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<br />.0 <br />-"":'l. <br /> <br />~,) <br /> <br />.., <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />-.} <br /> <br />tv <br /> <br />predation from introduced non-native fishes have been cited as the major factors <br />responsible for the .decline of the species. As a top level predator, the Colorado <br />squawfish may experience bioaccumulation of contaminants from its prey. <br /> <br />Endemic to the Colorado River basin, the squawfish has historically been found in tne San <br />Juan River and anecdotal reports of the species in the Animas River have also been <br />recorded. Recent collections have yielded a total of 20 young-of-the-year squawflsh in <br />backwaters of the San Juan River or laNai drift collections at various locations <br />downstream of Shiprock, New Mexico. In the summer of 1996 two juvenile Colorado. <br />squawfish (350-450 mm TL) were captured in the lower 12 miles of the San Juan River. <br />Since 1991, 17 adult squawfish have been captured downstream of Shiprock and several <br />others obseNed in the river between the Hogback and Aneth, Utah. The rediscovery of <br />adult Colorado squawfish, presence of several age classes, and documentation of its <br />successful spawning in the San Juan River reconfirmed the species as a viable <br />component of the ichthyofauna of the San Juan River. <br /> <br />Critical habitat has been designated for the Colorado squawfish in the San Juan River and <br />its 100-year floodplain from New Mexico State Route 371 Bridge in T.29N., R.13W" <br />section 17 (New Mexico Meridian) to Neskahai Canyon in the San Juan arm of Lake <br />Powell in T.41S., R.11E., section 26 (Salt Lake Meridian) up to the full pool elevation. <br /> <br />E. ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC RESOURCES <br /> <br />The San Juan Basin contains cultural resources of major significance spanning from the <br />Paleo Indians (10,000-5,000 BC)to the present. No known archeological sites will be <br />impacted by the implementation of the preferred alternative now under analysis. <br /> <br />F. LAND USE AND SOCIOECONOMIC RESOURCES <br /> <br />The economic base of the general area included in this environmental analysis is primarily <br />derived from agriculture (crop and livestock production) and mining. Until 1950, the area <br />immediately surrounding Farmington, New Mexico, was known primarily for the extensive <br />annual fruit crop (apples, pears, peaches) and for extensive cattle and sheep production. <br />In that year, large-scale oil and natural gas development began in the San Juan Basin. <br />Coal development in the area has been the foundation for the construction of electric <br />generating stations west of Farmington (Public SeNice Company of New Mexico's San <br />Juan Generating Plant with a net capacity of 1,723 megawatts and the Arizona Public <br />SeNice Company's 2,040-megawatt Four Corners Power Plant). <br />