|
<br />'I.
<br />'I
<br />II
<br />
<br />.\
<br />
<br />I
<br />I
<br />, .
<br />I I
<br />I ,
<br />II!
<br />dl
<br />!
<br />I
<br />
<br />FISH
<br />
<br />/rom p. 43
<br />
<br />approximately 66,000 razorbacks. By
<br />1994, the number was down to
<br />22,000, Minckley says.
<br />The Fish and Wildlife Service wants
<br />to turn that trend around A few years
<br />ago, it began producing a large num-
<br />ber of fingerlings in hatcheries, and it
<br />was recently discovered that wild
<br />razorback larvae could be harvested
<br />from lake Mohave, a large reservoir
<br />on the Arizona-Nevada border. How-
<br />ever, attempts to place fingerlings in
<br />the Verde and the Salt rivers failed.
<br />"They just disappeared. We realized
<br />then they were being eaten by other
<br />fish," Minckley says. "We discovered
<br />that if we put these fish in predator-
<br />free habitats, we could get them
<br />larger so they would better survive in
<br />the wild. The whole idea is to main-
<br />tain large populations of the fish and
<br />prevent extinction."
<br />
<br />Habitat or water hazard?
<br />Always on the lookout for appropri-
<br />ate habitat for the fish, Minckley
<br />
<br />"",
<br />-'-
<br />
<br />
<br />As soon as details of the agreement
<br />were approved by all parties, the
<br />process of preparing Emerald Canyon's
<br />lakes began. Because the course's lakes
<br />get their water from the Coloradc
<br />River, several screens had to be
<br />; c,Jinstalled in the intake pipes to keep
<br />'~~er fish out. The crew at Emerald
<br />;,.~~~n,>, under the su~ervision. of
<br />-l~Pfmntendent Florenclo Carnllo,
<br />;:'ditectEidinsta1Iation of the screens.
<br />The:~'hext major step was to
<br />ove all the fish from the course's
<br />'es to provide the endangered fish
<br />'<1: pl-eclator-free environment.
<br />,Evenlat,temptix>ssible was made
<br />':"""'Save the'other- Species of fish and
<br />: 10cate'tijem/"Benton says. "Fish &
<br />",' ., Ildlife came out with a boat that
<br />contacted Benton in the summerofl9944~'$lffids arl~lectric shockihto the water.
<br />about using Emerald Canyon's lakesasac"shinningthefislLThenthey picked
<br />habitat for native fish. Since the c:ourSe is '. >#temup in ane! arid'putthem in the
<br />county-owned, the proposal had to go'?€olbrado River.. The nextstep was to
<br />before the La paz county manager and~seihe the lake-They cfru~f a big net
<br />board of supervisors. '\~tf1ough the Iaketo catCh any-remain-
<br />"The agreement was a joint effort....;:fn!ifislLThen.tlieypufa pO""der
<br />Benton says, "but it was quite a bit more..1'eaned.Rotenone.in.thewater''':;;i''~J'~.\
<br />complex than you might imagine." ':_~fuckley says the Roteno"ne'\Vas
<br />used to 'eliminatethegossibility of
<br />ari~' minnows or; verY tiI}yJ~h.grow-' .,
<br />ini"up . to be: predilt'Ors1;pf,:tfie
<br />endangered species.It:~,~:nafural
<br />poison .... ~Qat<",~tJf!oca!~~. fis~:,J)Y
<br />removing 'oxygell.from)ttle'\\Tater.
<br />Minckley '. notes that~"got~none is
<br />only toxic-to organisms>tliatbreathe
<br />through gillSt,}I~d'Js"'frharirifuL tc>;;,
<br />people or aninials::'~:., '. }tf!/.
<br />Young bony tails o~~;'He. prgjecLj
<br />were provided by tHe lJe,xter ~ational"
<br />Fish Hatchery. The]joi}1!fcur;~~~;,rare
<br />that the fingerlings had:tolJ'e acquired
<br />from descendants ofemly six. bonYtail
<br />chubs brought to Dexterin198LTfie .'
<br />bony tails put in Emerald:c:any()n's:~~
<br />lakes in October 1994 giew~to:lO to.;:i
<br />12 inches, and some were rel~~~J~~_~
<br />Lake Havasu. . >'" i":;
<br />"The fish were harvested fiomJh'e
<br />golf course using various nets," Minc:R:':
<br />ley says. "Then this July, we put the
<br />razorback suckers in when they were
<br />less than 2 inches long. By the first of
<br />September, they were already 6 to 7
<br />inches long. When they get large
<br />enough, we will harvest them out and
<br />insert a PIT tag in their body cavities.~
<br />A PIT tag is a passively integrated
<br />transponder with a lO-digit number
<br />
<br />
<br />Emerald Canyon is a public course with spectacular views 01 canyons cut by the mighty Colorado River.
<br />
<br />-::'"/.-...",,,,':-.::> "-:.~-:~~,,..,~_-::o~. .,-'...::,..,........,...
<br />
|