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(RK 291.5) Rock Creek (RK 278.6); Chandler Falls (RK 266.6); and Rabbit Valley (RK 238.1). <br />On occasion it was necessary to incorporate data from the most proximal wild card site in the <br />long term analyses. <br />Sampling targeted two general components of the fish community: 1. small sized <br />cyprinids and the early life stages of all species occupying low velocity habitats and 2. <br />juvenile/adult main channel dwellers (large sized fish). Small sized fish were sampled in <br />backwaters throughout the canyons according to Interagency Standardized Monitoring protocols <br />(refer to the ISMF handbook for details (USFWS 1987)), i.e. sampling frequency of two <br />backwaters every 8 km. A two person beach seine (4 m x 1.2 m; 3.2 mm mesh) was used. Fish <br />were either identified and enumerated in the field or preserved in 10% buffered formalin for lab <br />analysis. <br />Sampling for the main channel fishes was conducted primarily during the crepuscular-and <br />night time hours. A variety of techniques were employed at each site. Six trammel nets (23 m x <br />1.8 m [25 mm or 12 mm inner mesh]) fished in low flow, main channel habitats (pools or along <br />eddy lines) were checked on two hour intervals through. the evening until midnight. The trammel <br />nets were reset at dawn and fished for 2-hr sets. Three hoop nets (0.6 m diameter, 3 m in length <br />[12 mm mesh]) were fished through the night in shoreline habitats. Electrofishing (4.8 m <br />inflatable sport boat equipped with a 4500 watt generator and Coffelt Variable Voltage Pulsator <br />(VVP-15)) was conducted along both shorelines in the evening prior to setting trammel nets and <br />repeated after the trammel nets were pulled. <br />All target species (Gila spp., Colorado pikeminnow) >175 mm were tagged with Passive <br />Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. All Gila spp. were photographed on a grid (1 cm2) board and <br />subjected to a series of morphometric measurements and rankings (refer to the ISMP handbook; <br />USFWS 1987). Body scales were collected-above the lateral line immediately posterior to the <br />insertion of the dorsal fin from all target species for later analysis. It was often difficult to come <br />to a consensus when identifying Gila spp. collected in Deso/Gray. Many of the fish were <br />recorded as "chub" with a tendency toward G. cypha or G. robusta, but the researchers did not <br />feel comfortable committing to a specific classification. In 1993, all chubs collected were simply <br />field identified as Gila spp. To be consistent in data presentation native chubs have been <br />reported collectively as Gila spp., however observed species distributions and trends were <br />discussed anecdotally. <br />For the purposes of discussing movement, chub capture locations were identified by site. <br />A sampling site could be a 0.5 - 1.0 km stretch of river. Movement within that site was not <br />detected. <br />All catch per unit effort (CPE) values have been standardized to fish per 23 meter net- <br />hour (trammel nets), fish per actual hour electrofishing, and fish per square meter of low velocity <br />habitat sampled (seine hauls). All locations are presented in river kilometers from the confluence <br />of the Green and Colorado Rivers (RK 0.0). Green River flow as recorded by the United States <br />Geologic Survey (USGS) at their Green River, UT gage (No. 09315000) is reported as cubic feet <br />per second (cfs). All other units of measure are metric. <br />vii <br />