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Limited numbers of the rarest Colorado River fish are being raised in hatcheries as broodstock. <br />In 1995, biologists stocked about 900 5 -inch razorback suckers in the Green River at Dinosaur <br />National Monument in Utah and more than 300 4- to 8 -inch razorbacks in the Gunnison River <br />upstream of Delta, Colo. In 1994, biologists transplanted 41 razorback suckers from a pond near <br />Debeque, Colo., to their natural habitat in the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. The fact that only <br />about 10 percent of these fish have survived demonstrates some of the challenges facing the <br />Recovery Program. <br />• The Bureau of Reclamation constructed six two - tenths -acre "refuge" ponds for endangered fish <br />on the Horsethief Canyon State Wildlife Area near Fruita, Colo., in 1992. <br />• On the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in northern Utah, a water supply and conditioning reser- <br />voir has been constructed and a total of 22 refuge ponds ranging in size from one -tenth acre to <br />two - tenths acre have been constructed to hold endangered fish. <br />• Construction is nearly complete on a fish ladder at Redlands Diversion Dam on the Gunnison <br />River. Environmental compliance was completed in 1995. The fish ladder will open up 50 miles <br />of historical habitat to the fish. Biologists recently discovered young Colorado squawfish upstream <br />of the dam, a sign that proves suitable endangered fish spawning habitat exists above the ladder. <br />• Federal and state biologists completed a comprehensive report summarizing the first seven years <br />of the Interagency Standardized Monitoring Program, which tracks endangered fish populations. <br />• Since 1988, the Service has used Recovery Program accomplishments as a basis for issuing <br />favorable biological opinions on more than 200 water projects in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming <br />with a potential to deplete more than 200,000 acre -feet of water. <br />13 <br />