WSP00892

• File Number: 8240.300.03
• Description: San Juan River - Recovery Implementation Program - General Info
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 2/4/1992
• Title: San Juan River Seven Year Research Plan ‎(Fiscal Year 1992)‎
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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flows similar to 1987, which are hypothesized to benefit
reproduction and recruitment of the endangered fish
community. Release schedules would be determined by the
Service and Reclamation based on research needs and the
avail'able water supply after meeting baseline depletions.
Water releases would subject to limitations of the outlet
works facilities and safe routing of hydrological events
in the upper Colorado River basin.

As a result of the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative for the
Animas-La Plata Project and the need to study the biological impact
of the reoperation of Navajo Dam during the seven year research
period, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service agreed to devise a multi-year research plan. The research
is designed to provide the information necessary to recover
endangered fishes in the San Juan River and assess proposed future
water depletions.

RESEARCH PLAN

A large array of research needs for the San Juan River and its
native fish community have been previously identified in meetings,
correspondence, memoranda, draft research outlines, reports, and
journal publications. All, in varying degrees, seek to obtain and
evaluate data that are believed necessary to conceive, design, and
implement strategies to conserve the native fish fauna of the
river. The sheer extent of these, coupled with the comparative
paucity of actual knowledge of factors influencing populations of
native fishes in the San Juan River drainage, requires development
of a hierarchical research approach. Thus a well defined continuum
of research efforts is required that clearly maps activities, but
which allows modification of specific research programs as new
information is obtained. A basic concept of the proposed program
is to consider the entire fish community, native and non-native
species, with particular emphasis on Colorado squawfish, bony tail
chub, roundtail chub, and razorback sucker (target species). In
addition. because of the high public interest and concern, the
trout fishery associated with the Navajo Dam tailwater also
requires research attention to evaluate its response to different
flow regimes.

A seven year research plan was devised by a team of biologists
representing the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Bureau
of Reclamation (Reclamation), New Mexico Game and Fish Department
(NMGF) , Utah Division of Wildlif~ Resources (UDWR) and the Colorado
Division of Wildlife (CDOW). . It was developed to facilitate
implementation of elements of the Reasonable and Prudent
Alternative for the Animas-La Plata project, specifically the
formulation of a seven year research plan and development of the
proposed test flows from Navajo dam for the research period.

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