7999

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7999
• Author: Colorado River Wildlife Council.
• Title: Minutes, Colorado River Fish & Wildlife Council.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: April 23-24, 1996.
• Copyright Material: NO

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consultation would be forthcoming. Mr. Molini indicated
that in his letter to the Council directors he could
indicate Council's encouragement that they handle
finalization of the strategy and cooperative agreement in
such a manner that FWS agreement would provide the maximum
strength to conservation.
Council also recommended to staff that they should take
into account the level of recovery or conservation on
amphibian species in planning for Council Conservation
Plans. Council members must consider the apparent plans of
environmentalists who appear to have amphibians as their
highest priority for listing petitions.
From the standpoint of the three fishes Council has
targeted for their next series of conservation plans, the
staff should look at differences in occurrence, habitat, and
other biological and outside forces impinging upon the three
target species. This may ultimately be important in
determining priority if council resources are not sufficient
to carry planning, development and many agreement for the
three species together. Arizona has been investigating the
flannelmouth sucker and has already raised it to a higher
level of research. They are about to do the same with the
roundtail chub. Other staff members also indicated various
degrees of preparation in gathering and synthesizing
information in current activities with these three species.
The FWS indicated that there has been different levels of
activity and research; the service establishing the
herpetology research team in Region 2. They have also been
discussing the reasons for the apparent decline in many of
the amphibian species from some of the most pristine
habitats. George Divine offered to provide the Council the
minutes of this team and keep them supplied with minutes of
subsequent meetings if they would make a request for him to
do so. In response to other questions, staff indicated that
their focus of concern at this time was amphibians.
Reptiles were of concern, but this seemed to be as large a
bite as resources would allow.
The Council unanimously agreed to accept the staff
report and assigned them proceed as they had recommended on
both the amphibians and the three fish species. They agreed
that all available data (and other types of information)
should be assembled and transmitted to the repository
biologists, Mr. Sjoberg, NV, amphibians, and Mr. Lentsch,
UT, fish, by October and that a staff report be available
based on this information at the December Council meeting.
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