WSP01249

• File Number: 8220.106
• Description: Animas-La Plata
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 1/1/1990
• Title: Correspondence regarding the Final Biological Opinion - 1991
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Biological Opinion

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around Shiprock, New Mexico, and the young of the year probably drift
downstream to nursery areas. The absence of larger numbers of young of the
year and or juvenile size fish suggests that recruitment to these age classes
is limiting the population of squawfish in the San Juan.River.

Many posslble';~planations have been formulated to account for limited
recruitment in other occupied areas for the species, such as: nonMnative
predation .(rom species such as channel catfish, redshiner. fathead minnow and
common carpi changes in water quality including temperature. conductivity and
pesticidesi and changes in available habitat due to regulation of the river.

.. As part of the San Juan River investigations initiated in 1981, a Fishery
Management Plan.will be prepared by the cooperating natural r~source agencies
in Utah and New Mexico and the Bureau of Reclamation. The Fishery Management
Plan will summarize the 3 years of new biological information and review the
hydrology of the San Juan River Basin as affected by existing projects. The
Plan will assess the conditions of the river as related to non-native'
proliferation, overall fish habitat availability, and presence or absence of
native and federally listed species. Further. the plan will recommend needed
studies and identify action which might be beneficial to the recovery of the
'species. The Fishery Management Plan is tentatively scheduled for completion
in April 1990. Reclamation will work with the States of New Mexico and Utah
as well as the Fish and Wildlife Service in developing a program to Implement
recovery actions identified in the plan.

In summary, we believe that the Animas-La Plata Project, In concert with other
depletions in the San Juan, may affect the endangered Colorado Squawf1sh.
Flexibility in the operation of Navajo Dam and Reservo1r provides us the means
to eliminate impacts and promote recovery of the fish once it has been :..
determined what is needed. In light of these facts, we request your
biological opinion on the Animas.La Plata Project as soon as poss1ble. Should
the razorback sucker be proposed for lIsting, we believe the Service. should
consider the need for a conference report on that species.

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