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<br />Conclusions <br />· Smallmouth bass are the most abundant nonnative predator in the middle <br />Yampa River. <br />Little Yampa Canyon and particularly Lily Park, contained high densities of <br />smallmouth bass. <br />Abundance of smallmouth bass declined after intensive removal but it was <br />unknown whether the reduction was caused by removal, environmental factors, <br />or a combination of both. <br />Smallmouth bass moved long distances in both up and downstream directions in <br />the Yampa River. <br />Some small mouth bass that were translocated into Elkhead Reservoir escaped <br />and dispersed downstream to the Yampa River, including into our study sites. <br />Mechanical removal effectiveness was partially offset by immigration and <br />recruitment of fish into each study site. <br />Floy tag loss was not detected during the short mark-recapture period required to <br />estimate abundance. <br />Diversity and abundance of most native fishes has declined in the study reaches <br />compared to twenty years ago. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Recommendations <br />· Continue intensive removal of smallmouth bass in high density areas such as <br />Little Yampa Canyon and Lily Park <br />Remove smallmouth bass from other reaches in conjunction with other on-going <br />studies. <br />Continue annual abundance estimates of small mouth bass to monitor changes in <br />smallmouth bass abundance. <br />Continue to monitor escapement of translocated fish. <br />Due to the invasive nature of smallmouth bass we highly recommend not <br />translocating them to novel locations within the Yampa River basin or to other <br />basins. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />viii <br />