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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />portion of the Colorado River. Adult squawfish utilize a variety of <br />habitat, especially deeper runs along shorel ines year-round and large <br />backwaters during runoff (Holden and Wick 1982). They are often con- <br />centrated in flooded gravel pits near Grand Junction during runoff. <br />Small er juvenil es and young-of-the-year prefer backwater habitat with a <br />silt or sand bottom. <br />A suspected spawning site was located in 1982 near Cl if ton , just <br />upstream from Grand Junction (Miller et al 1983) This site was found <br />through tracking of radio-tagged adults and coll ection of adults in <br />spawning condition. A larval squawfish was also found in the area. <br />Radio tagged squawfish in 1983 did not home into the 1982 suspected <br />spawning site, but showed behavior that may have indicated spawning in <br />several sites (Miller et al 1984). The most probable site of spawning, <br />based on collection of larval squawfish, was near Black Rocks, a deep <br />canyon area dO\-mstream from Grand Junction (Figure 2) (Miller et al <br />1984), although 1 arval squawfi sh were again found in the upstream areas <br />near the confluence of the Gunnison River (Archer et al 1984). There- <br />fore, several spawning sites between Black Rocks and Clifton may exist, <br />as well as others below Black Rocks. <br />In the Green River system, two well defined spawning areas have been <br />identified (Archer et al 1984). One is on the lower Yampa River, the <br />other is on the middl e Green River where Desol ation Canyon and Grey <br />Canyon join. Both areas are cobbl e bottomed areas with areas of swift <br />current and deep, slower pools. The Grey Canyon site is in a major <br />rapid. Although not noted in the FWS reports (Miller et al 1984, and <br />Archer et al 1984)~ larvel squawfish have been collected above the Yampa <br />River spawning site by Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) biologists <br /> <br />- 21 - <br />