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<br />L~ <br /> <br />Beginning in October 1996. the Land Acquisition Coordinator for the <br />Habitat Restoration Program (Dave Soker). has been working on issues <br />related to land acquisition. and has been making contact with owners <br />of high-priority Green River floodplain lands, At present (6/97), <br />there are 14 landowners interested in selling fee simple or <br />easements on more that 3.000 acres between Dinosaur and Ouray, <br />Also. we have been working with the Ute Tribe to see if they might <br />be interested in leasing some or all of 2,000 acres of bottomland <br />habitat immediately downstream from the Ouray National Wildlife <br />Refuge. Activities to generate interest among landowners will <br />continue, <br /> <br />Gunnison River <br /> <br />The Gunnison River between RM 50 and RM 75 is an area where <br />razorbacks are believed to have been historically abundant, <br />Squawfish still reside in this section of river, There are <br />approximately 774 acres of floodplain habitat in this stretch; <br />mostly privately owned; mostly with flood prevention levees. Target <br />areas for restoration and/or protection include Escalante State <br />Wildlife Area (RM 51-53), owned by CDOW; Johnson Boy's Slough (RM <br />53,6); Confluence Park (RM 57,1). and other bottomland areas, <br />Landowners at these and other sites are being contacted to see if <br />they would be interested in entering into an agreement which would <br />permit flooding during spring runoff, <br /> <br />Mitchell (1995) identified 61 ponds along the Gunnison River, -40 <br />located between RM 50 and 75, Pond owners will be contacted to see <br />if they will permit connection of the pond with the river. to serve <br />as surrogate floodplain habitat for use by endangered fishes, <br /> <br />As of June 1997. there are 2 landowners in the Whitewater area that <br />are interested in selling 80 acres of floodplain terrace and <br />depression habitat; the City of Delta has demonstrated interest in <br />easement agreements; and the Program is working on conservation <br />easements on several other private lands in partnership with the <br />Valley Land Conservancy. CDOW, and NRCS, ' <br /> <br />Colorado River <br /> <br />Razorbacks are believed to have been abundant historically in the <br />Colorado River between Westwater and Rifle (RM 127-240), The area <br />currently includes squawfish larval nursery areas and adult high <br /> <br />3 <br />