utilize <br />for spawning and at the same time increasing the opportunity for larvae drifting <br />downstream to utilize additional flooded bottomlands. <br />Recommendation and Rationale <br />The Recovery Program should proceed with a design and engineering feasibility study for <br />a fish passageway at Hartland Diversion Darn that should include costs for constructing the fish <br />passageway. <br />Rationale: <br />1. Passage would open up an additional 15 miles of historical habitat for native and <br />endangered fish, including 7 miles of floodplain considered as a high priority <br />razorback sucker restoration area. <br />2. Passage would be concurrent with on-going reintroduction of razorback suckers <br />into the Gunnison River. (316 juvenile razorbacks were stocked in the Gunnison <br />River in autumn 1995 and more are scheduled over the next five years.) <br />3. Opportunities currently exist with the City of Delta for cost sharing because they <br />are interested in providing boat access past the structure (may change with future <br />city council members). Easier to coordinate with them from the "ground-up" <br />rather than attempting to influence or modify the design at a later date. <br />4. Opportunities exist for positive public relations and program support by working <br />cooperatively with the local community to solve their boating problem. <br />5. No reason to wait until Redlands fish ladder has been evaluated because this <br />passageway would be a completely different design. <br />6. Funding is currently available to the Program through Capital Improvement <br />dollars; no guarantee of future funding. <br />7. Passage in place to coincide with flow releases from the re-operation of Aspinall <br />pursuant to the 1997 Biological Opinion. <br />6