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<br /> <br />Monday. August 04,19974:39 PM <br />fws-coloriver@dataadmin,irm.r9,fws.gov <br />ALL: News Release: 10 More Squawfish use Redlands Ladder <br /> <br />......................................................................... <br /> <br />Posted by: angela kantola@mail.fws.gov <br /> <br />Reply to this list by replying to fws-coloriver, [Do not include cc's or bcc's, These people are <br />subscribed,] Alternatively, you can reply directly to the poster of this message by using his/her <br />email address, <br />......................................................................... <br /> <br />Aug, 4, 1997 <br /> <br />Contact: Bob Burdick <br />(970) 245-9319, ex!. 12, or <br />Henry Maddux <br />(303) 236-2985, ext.223 <br /> <br />More endangered fish use 'ladder' on Gunnison River <br />(Grand Junction, Colo.)--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists have discovered that 10 more <br />endangered Colorado squawfish have made their way up the Redlands fish ladder since Friday <br />(Aug. 1) on the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colo, That brings to 15 the total number of <br />endangered fish that have used the ladder to date. along with 15,000 other native fish. <br /> <br />The squawfish have ranged in size from 15 to 30 inches. <br />The man-made structure was built last year by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation to allow the rare fish to migrate around a 12-foot high diversion dam. Giving the fish <br />the ability to reach upstream spawning areas in the Gunnison River is expected to speed their <br />recovery . <br />"These are just the kind of results we have been looking for." said Service biologist Bob Burdick, <br /> <br />These results are giving biologists more information about the potential success of other fish <br />passageways under consideration on the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, <br /> <br />"I'm very encouraged by the results at the Redlands fish ladder and am eager to proceed with <br />additional passageways that will re-open more Colorado squawfish habitat,'. said Henry Maddux. <br />acting director of the Upper Colorado River Recovery Program, <br /> <br />In related news, Service biologists found an 18-pound, 36-inch female Colorado squawfish in <br />post-spawning condition in the Gunnison River about 30 miles upstream of the Redlands fish <br />ladder on Wednesday (Aug. 30), <br /> <br />When this and other squawfish spawn in the upper Gunnison River. <br />their young are carried downstream by the current and may spill over <br />the Redlands Diversion Dam, Previously, the fish then were blocked <br />from returning back "home" to upstream spawning sites, With the ladder <br />in place. the fish now can move freely up and down the river. <br />re-creating a more natural river system that benefits the environment <br /> <br />as a whole, biologists say. <br /> <br />The Upper Colorado River Recovery Program is a coalition of public and private organizations <br />working to recover endangered Colorado squawfish. razorback sucker. bonytail and humpback <br />chub while allowing for development of water resources for human uses, <br />