7617

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7617
• Author: Platania, S. P. and K. R. Bestgen.
• Title: Survey of the Fishes of the Lower San Juan River, New Mexico.
• USFW Year: 1987.
• USFW - Doc Type: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Copyright Material: NO

a) To determine the presence and relative abundance of the
target species (Colorado squawfish, humpback and roundtail chub,
bonytail, and razorback sucker) between Farmington, New Mexico
and the New Mexico-Colorado border;
b) To describe the general characteristics of fish habitat in
the San Juan River and assess the suitability of this habitat for
supporting the target species;
c) To formulate recommendations to assist with future recovery
or management of the target species in the San Juan River;
d) To describe the fish community of the San Juan River. '
STUDY AREA
The San Juan River originates in southwestern Colorado in
the San Juan Mountains. The river flows south from Colorado into
Navajo Reservoir, a mainstream impoundment on the Colorado-New
Mexico border, then turns west and flows through New Mexico, a
small portion of Colorado, and across Utah before emptying into
Lake Powell, a mainstream reservoir of the Colorado River.
Our study was concentrated in the San Juan River from
Farmington downstream to the Colorado-New Mexico border (Figure
3), a river reach of about 96 km (60 miles). The San Juan River
dissects a large, relatively low-relief intermontane plateau
composed primarily of Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata. River
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