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<br />182 <br /> <br />VALDEZ AND MUTH <br /> <br />than 150 mm TL) were marked with PIT tags. Since <br />2003, the hatcheries have been producing fish to <br />meet the current integrated stocking plan (Nesler <br />et al. 2003) and to maintain broodstocks. <br />A genetics management plan (Czapla 1999) <br />provides guidance for culture, propagation, and <br />stocking, and annual operations plans identifY num- <br />bers of fish to be stocked. The UCRRP funds op- <br />erations of four hatchery facilities in Colorado and <br />Utah that culture and raise endangered fish: <br /> <br />1. The state ofColorado'sJ.W MummaNa- <br />tive Aquatic Species Restoration Facility <br />(Alamosa, Colorado) raises bony tail <br />andColorado pikeminnow. <br />2. The state of Utah's Wahweap Fish Hatch <br />ery (Big Water, Utah) raises bonytail. <br />3. The Ouray National Fish Hatchery (Ouray, <br />Utah) raises razorback sucker. <br />4. The Recovery Program's Grand Valley En- <br />dangered Fish Facility (Grand Junction, <br />Colorado) raises razorback sucker. <br /> <br />Guidance for stocking endangered fish is pro- <br />vided by an integrated stocking plan (Nesler et al. <br />2003) for the upper Colorado River basin designed <br />primarily to expedite reestablishment of razorback <br />sucker and bonytail populations and to reestablish <br />Colorado pikeminnow in presently restricted or in- <br />accessible reaches of historic habitat. This stocking <br />plan integrates the separate state stocking plans and <br />ensures consistency throughout the upper Colorado <br />River basin for stocking endangered fish and evalu- <br />ating success. Stocking priorities are: <br /> <br />· Razorback sucker are to be reestablished <br />in the upper Colorado River and Green <br />River subbasins (i.e., one population in the <br />Colorado and Gunnison rivers, one in the <br />middle Green River, and a redundant <br />population in the lower Green River). Tar- <br />get size of stocked razorback sucker is 300 <br />mm TL (i.e., age 2+), and stock- <br />ing is scheduled for fall with 9,930 fish <br />stocked per population annually for 6 <br />years. <br />· Bonytail populations are to be reestablished <br />in alluvial reaches of the upper Colorado <br />River and Green River subbasins (i.e., one <br /> <br />population in the Colorado River, one in <br />the middle Green River, and a redundant <br />population in the lower Green River). Tar- <br />get size of stocked bonytail is 200 mm TL <br />(i.e., age 2+), and stocking is scheduled pri- <br />marily in fall with 5,330 fish stocked per <br />population annually for 6 years. By ac- <br />cepting the State of Colorado's stocking <br />plan, the UCRRP has deemed that stock- <br />ing bonytail in the proximity of existing <br />humpback chub populations is an "accept- <br />able" risk regarding the potential of hy- <br />bridization between the species. <br />· Colorado pikeminnow are stocked in re- <br />stricted or inaccessible reaches of historic <br />habitat in the Colorado River above the <br />Grand Valley Water Project Diversion <br />Dam and in the Gunnison River above the <br />Redlands Diversion Dam. Target size of <br />stocked Colorado pikeminnow is 150 mm <br />TL (i.e., age 3+), and stocking is scheduled <br />primarily in fall with 1,125 fish stocked <br />per reach annually for 8 years. This effort <br />will be reevaluated if stocked Colorado <br />pikeminnow are not retained within the <br />stocking reaches. <br />· Humpback chub is not anticipated to be <br />stocked. However, augmentation of exist- <br />ing small populations may become neces- <br />sary. Relocation of young from nearby <br />populations or stocking to expand popu- <br />lations of humpback chub into the Yampa, <br />Lodore, Whirlpool, and Split Mountain <br />complex may be desirable in the future to <br />meet recovery needs. <br /> <br />Stocking of hatchery fish is an important element <br />of recovery program activities, and the most suitable <br />stocking strategies and growth and survival of stocked <br />fish continue to be evaluated. Razorback sucker were <br />first stocked in the Gunnison River near Delta, Colo- <br />rado, in 1995, and 5 stocked fish used the Redlands <br />fish passage in 2001 and one in 2002. Stocking plans <br />were revised to stock fewer but larger fish in 2001, <br />and larval razorback sucker were discovered in the <br />Gunnison River in 2002 and 2003, indicating that <br />stocked fish had successfully reproduced. Ripe <br />stocked adults have been found on the spawning <br />