7868

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7868
• Author: Kidd, G. T.
• Title: Endangered Fish Of The Upper Colorado River, Observations From 1970 Through 1995.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

The decline of endangered fish in the Gunnison River had occurred prior to Mr. Kidd's arrival
in Western Colorado in 1969. In 1974, Mr. Ralph Vernon, a long-time resident of the Delta area,
provided Mr. Kidd documentation in the form of a personal letter. From the 1930s through the
early 1950s , Mr. Vernon netted fish from the Gunnison River and sold his catch for mink farm
food. Mr. Vernon kept records of his catches, including approximate numbers and pounds of each
species. Mr. Kidd confirmed that Mr. Vernon was able to correctly identify all of the native
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species.
The majority of Mr. Vernon's catch usually consisted of suckers, including the razorback. Even
in the early 1950s, he caught only approximately 50 Colorado squawfish per year. Mr. Vernon's
statements and Mr. Kidd's personal observations of the Gunnison River indicate that:
1. Razorback suckers were common in the Gunnison River until the mid 1950s. They
were basically extirpated prior to installation of the major upstream water projects
on the Gunnison River.
2. The decline of the razorbacks on the Gunnison River is probably more directly
related to the loss of important spawning and rearing areas than it is to decrease in
volume of river flow, or interruption of migration routes.
3. Squawfish were probably never abundant in the Gunnison River, except at specific
sites and at specific times of the year during their spawning run.
4. Reports of bonytail chubs in the Gunnison River are all almost certainly
misidentifications of the roundtail chub.
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