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53 <br />The Walter Walker Wildlife Area is located 9 miles downstream from Grand <br />Junction. The area is a 440-acre plot of land surrounding an inundated <br />gravel pit excavated in 1965. <br />Historically, WWWA has supported numerous squawfish and razorback suckers <br />at any one time. Several investigators have readily captured these <br />fishes in recent years, and noted the high incidence of the parasitic <br />copepod, Lernea sp. <br />Black Rocks is the second special section located 19 miles downstream <br />from Loma. It is a uniquely deep and swift one-mile section of river <br />that flows through exposed precambrian gneisses and schists. Recent <br />studies in this Black Rocks area revealed substantial populations of <br />humpback chubs and Colorado squawfish. <br />Studies of both areas will continue in 1980 since both are readily <br />accessible and present excellent opportunities to expand our knowledge <br />of the endangered fishes. WWWA presents the opportunity to assess <br />the use of artificially-constructed backwaters, an increasingly common <br />modification to the river near streamside cities because of gravel <br />excavation. Black Rocks, conversely, presents the opportunity to <br />examine substantial local populations of--endangered fishes in a hab- <br />itat free of modifications, except for altered flow regimes. <br />In addition to these special studies, effort was expended on capturing <br />Colorado squawfish and humpback chub for use as brood stock in hatchery <br />rearing programs. Squawfish were captured from the Green River near <br />Jensen, and humpback chubs were taken from Black Rocks near the Utah- <br />Colorado state line. <br />1979 Field Data Summary <br />A total of 23 fish species and 4 hybrids were captured during the 1979. <br />study period of the Upper Colorado and Gunnison River study area (Table <br />12). Distribution of the endangered fishes is presented in Table 13. <br />This total included three of the four target species; the endangered <br />Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius) and humpback chub (Gila cypha), <br />as well as the threatened razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus). No