San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program Summary Report 1991-97

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Other objectives have been addressed by only one related study, so the results of that study have been presented. Definitions of scientific terms and jargon used in this section are provided in the Glossary. 5.1 Develop Interim Management Objectives for the Endangered Fish Species and the Native Fish Community of the San Juan River. One of the primary goals of the Program is the establishment of self - sustaining populations of the two endangered fish species in the San Juan River. Population goals for Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker, and other native fishes will be developed when the 7 -year research program is completed in 1998. The goals will be based on ongoing research that is identifying present population size and age structure, existing habitat, and current limiting factors to the populations. Population goals will likely include numbers of various age classes (e.g., adults and juveniles) of the different species and distribution of these species and age classes within the river corridor. The BIA is funding a study in 1998 to develop a conceptual model to be used to set interim management objectives for San Juan River endangered fishes. 5.1.1. Colorado Squawfish Population Goal (Milestone). See Section 5.1. 5.1.2. Razorback Sucker Population Goal (Milestone). a! During 1997 the Biology Committee prepared and approved an Augmentation Plan for razorback sucker (Ryden 1997a) that included a population goal to be achieved following 5 years of stocking juvenile razorback suckers. The goal was a population of 15,900 razorback sucker between the Hogback Diversion and Lake Powell, a distance of 159 miles with a goal of 100 razorback suckers per mile of river. This population goal is not the long term population goal planned for this task but o ><s the first attempt by the Biology Committee to define a population objective in the river. To achieve the goal of 15,900 razorback suckers in the river at the end of 5 years, approximately 73,500 � individual fish will need to be stocked (Ryden 1997a). Monitoring of the augmented population will ( assist in setting a long -term population goal that is consistent with the capacity of the San Juan River to support a self - sustaining population of this species. 5.1.3. Native Fishes Population Goals (Diversity, Abundance, Distribution) (Milestone). See Section 5.1. 5.1.4. Evaluate, Integrate, and Report Research Findings Annually and Make Recommendations Based upon These Findings. Data collected during the 7 -year research program have been documented in individual research reports as well as in annual summary reports (Holden and Masslich 1995, 1997). This Summary Report is the third annual effort to summarize and integrate research findings of the Program. The San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program December 1997 Summary Report 4 PR -602 -1