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Therefore, tha historical distribution of Gila ~pha probably <br />included most of the larger, swift-avatar canyons on the Colorado and Green <br />rivers above Lake Mead, and two Graea River tributaries, the Yampa and <br />White rivers. <br />The absence of reliable data makes it difficult to adequately assess <br />pre-1950 humpback chub abundance. Their abundance in the canyon areas <br />listed above was usually limited, although they were common is one or <br />two particular spots within those areas (Smith 1960; Holden and Stalnaker <br />1975; Kidd 1977; Seethaler et al. 1976). Occurrence of humpback chub <br />bones in caves used by Indians suggests a fair abundance at one time in <br />the area near Hoover Dam (Miller 1955). However, the general impression <br />is that during historical time, this species-may have bees uncommon when <br />compared to other endemic fishes. <br />Present Distribution and Abundance <br />- Available data indicate that several major changes have occurred <br />in humpback chub populations. Humpback chubs were eliminated from the <br />Green River above the mouth of the Yampa River in Colorado, Utah, and <br />Wyoming whey Flaming Gorge Dam became operational in 1962 (Vanicek et al. <br />1970). Humpback chubs were common in fishery samples from La1ce Powell <br />soon after closure in the 1960'x, but they have not been collected during <br />the last few years (personal communication, Dale Hepworth, Utah Division <br />of Wildlife Resources). The cold tailwaters of Glen Canyon Dam (Lake <br />Powell) have apparently caused major reductions is both distribution and <br />abundance of humpback chubs in Marble and Grand canyons (Hinckley 1973; <br />Holden and Stalnaker 1975; Suttkus et al. 1976). Recent researchers in <br />Marble and Grand canyons have found humpback chubs distributed from River <br />Mile 27 to River Mile 108, with a concentration occurring in and near the <br />mouth of the Little Colorado River (Suttkus et al. 1976;~personal communica- <br />tion, C. Hinckley, Museum of Northern Arizona). ~ C. Hinckley (1977) recently <br />recorded humpback chubs 13 ion upstream is the Little Colorado 81ver. Due <br />to the recent discovery of humpback chub populations in Desolation Canyon <br />and the Black Rocks area, no population changes have been documented. <br />Recent collections in the White River (Anonymous 1977) and the Colorado <br />4 <br />