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<br /> <br />tween fish habitat and river flows. An appar- <br />ent incompatibility between heterogeneous <br />habitats used by squawfish and hydrologic <br />data collected as input to the modeling effort <br />was presented by Tyus (1988). IFIM!PHABSIM <br />modeling must be considered experimental <br />until input variables reflect factors limiting <br />populations of this or other warm-water <br />speaes. <br /> <br />Upper Main-stem Colorado River <br /> <br />Much research has been conducted on habitat <br />needs of Colorado squawfish in the Upper <br />Colorado main-stem from Lake Powell to <br />Palisades, Colorado (Valdez et a1. 1982b; <br />Archer et a1. 1985, 1986; Wick et a1. 1985; <br />Kaeding and Osmundson 1989). Low num- <br />bers of fish and apparently marginal habitats <br />have hampered development of in-stream <br />management options, as indicated by Valdez <br />et a1. (1982b) and Kaeding and Osmundson <br />(1988a, b, 1989). Habitat alteration by con- <br />struction of water-development projects has <br />been implicated as a major factor in low num- <br />bers of squawfish in the stream Uoseph et a1. <br />1977; Holden 1979); average water tempera- <br />tures there were judged only 71% as suitable <br />for the species as those in the Green River <br />(Kaeding and Osmundson 1988b). Blockage <br />and other subsequent alterations of upstream <br />habitats in the Gunnison and Colorado rivers <br />above the presently occupied reach may have <br />already removed habitats requisite to support <br />a large adult population. <br />At present, the USFWS is evaluating the need <br />for habitat management in 24 km of the upper <br />Colorado above Grand Junction, Colorado, <br />and has provided preliminary flow recommen- <br />dations for that reach for enhancement of sum- <br />mer discharges for adults. No other specific <br />habitat management plans have been devel- <br />oped. More optimal conditions for spawning <br />and rearing are desirable because abundance <br />and growth of age-o fish are low (Kaeding and <br />Osmundson 1989). <br /> <br />The Colorado Squawfish 395 <br /> <br />San Juan River <br /> <br />Colorado squawfish in the San Juan River <br />have recently been evaluated for their signifi- <br />cance to the overall recovery effort (Meyer <br />and Moretti 1988; Platania and Bestgen <br />1988; Platania et a1. 1990). However, the fac- <br />tors limiting those stocks are unknown, and <br />development of habitat management options <br />awaits future studies. <br /> <br />Habitat Development and Maintenance <br /> <br />Development and maintenance of new habitat <br />and provision of access to new areas are con- <br />sidered high-priority recovery goals (USFWS <br />1987a). The first category includes applica- <br />tion of experimental techniques to existing <br />areas to determine if artificially created habitat <br />will be acceptable for use. This includes con- <br />struction of artificial spawning channels, or <br />conversion of existing (but not currently suit- <br />able) stream reaches to spawning habitat, con- <br />struction of nursery areas, and other efforts. <br />The second category (e.g., construction of 6sh <br />passageways) includes opening up new areas <br />or restoring access to reaches now blocked by <br />dams, diversions, and so on. <br />Colorado squaw6sh migrations have been <br />observed for more than a hundred years, and <br />we have documented travel of hundreds of <br />kilometers in which adults occupy flat-water <br />sections of rivers in autumn, winter, and <br />spring but migrate to whitewater canyons to <br />spawn in summer. Construction of dams, in- <br />cluding Flaming Gorge Dam on the upper <br />Green River and Taylor Draw Dam on the <br />White River, blocked the passage of migrating <br />fish, as evidenced by their congregation below <br />the obstructions prior to the spawning season <br />(McDonald and Dotson 1960; Seethaler 1978; <br />Martinez 1986). These dams were not fitted <br />with passageways for fishes. The only feasibil- <br />ity study was conducted in 1986 by the U.S. <br />Army Corps of Engineers for the Redlands Di- <br /> <br />j. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />:'!i;I!!~1 <br />I Ii' <br />I. I I, <br />I f; <br />I; ,I" <br />'.,' .'1. <br />.,- ". <br />, i <br />I I <br />