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<br />Director ~message'
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<br />I
<br />
<br />When we are ,no longer 'worded
<br />about whether Coloradosquawfish ~
<br />will be around in another! 0 years and
<br />instead are questioning the maximum
<br />number ()fsquawfishtheiiver system.
<br />can.support, that's progress. And that's
<br />exactly what's happeriingin the ,Upper
<br />. .. Colorado ,River
<br />. .. . ~
<br />.. Recovery Program
<br />today.... .. .....
<br />. Squawfish pqpu-
<br />.lations are growirig. .
<br />We have. built fish,
<br />ladders' . and. pas-
<br />. sageways that have,
<br />. operied more river .
<br />HsnryMaddux to' support these
<br />
<br />
<br />expanding sqiiawfish populations,
<br />Boriytail have been . reintroduced... in
<br />both the Colorado, and. Green fivers, ..
<br />Raimhack 'suckers are being stocked .
<br />to bolster low population numbers.
<br />. But .despite this, evidence of
<br />progress, we continue to search. for
<br />flaws. No doubt,. there ,are many. ~o be
<br />found. ..
<br />· Yet when examimed, closely, almost
<br />.anjthing - even a beautiful, stained.
<br />glasswind()w ~wi1l reveal flaws. in
<br />the case of.the Recovery Program, I
<br />fear that some, can nolonger see the,
<br />beauty of this mosaic "windovt" but.
<br />home in only on the iinperfections, We
<br />must get hackto seeing the big picture.
<br />
<br />, The dedication of fisheries 'scien-
<br />ti~ts,who 'have studied the fish laid the
<br />groundw()rk for identifying what need-
<br />ed to be done, .., .
<br />. Now, with each passing year we are
<br />able to spend less money on f.esearch
<br />and more for "i:m-the-ground" activi.
<br />ties such . as restoring bottom lands, .
<br />, raising ,fish .forstocking,' add,ressing
<br />non-nativ'e' fish issues, constructing
<br />fishl1idde~s .and monitoring fish popu-
<br />lations, .
<br />, ,
<br />.. Ourefforts are paying off I am opti-
<br />mistic ahout :colltinuted progress in the
<br />future, but only, if we step, back from.
<br />focusing on the sinall. impeTfections
<br />. and enjoy the big picture:
<br />
<br />, '.'. '
<br />Program director values . 'wildness' of West
<br />
<br />, , .
<br />
<br />.In his first year at Ricks Junior Endimgered Fish Recovery' Progriun
<br />College. in . Rexburg, Idaho, then 21- . and moved to Denver.
<br />. year-old Henry Maddux took a voca--. Maddux said that early \n his career, .
<br />tional. test to help select his. future. he .liked this field because he spent,
<br />career, The.. advice . he received: tiineoutdoors, working hands-on with
<br />Become a riioriician, fish. Now office-and~meeting-bound, .
<br />. He decided to explore other options. he admits that he. seems to have lost his
<br />When Maddux enrolled in freshman way. .. . . ..
<br />English, he was asked to submit a sci- Yel he now has: opportunities to.
<br />ence-related . paper. 'For his' topic, speak out. about thIngs he values.'
<br />Maddux chose to write about salIDon 'Quoting Martill"Luther King, Jr., .he
<br />and their annual migration to sp'awning said, "Our lives begin to end the day
<br />grounds, we become silent about the things that
<br />"Writing that paper was fascinat-' matter,"
<br />ing," Maddux said, '''It was the start.. . Also, Maddux said he enjoys d~al-
<br />thaned me into fisheries," ".ing with the varied groups and opin~
<br />. , . He went on to' earn a bachelor of ions in the multi-agency Recovery
<br />science in biology from the University Prograni. . ....... . .
<br />of Ari:lOna in i 982 and a master of sci-, "We're 'able .10 bring. lots of
<br />,ence in fish biology at South Dakota. resources to bear to this problem, 'not
<br />Slate University 'in 1985.' ., just those of the Fish andWLIdlife
<br />After graduate. school, he worked .. Service;" he said. . .
<br />for. die Texas Parks. and' Wildlife. A couple of program accomplish- .
<br />Department, Utah Division ofWildlifements of which ,he feels particularly
<br />, Resources and then the U,S, Fish andpr01,ld are the completion. of the
<br />WildJifeService, first in Salt Lake City Redlands Fish Ladder, which allows
<br />and then in Orand Junction, Cola, In endangered fish to now reach upstream
<br />October 1997, he accepted the job as habitat in the Gunnison River, and an
<br />director of the Upper Colorado River "agreement with the. Colorado River
<br />
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<br />
<br />Water Conservation. District that
<br />allows water' to, be' released from
<br />Wolford Mountain Reservoir for
<br />endangered fish.
<br />Maddux expressed, hope that the
<br />program can, continue to work on pro-
<br />. jects such as restoring weiiand habitat
<br />for the fish. providing adequate stream
<br />flows. and stocking endangered fish,
<br />He, said these actions. are .high priori-
<br />ties becau,se they constitute concrete
<br />progress toward endangered fish
<br />. recovery," , , ,
<br />. And according to Maddux, what's
<br />good for these fish is good for the rest
<br />, of us; too, .
<br />'''The 'benefits of whatwe do extend
<br />well beyond recovering endangered
<br />.fish," he 'said. "We'r~ maintaining
<br />flows inth,erivers, providing habitat
<br />for other types of wildlife and helping
<br />to make ,the upper basin states good
<br />places to live.
<br />:' "What brought o~r ancestors to the
<br />West was the wildness, We need to
<br />maintain some' of t\tat wildness for
<br />future generations,"
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