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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />r ~ r . <br /> <br />,,' <br /> <br />.~~:::-,. <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />Our offices could meet to discuss in greater detail the flexibility available <br />in the reserYoir. Once habitat requirements for the fishes are determined, <br />flows neces$ary to protect and conserve the species could be released. <br />However. we believe that consultation on such releases should be made a part <br />of formal consultation on the operation of Navajo Reservoir as requested in <br />your February 27, 1980, memorandum. This would be consistent with <br />consultations for other Colorado River Storage Projects in the Upper Basin <br />where impacts were 1ndirect and where operation of other projects was -- <br />available to provide flows. if needed. <br /> <br />/ <br /> <br />In 1986, Reclamation agreed to initiate some limited investigations on the-San <br />Juan River to fulfill requirements of the biological opinion for the. -- <br />Animas.La Plata Project. The primary biological evidence supporting -~-- <br />Reclamation's June 1979, biological assessment and the Service's non.jeopardy <br />biological opinion was that the population-of the endangered Colorado---- <br />squawfish, although reproducing, was extremely small. In addition,-the ~-- <br />populations of the Green and Colorado Rivers were larger, and the loss of the <br />squawfish population on the San Juan River would not jeopardize the cont1nued <br />existence of the species. The current Agency Review Draft of the Colorado <br />Squawfish Recovery Plan (July 14. 1989) supports this conclusion in that it <br />cites the Green and Colorado River basins as primary habitats and that <br />downlisting is predicated only on recovery in those two river systems. <br /> <br />The recent San Juan investigations conducted from 1987 to present reaffirms <br />the biological evidence that the squawfish population Is limited to the lower <br />reaches of the San Juan River and is annually reproducing. A total of 8 adult <br />squawfish have been captured in the area from Shiprock, New Mexico, to the <br />inflow area of Lake Powell. One adult squawfish was captured in the inflow <br />area of Lake Powell in April of 1987 and recaptured five months later near <br />Bluff about 145 kilometers upstream from its original capture location. In <br />addition to adult fish captured in this reach, a total of 18 young of the year <br />were captured with most of the collectlons being made in Utah, in 1987i and 'in <br />the reach just above the inflow area to Lake Powell. No other federal y <br />listed endangered fish were collected during the investigations. <br /> <br />Other collections of native fish that represent significant findings include <br />the capture of 13 adult razorback sucker and 15 roundtail chub. All but one <br />of the razorback sucker, which is protected by the States of Utah, Colorado <br />and New Mexico and is currently under review for Federal listing. were <br />collected at Plute Farms or the inflow area to Lake Powell. One r.azorback was <br />captured on the San Juan River near Bluff, Utah. <br /> <br />The population of endangered fish, specifically the Colorado squawfish. in the <br />San Juan River are reproduclngj however, the extent of annual recruitment or <br />survivability of young fish has not been determined. These data or findlngs, <br />although limited, are consistent with what has been found on the mainstem <br />Colorado Rlver and to some extent the Green River. Based on the collections <br />made to date, we believe that adult fish reside year round in the San Juan <br />River or mlgrate annually out of Lake Powell to spawning areas on the San Juan <br />