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<br />Next, and also on August 3, we sampled the White River at County Road 102 downstream of <br />Rangely, CO. We used the seine to collect five large adult FMS, which we overdosed with <br />MS222 and placed in 10% buffered formalin solution after removing muscle tissue for DNA <br />analysis. We set minnow traps baited with cat food on the night of August 3, and pulled them <br />the next morning. Of six traps set in various microhabitats, we collected only five fish, all of <br />which were SPD. Using the e1ectroshocker, we were able to collect an additional 29 SPD and 18 <br />more FMS, seven of which were large adults. We took only small clips of the caudal fms of <br />these fish and then released them alive to reduce time spent processing. Time spent collecting <br />was approximately 3.5 hours. With the exception of the five FMS placed in formalin, all fish <br />collected on this trip were preserved in 70% ETOH. <br /> <br />Trip 2 <br />We planned to collect at sites along the Colorado River and to also return to a couple of locations <br />sampled on the previous trip. The field crew on this trip included M. McKell, J. Kauwe, and A. <br />Diaz. We arrived late in the evening of August 12, and spent the night next to Plateau Creek <br />with intentions of collecting the next day. The following day the water was extremely muddy as <br />a result of recent storms, so we decided to drive east along the mainstem Colorado River to look <br />for potential sites as well as to sample at several pre-selected locations. The first three sites had <br />no fish. These were Roan Creek, near its confluence with Dry Fork, Parachute Creek at the <br />upper end of County Road 215, and Government Creek (which we viewed from the road and saw <br />no water in the streambed) along Highway 13. The fourth stream we sampled, Rifle Creek, <br />immediately downstream of Rifle Gap Reservoir, contained only brown trout. <br /> <br />We stopped at a private residence on County Road 311 and, with permission of the property <br />owner, Roy McPherson, gained access to Divide Creek. This stream has a variety of habitat types <br />ranging from a small stream about two feet wide, littered with large rocks, and a moderately <br />silted streambed, to pools about eight feet wide and two feet deep. In 3 hours of shocking we <br />collected 30 SPD, three RTC, 11 FMS (these may be FMS x white sucker hybrids), and 23 white <br />suckers. These fish, as well as all fish subsequently collected on this trip, were kept on dry ice <br />while in the field. <br /> <br />Next, we stopped along Garfield Creek at the first crossing on County Road 312 in the Garfield <br />Creek State Wildlife Area. Area wildlife officer Brett Ackerman stopped, questioned, and then <br />watched us from the shore as we sampled the stream. This creek is similar to Divide Creek, <br />except that it has greater streamflow and more pools, which are a result of beaver activity on the <br />stream. In 1.5 hours of sampling we coJJected 31 SPD, 11 BHS (these may also be hybrids), and <br />22 white suckers. The fish fauna is dominated by white sucker and creek chub. <br /> <br />On August 14, we returned to the park in Meeker, CO, and collected nine BHS (for a total of 15 <br />including the six colJected on the previous trip). We used the backpack shocker and spent <br />approximately one hour. <br /> <br />Next, at the suggestion of CD OW biologist Bill Elmblad, we drove to Thornburg Historical Site <br />and the ranch manager of the property accompanied us to ranch property along Milk Creek, a <br /> <br />8 <br />