7339

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7339
• Author: Valdez, R. A.
• Title: A Review of the Hatchery Program for Threatened and Endangered Fishes of the Colorado River.
• USFW Year: 1985.
• USFW - Doc Type: Logan, Utah.
• Copyright Material: NO

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5-2

and expansion. No other sites appear viable except perhaps for Fish Springs
NWR. Its remoteness and lack of utilities and facilities makes it a less
desirable site.

Option 5 appears to be the most viable option to satisfy production
needs. Ideally, a new hatchery woul d be constructed in the upper basin at
the Ouray NWR site and improvements would be made to an existing facility.
Existing facilities that would be suited for improvements are Willow Beach
NFH, Dexter NFH, Logan FES, Hotchkiss NFH, and Rifle Springs SFH.

Development of two facil ities to handle production of rare Colorado
River fishes is considered desirable. Brood stocks and progeny at each
location would avert complete loss of hatchery production for a species in
case of a catastrophe at one of the facil ities. Each hatchery producing
primarily a given species, but also maintaining limited numbers of brood
stock and progeny of other species, would enable continuous reintroduction
of diverse brood lines to minimize inbreeding. Also, two facilities allow
dupl ication of research efforts on the species to insure rel iable resul ts.
Backup brood stock can also be held at other existing hatcheries.

It shoul d be pointed out that a hatchery program for rare Colorado
River fishes should not be considered a panacea. In its proper perspective,
the ha tc hery program can be used as one of severa 1 miti gati ve mea su res to
1 earn more about the fi shes, pl ace them back on the road to recovery, and
re-establish former populations.