8204

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8204
• Author: Tyus, H. M.
• Title: Razorback Sucker ‎(Xyrauchen texanus)‎ Recovery Plan.
• USFW Year: 1998.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

Recovery actions outlined in this plan will be implemented by various agencies guided
by the USFWS and its cooperators, including the Colorado River Fishes Recovery
Team, and recovery implementation programs. Recent policy (i.e., USFWS and
National Marine Fisheries Service1994) dictates that recovery of the four listed fishes
in mainstream rivers of the Colorado River system should be accomplished using a
multispecies, or aquatic ecosystem approach. The rationale for this approach is that all
four species are declining for similar reasons, and that a functioning native ecosystem
would provide a desirable degree of stability for recovery of the fishes . An ecosystem
perspective is not typically used in recovery plans for individual species, but is crucial
for integrating recovery efforts for all four species. A multispecies recovery plan has
been drafted by the USFWS, but has not yet been accepted by the Colorado River
Fishes Recovery Team. A multispecies plan would potentially have a different set of
recovery priorities based on the need for recovery of the fish community rather than
only one species. In addition, such a plan could integrate ongoing recovery
implementation efforts for the four fishes within the Colorado River basin and facilitate a
speedier recovery for the fish community than would have been possible with single
species plans alone.
Review of Recoverx Actions
The razorback sucker has long been considered a species at risk (Miller 1964, 1972;
Minckley and Deacon 1968; Ono et al. 1983). It was placed on a list of threatened
fishes by the American Fisheries Society in 1972 (Miller 1972). The razorback sucker
was proposed for listing on April 24, 1978 (43 FR 17375), but this proposal was
withdrawn on May 27, 1980 (45 FR 35410). The Sierra Club, National Audubon
Society, The Wilderness Society, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Southern Utah
Wilderness Alliance, and the Northwest Rivers Alliance petitioned the USFWS to list the
fish as an endangered species on March 14, 1989. A proposed rule to list the fish as
endangered was published in the Federal Register on May 22, 1990 (55 FR 21154),
and a final rule listing the fish was published on October 23, 1991 (56 FR 54957).
Critical habitat for the razorback sucker, and three other listed Colorado River fishes,
was designated by publication of a final rule on March 21, 1994 (59 FR 13374); the
most recent list of previous Federal actions and a listing chronology are provided in the
final rule. The states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah had provided
legal protection for the razorback sucker by 1987 (Minckley et al. 1991).
In 1987, after several years of study, a Recovery Implementation Program was initiated
by several cooperating agencies and interests with the goal of recovering the
endangered fishes in the upper Colorado River basin while allowing water resources
development to continue. The razorback sucker, although not Federally listed at that
time, was included in the program (USFWS 1987). More recent recovery activities in
the upper basin have been conducted by the San Juan River Basin Recovery
Implementation Program (USFWS 1995) and by programs of various state and other
agencies (reviewed by Minckley and Deacon 1991).
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