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<br />, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />001961 <br /> <br />Executive SummarY <br /> <br />From 2001 ,thrq!Jgh 2005, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and .the <br />Southern Ute Indian Tribe entered into annual agreements under Public Law 92-638 to <br />evaluate the effects of two onstream diversion structures on the Lower Animas River in <br />New Mexico t<:> the 'upst~eam movement of two adult native suckers, the f1annelmouth <br />sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) and the bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus). The <br />purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Farmington Lake Diversion (RMI <br />11.9)'or the Farmer's Ditch Diversion (RMI 21.9) were significantly restricting upstream <br />movement of adult suckers thereby reducing native sucker recruitment in the upper <br />reaches of the Animas River. This evaluation was a requirement of the 2000 the <br />Animas - La Plata proiect Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: <br />(FSEIS) to the1979 Environmental Statement. <br /> <br />During this stu~y period, 3,369 flannelmouth and 836 blue head suckers were <br />FLOY-tagged in the lower Animas River in New Mexico.. Upstream movement of adult <br />suckers past two irrigation diversions was evaluated using mark/recapture tagging <br />techniques. The most downstream diversion, the Farmington Lake Diversion at RMI <br />11.9, had the highest number of tagged suckers moving past it. Overall, sixty FLOY- <br />tagged native suckers that were tagged downstream of this diversion were ' <br />subsequently recaptured above it, all but one re<;aptured in either 2004 or 2005. More <br />specifically, fifty-seven f1annelmouthsuckers and three bluehead suckers managed to <br />move upstream of this diversion. The Farmer's Ditch Diversion (RM 21.9) appeared to <br />be more of a barrier since only ten f1annelmouth suckers and one blue head sucker <br />tagged below it were recaptured above this diversion, all in 2004 or 2005. <br /> <br />lri 2000 and 2001, the Animas River was sampled for the presence of young-of- <br />the-year (YOY) native suckers. At the end of this two year evaluation, it was concluded <br />that successful reproduction in the upper Animas River by native flannel mouth and <br />blue head suckers was at very high levels. Based on this information, it was decided <br />that loss of YOY suckers due to entrainment in canals, although occurring, was not a <br />significant loss to the river's population and would not be evaluated further. . <br /> <br />Also, the Farmington Lake Diversion does not appear to be a significant year- <br />round barrier to upstream movement of native fish. It's surmised it may only be <br />passable when one of its gates is open which currently only happens during the winter. <br />It is, therefore, recommended that the City of Farmington (the diversion's owner) be <br />contacted to find out if the gate could be opened during other seasons to allow fish <br />access to upstream sections of the river at other times of the year without impacting <br />I their operations. <br /> <br />Reclamation recommends that native suckers be collected immediately (within <br />the first quarter mile) downstream of the Farmer's Ditch Diversion at least twice per <br />calendar year (fall and spring) and transported at least two miles upstream of the <br />diversion and released back into the river. If implemented, the techniques that would be <br />most effective would be barge or bank electrofishing. It is believed the number of <br /> <br />iii <br /> <br />