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METHODS <br />Six trips (three reconnaissance and three sampling) were <br />made in the San Juan River drainage between March and October <br />1987. The three reconnaissance trips (one driving, one flying, <br />one canoe) were taken during March-April to assess habitat <br />conditions, location and extent of mainstem diversions, evaluate <br />equipment needs, and time necessary to complete a sampling trip. <br />The protocol for the collection trips, which was set forth <br />in the contract/study plan between the USBR and New Mexico <br />Department of Game and Fish (NMGF), called for three survey trips <br />(U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1987). These were to include random, <br />systematic, and target sampling approaches. Two of these trips, <br />w <br />one in the spring and the other in the summer, were designed to <br />characterize the ichthyofaunal community and would employ <br />electrofishing as the primary sampling method. The third trip, <br />to be conducted during the low water levels of the fall <br />(September-October), was to determine species composition and <br />relative abundances of young-of-year (YOY) fishes and to map <br />habitat. <br />The exact methodology to be employed for this survey was set <br />forth in the contract/study plan (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation <br />1987) to which the reader is directed for a more in depth <br />account. We made a concerted effort to closely follow the study <br />plan; however, due to several unforeseen and unavoidable <br />circumstances, not all of the parameters could be adhered to <br />completely. When these events occurred, our decision on how to. <br />14