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1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br />and upstream migrations in the Green, White, and Duchesne rivers to spawn in <br />riffle/pool habitat of the lower 32 miles of the Yampa Canyon. The only <br />other confirmed Colorado squawfish spawning site exists in Gray Canyon of the <br />Green River (Tyus et al. 1987). <br />A total of 37 Colorado squawfish were radiotracked to the Yampa Canyon <br />spawning ground by FWS (N=31) and CDOW (N=5) from 1981-1987. These included <br />23 fish from the upper Yampa River, 12 fish from the Green River, and one fish <br />that migrated 233 miles from the White River. Migrants tracked by FWS <br />averaged 78 miles one-way. The distance traveled by the White River fish may <br />have exceeded one year since the fish was tagged at River Mile (RM) 103 White <br />River in 1983, tracked to RI°I 31 Yampa River in spring 1984, and recaptured at <br />RM 98 White River in 1935. These radiotracking data show that adult Colorado <br />squawfish migrate to the Yampa Canyon (strata 1 and 2, Figure 3) in early <br />summer from many areas throughout the upper Green River basin (including <br />White, Green and Yampa rivers). These data also suggest that ali adult fish <br />do not spawn each year. Of four fish radiotracked in consecutive years (1T <br />years) during the spawning season, two did not migrate each year and remained <br />in the same river reach. Local movements of these non-migrants may be <br />indicative of home range behavior in nonbreeding years. <br />Adult Colorado squawfish were radiotracked in early spring in the upper <br />Yampa River by FWS in 1981 and 1983 (Tyus and McAda 1984, Tyus 1985), and by <br />CDOW/NPS in 1982 (Wick et al. 1983). These fish initiated spawning migrations <br />from 12 May to 10 June, depending on type water year (Table 1). Flow and <br />water temperature conditions were highly variable within each migration period <br />and between years. However, it appears that spawning migrations were <br />initiated earlier in low water years (e.g. 1981) and later in higher water <br />11 <br />