9306

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9306
• Author: Huntington, E. H., H. C. Pickens, P. Russell and R. E. Barker.
• Title: Fisheries Survey of the Gila and Mimbres Rivers Drainages 1952-1955.
• USFW Year: 1955.
• USFW - Doc Type: Santa Fe, NM.
• Copyright Material: NO

•
Ao GILA RIVER (FROM juNCTa4-N WITH MOGOLLON vREEK DOWNSTREA* TO
AROZONA9 NEW MEX600 46INEo)
e, EAST FORK OF GALA RcVEm
C, TULAROSA RivER
D. SAN FRANCsSCO RIVER
E. BEAVER CAEE9
F. TAYLOR CREEK
G. SAPILLO CREEK
H. MIMBRES RIVER (LOWER)
1a MALL LAKE
10, AN EXPERIMENT ON CONTROL OF THE MINFEOW POPULATION OF MALL LADE tSOULD"BE
MADE WITH AN EVALUATION STUD'S MADE OF THE RESULTS OF SUCH AN EXPERIMENTo
11. A MORE DETAILED STUDY SHOULD BE MADE OF THE FOSHING PRESSURE ON THE WATERS
OF THE TWO DRAINAGES INCLUDED IN THIS 84310 SURVEY.
12o PERIODIC CHECKS SHOULD BE CONTINUED ON THE MOST IMPORTANT FISHING HATERS OF
THE AREA,
SUMMARY
TH111~ REPORT IS A GENERAL SUMMARY OF FINDINGS MADE FROM SURVEYS OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
STREAMS IN THE GILA AW MIMSRES RIVERS- DRAINAGES IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICOi
A STUDY- OF THE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION RECORD89. AND WATER FLOW OF THE GILA RIVEIR9
INDICATED A GRADUAL DECLINE IN PRECIPITATION AND RUNOFF DURING THE PAST SEVERAL. YEARS.
PLANTINGS OF FISH IN THE TWO DRAINAGES SINCE 1901 CONSISTED OF FOUR SPECIES OF
TROUTS SALMON' BASS AND CATFISH, THE RANGE OF TROUT HAS APPARANTLY DECREASED RNITHIM
RECENT HISTORY9 ACCORDING TO LOCAL RESIDENTS,
FI'H POPULATIONS HERE INVENTORIED BY THE ELECTRO®SHOCKING METHODS A PORTABLE
UNIT WAS USED TO WORK STREAMS IN THE REMOTE AREASo BY THIS METHOD OF SAMPLINGS THE
RELATIVE ABUND ANCE9.SiZE COMPOSITION-9 AND APPROXOMATE TOTAL POPULATION WAS DETERMINED,
STOMACHS OF TROUT WERE TAKEN FOR FOOD HABITS STUDIES9 SCALES FOR AGE AND GROWTH STUDIES$
AND STREAM BOTTOM SAMPLES'WERE TAKEN FOR A STUDY OF THE AVAILABLE FISH FOOD. CHEMOCAL.
TESTS WERE MADE-OF LAKES AND REPRESENTATIVE GTREAUSo
THE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF LAKES AND STREAMS SHOWED THAT ALL THREE LAKES STUDIED
WERE HARD MATER'LAKESo STREAMS AT LOWER ELEVATIONS WERE ALSO MARD9 WHILE SoDREAMS AT
HIGH ELEVATIONS` WERE MEDIUM WATERSo
LARGE POPULATIONS OF ROUGH FISH OCCURRED IN MANY OF THE WARMER STREAMS OF THE
• AREA, ROUGH FISH POPULATIONS CONSISTED OF TWO spEC1ES OF SUCKER AND uILA- CIus. GAME
FISH FOUND IN THE STREAMS CONSISTED OF SALMON IDS 9 CENTRA1RCH ID89 AND AME I SR ID.So 1.4
4 FOUR STREAMS' GAME FISH POPULATIONS OF OVER 1500 PER MILE WERE FOU*w. THESE FOUR
•, STREAMS CONTAINED TROUT, A DIFFERENT SPEC tl ES PREDOIM I NAT ING I N EACH. THERE XMAS STRONG
EVIDENCE OF TROUT HYBRIDIZATION IN MANY OF THE MOUNTAIN STREAMSo
STREAM BOTTOM SAMPLES ANALYSES itlDiGATED TIIAT ORGANISMS IN THE k.RICH0F'-`ER,v 0ER
WERE FOUND IN APPRECIABLE NUMBERS IN ALL SA ALES AV AL fZED FROM 807H D MRA I NAGF 1,) IT WAS
QUITE EVIDENT FROM THE ANALYSES THAT THE .SUPPLY OF AQUAT I G ORGANISMS WAS DEQU.ATE TO
SUPPORT A GOOD TROUT POPULATION,