7876

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7876
• Author: Elmblad, W. R.
• Title: The Outcome Of An Experimental Stocking Of Colorado Squawfish In Kenney Reservoir Near Rangely, Colorado - Final Report.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

squawfish introduction in Kenney Reservoir for establishing a
population above the dam and creating a reservoir sportfishery.
Monitoring for stocked Colorado squawfish that emigrated downstream
to the White River has continued. Irving and Modde (1994) did a
fish study in the White River from 1992 through 1994. The
Interagency Standardized Monitoring Program (ISMP) of the Recovery
Implementation Program (RIP) for Endangered Fish Species in the
Upper Colorado River Basin annually electrofishes reaches of the
White River downstream of Kenney Reservoir and evaluates the adult
Colorado squawfish population. During these efforts, all adult
Colorado squawfish are checked for the presence of external marks
that would trace their origin to a Kenney Reservoir plant.
OBJECTIVES
At the time the present study was proposed as a project in 1990 the
objectives were:
1. Conduct follow-up investigations of residence, growth,
food habits, and species associations of the Colorado
squawfish stocked in Kenney Reservoir.
2. Monitor escapement of these fish into the White River
above and below Kenney Reservoir.
3. Evaluate catch and acceptance of Colorado squawfish by
anglers in Kenney Reservoir.
However, after Trammell et al. (1993) found short residence times
in the reservoir and adjacent river reaches for the stocked
Colorado squawfish, the above objectives were no longer practical
for a follow-up study. Thus the principal objective of the present
study became to determine the extent that stocked Colorado
squawfish still used the reservoir and river.
STUDY AREA
The White River is a major tributary of the upper Colorado River
basin. It starts high in the Flat Top Mountains of Colorado and
flows westward for 400 km before entering the Green River in Utah.
The region around Kenney Reservoir can be characterized as arid,
pinyon pine-juniper and sagebrush rangeland. Predominant uses of
the floodplain are grazing and irrigated agriculture. The white
River system in this area is heavily influenced by wide
fluctuations in seasonal discharges and high turbidity.
The project area for the present study extended from approximately
6 river kilometers (RK) above Kenney Reservoir downstream to
approximately 6.5 RK above the Colorado/Utah border (RK 181.6 - RK
121.6) , for a total of 60 km. This project area was split into
three reaches for sampling purposes -- upstream of the reservoir or
the upper reach (RK 181.6 - RK 175.5), within the reservoir basin,
and below the reservoir or the lower reach (RK 167 - RK 121.6).
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