WSP00173

• File Number: 8240.200.10.A
• Description: UCRBRIP Habitat Restoration
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 10/8/1997
• Author: UCRBRIP
• Title: Final Habitat Restoration Program FY 1998 Work Plan Part 2
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

IV. Study Goals, Objectives, End Product:

A Cooperative Agreement was signed in 1990 between the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and Colorado State University (CSU), Larval Fish Laboratory
(LFL). The purpose of this agreement was to establish a means for LFL
to provide laboratory services where needed; specifically in the areas
of larval-fish identificatiop, dietary studies, laboratory-supported
field-type predator/prey and competition studies, and storage/curation
of collections of small fish for all Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB)
researchers. In addition, the agreement provides for direct funding of
any LFL proposals submitted to and approved by the Recovery
Implementation Program (RIP). CSU has agreed to a 15% direct overhead
rate for work transferred to LFL for the performance period of the
agreement" The end products will be accurate identification '.of larval
and older fish in upper basin collections, reports and databases of
associated specimen-specific data, cataloging, storage, maintenance,
and management of preserved specimens, LFL-conducted or assisted
research, and efficient consultation on specific issues. relating to
endangered, native, or nonnative fishes. Annual " project reports are
submitted to RIP.

Service work under this Cooperative Agreement has been conducted
annually, year-round since 1990. Preserved fish collections from
individual studies are submitted by researchers for identification and
processing. Results for each set of collections are summarized in data
reports which are submitted, with associa~~~ dBase computer files, .to
appropriate researcher units. The.dBase files are also submitted to
RIP's Interagency Data Management Program (IDMP). After processing,
collections to remain in LFL's care are cataloged, relabeled, organized
on storage shelving, and regularly maintained for future reference and
investigations. A periodically updated, dBase version of the LFL
Collection Catalog is maintained by the IDMp and selected data from the
catalog should soon be searchable over the Internet via Gopher or the
World-Wide Web.

As of 21 April 1997, LFL held over 64,400 taxon-specific lots from UCRB
collections, an estimated 3.3 million specimens, some collected as
early as 1976. These figures do not include 1994-1996 razorback sucker
or Colorado squawfish drift-net collections from the Green or Colorado
Rivers in Utah or razorback sucker seine and light-trap collections for
those same years. Those collections have not yet been catalogued as
part of processing. Of our current holdings, 31,059 lots, (1,589,711
specimens) have been cataloged, relabeled, upgraded as necessary
(containers and preservative), and reorganized for ready access under a
prior RIP project (Snyder 1996) or, beginning with 1994 collections, as
part of RIP collection processing by LFL. Approximately 33,360 UCRB
lots of pre-1994.collections remain as backlog to be properly
cataloged, systematically relabeled, upgraded, and. reorganized. These
collections are minimally maintained by LFL as time and resources
permit and access to them remains very limited; until they are
cataloged, there is no systematic listing of backlog holdings for
review by recovery program or other researchers.

With this ongoing-revised proposal we, in accord with FY-97 Program
Guidance, will continue with a three-year effort (FY-97 through FY-99)
to complete the task of cataloging and upgrading care and management of
backlogged UCRB small-fish collections. We have documented labor costs

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