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<br />riffles and a few larger fish in the single pool in the sampling reach. We initially used seines to <br />collect fish, but due to low catch efficiency, switched to the backpack electroshocker which <br />made sampling much easier and more efficient. The small fish were identified as juvenile <br />suckers (appeared to be bluehead and flannel mouth), speckled dace, and roundtail chub, with <br />numerous non-native shiners as well. The pool contained several large carp and catfish. We <br />sampled for approximately three hours and collected 35 speckled dace (SPD), eight flannelmouth <br />(FMS), 16 bluehead (BHS), and one roundtail (RTC). Fish were placed in 70% ethanol (ETOH) <br />until they could be processed in the laboratory. <br /> <br />On August 2, we traveled along the Yampa River to search for suitable collecting sites and <br />stopped near Juniper Hot Springs to sample. We shocked for approximately one hour and <br />collected numerous juvenile smallmouth bass, but observed no other fish species. <br /> <br />We continued along the Yampa toward Craig, CO, searching for good access to the river (most <br />of the land ownership along the river is private, with occasional small sections ofBLM). We <br />stopped and spoke with a tenant on private land at Coal View above the town of Hayden. He <br />contacted the landowner to get permission for us to sample the river on the private land. The <br />water was swift and the section included one backwater (approximately 20 feet x 8 feet and at <br />least 5 feet deep) and long runs with a few riffle sections. Two hours of shocking yielded 13 <br />SPD and 26 mottled sculpin, mostly from among the riffles and shallow runs. The backwater <br />held one large pike which only splashed at the surface when apparently startled by the <br />electroshocker (insufficient current and/or voltage to disable the fish). We observed no suckers <br />or chub at this site. <br /> <br />On this same day we stopped where Highway 13 crosses the Yampa River and shocked riffles, <br />runs, and pools for approximately one hour without collecting any fish. <br /> <br />On August 3, we collected fish from the White River at the city park in Meeker, CO. We used <br />both the seine and electroshocker to collect 30 SPD, 32 mottled sculpin, and six BHS suckers in <br />about 3 hours. There were also many non-native chub (probably creek chub), and a few juvenile <br />brown trout. <br /> <br />We continued along the White River looking for access to the river. We left the highway near <br />the confluence of Piceance Creek with the White River. A few miles up this road we found <br />access to this small stream through BLM land (TIN, R97W, Section 14) where we shocked for <br />approximately one half hour and collected 32 SPD. There were no other fish species observed. <br /> <br />Further down the highway we stopped at a ranch house and asked permission of the owner to <br />gain access to the river through his land. He directed us to County Road 77. The river was <br />approximately 50 meters wide with very little habitat other than deep, swift runs. We made two <br />passes using the backpack electro shocker on a section approximately 150 meters long <br />downstream of the County Road 77 bridge. The water was extremely turbid in this area, making <br />sampling difficult, but we collected 29 SPD and observed numerous non-native chub and <br />shiners. Total time spent shocking was about 2 hours. <br /> <br />7 <br />