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Colorado River Recovery Program <br />FY 1996 Scope of Work <br />Lead Agency: Colorado Division of Wildlife <br />Submitted by: Thomas Nesler and Ray Tenney <br />Address: <br />Nesler <br />Colo. Div. Wildlife <br />6060 Broadway <br />Denver, CO 80216 <br />Tenney <br />Colo. Water Cons. Dist. <br />P.O. Box 1120 <br />Glenwood Springs, CO <br />Phone: 303 -291 -7451 970 - 945 -8522 <br />303- 294 -0874 FAX 970- 945 -8799 FAX <br />Date: October 12, 1995 <br />I. Title of Proposal: <br />Yampa River Low Flow Passage Studies <br />II. Relationship to RIPRAP: <br />Project No. <br />Project Category: <br />_Ongoing <br />—Ongoing-revised <br />_& Requested new <br />start <br />81602 <br />This work has been identified under recovery actions in the Yampa /Little Snake rivers <br />section (3.2, p 13) with respect to rehabilitation of agricultural water diversion dams to <br />provide for upstream passage of Colorado squawfish at levels no more difficult than <br />historic levels, and reduce impacts to habitat and river channel hydraulics from annual <br />maintenance of diversion structures using heavy equipment. Under Green River Action <br />Plan: Yampa/Little Snake Rivers. II. Habitat Restoration (p 33), Task II.A.1, an <br />assessment of potential passage barriers, and recommendations were made by the U.S. <br />Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado River Water Conservation District. This <br />proposal represents an extension of Task II.A.1. based on Biology Committee direction <br />(8/15/95 conference call), and consensus by the appointed ad hoc task group that further <br />field data were required. <br />III. Study Background /Rationale and Hypothesis: <br />Colorado squawfish migrate from over- wintering habitats upstream of Maybell to <br />spawning habitats in Dinosaur National Monument and back, annually. The downstream <br />migration reportedly occurs in late May to mid -June, depending on water temperatures. <br />The upstream migration occurs in mid to late July, after the spawning effort is complete. <br />In some years, flows in the Yampa River are very low as a result of low snow -pack, <br />early spring snow melt, low precipitation and depletions for irrigation, domestic and <br />industrial uses. Years where all these circumstances coincide create conditions which <br />1 <br />