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<br />. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Service have removed at least 17,000 non- <br />native channel catfish and more than 50,000 non-native minnows from rivers in the upper <br />Colorado River basin. The agencies plan to continue these removal efforts and to expand them <br />to include other non-native fish species. (Non-native fish such as channel catfish and various <br />species of sunfish and certain minnows, prey on the eggs and young of endangered fish and <br />can out-compete them for food and space.) <br /> <br />. Recovery Program participants have coordinated public involvement-activities for key program <br />actions, including Colorado in-stream flow acquisition, construction of fish passageways, <br />coordinated reservoir operations, water releases from Ruedi Reservoir, development and <br />implementation of non-native fish stocking procedures, acquisition and restoration of wetland <br />habitat, Yampa River water management, and Grand Valley water management <br /> <br />. The RecovelY Program has developed and distributed to the public a wide range of information <br />products such as a newsletter, annual report, brochure, portable and permanent exhibits, <br />fishing license holders, slide show, video, and status reports. <br /> <br />. The Recovery Program has established a Web site at: <www.r6.fws.gov/coloradoriver>. <br /> <br />Upcoming activities <br /> <br />. The Recovery Program plans to acquire easements from willing landowners to restore select <br />. riverside wetland areas as habitat for young endangered fish. This strictly voluntary project <br />cold involve acquisition of up to 5,750 acres along the Green River; 3,500 acres on the <br />Colorado River; and 750 along the Gunnison. <br /> <br />. Plans call for stocking about 40,000 bony tail and 10,000 razorback suckers in 1999. <br /> <br />. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has worked with anglers and a variety of other stakeholders <br />to develop a management plan for native and non-native fish and other aquatic species in the <br />Yampa River basin. The plan will be implemented in 1999 to conserve native fish and <br />amphibians, control non-native fish, and promote sport-fishing opportunities. <br /> <br />. Non-native fish that prey upon and compete with endangered fish will continue to be removed <br />from the Green, Yampa, Colorado, and Gunnison rivers. <br /> <br />. The Colorado Division of Wildlife and other program participants are working to prevent non- <br />native fish from escaping from ponds and reservoirs into the river channel. To accomplish <br />this, screens are being placed on the outlets of some ponds. In other ponds, non-native fish are <br />being removed and in their place, other fish species that pose no threat to native and <br />endangered fish are being stocked. <br /> <br />. The Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildlife Service will begin construction on fish <br />passageways in several areas: at the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam on the Colorado River <br />upstream of Palisade in late 1999, at the Grand Valley Project Diversion Dam in 2000, and at <br />the Hartland Diversion Dam on the Gunnison River upstream of Delta beginning in 2000. <br /> <br />. The Bureau of Reclamation will work with the Grand Valley Water User's Association to <br />improve efficiency of the Government Highline Canal. The objective is to conserve water that <br />could then be returned to the river, providing needed flows for endangered fish. <br /> <br />11 <br />