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Il?TROD?TICH <br />This paper is part of a Final Report submitted to the Bureau of <br />Reclamation (BOR) in fulfillment of Contract No. 6-CS-40-04490, entitled <br />"Winter Habitat Study of Endangered Fish - Green River." It integrates the <br />results of a 2-year investigation (1986-87 and 1987-88) of wintertime movement <br />and habitat of adults of the rare and endemic Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus <br />lucius) and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) in the Green River. The <br />investigation was conducted from December 1 to March 31 of each year in the <br />100-mile reach from Echo Park, CO to Ouray, UT. <br />The objectives of this investigation were to: <br />1. Determine if adult Colorado squawfish and razorback suckers <br />overwinter in specific river regions. <br />2. Describe microhabitat (water column depth, velocity, <br />substrate, cover and temperature) used by overwintering <br />adult Colorado squawfish and razorback suckers. <br />3. Evaluate fish movement and changes in habitat with changes in flow of <br />the Green River during the winter months. <br />This investigation was conducted on the Green River from Echo Park, CO to <br />Ouray, UT (Figure 1). This 97-mile reach of river has three flatwater <br />sections; Echo Park (2 miles), Island and Rainbow Parks (7 miles), and Split <br />Mountain to Ouray (72 miles). It also has two whitewater sections; Whirlpool <br />Canyon (9 miles) and Split Mountain Canyon (7 miles). For the purposes of this <br />investigation, the study area was divided into upper, middle and lower regions <br />according to stream gradient and river morphology. The upper region from Echo <br />Park to lower Split Mountain Canyon (25.3 miles) has a relatively steep <br />gradient with primarily a gravel-boulder-bedrock substrate. The middle region <br />from lower Split Mountain Canyon to Jensen Bridge (18.3 miles) has a moderate <br />gradient with a gravel-cobble substrate in the upper reaches and a sand <br />substrate in the lower reaches, and the lower region from Jensen Bridge to <br />Ouray Bridge (53.5 miles) is a low-gradient, meandering river with primarily a <br />sand substrate. <br />This investigation consisted of two phases. Phase I involved capturing 1.0 <br />adult Colorado squawfish and 10 adult razorback suckers in mid to late October <br />and surgically implanting each with a radiotransmitter. ' Phase II consisted of <br />six 10-day tracking and monitoring trips over a 4-month winter period from <br />December 1 to March 31. The same general approach was used for both years of <br />the investigation; year 1 = 1986-87; and year 2 = 1987-88. Twenty different <br />fish of each species were radiotagged over the 2-year period. <br />28