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PREFACE <br />The Colorado River of the American West supports a mainstream fish community <br />that is classified as the "Big River" fishes. Four of these fishes are listed as <br />endangered under provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. <br />Three fishes (i.e., Colorado pike minnow Ptychocheilus lucius, humpback chub Gila <br />cypha, and bonytail G. elegans) have been listed for over 10 years, and they have <br />recovery plans that were prepared prior to designation of critical habitats. Recently the <br />Colorado squawfish was renamed by the American Fisheries Society and hereafter will <br />be refered to in this document as the Colorado pike minnow. A fourth fish, the <br />razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus was listed in 1991. Critical habitats for all four <br />fishes were designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994. <br />The listing of these four fishes, and the potential endangerment of others suggest <br />that this large river ecosystem is at risk. When such major environmental problems <br />exist, present policy and philosophies have resulted in the decision to consider the <br />recovery of more than one species, and thus to prepare multispecies or ecosystem <br />recovery plans. The razorback sucker recovery plan has been prepared in the spirit of <br />this philosophy. In addition, the recovery plan has been drafted more as a strategic <br />plan to allow flexibility in its implementation. Presently, recovery of the fish is being <br />accomplished by formal recovery implementation programs conducted in important <br />geographic areas. It is anticipated that these recovery implementation programs will <br />develop very site-specific work plans under the broad guidance provided in the <br />razorback sucker recovery plan. <br />iv <br />