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<br />. <br /> <br />4) the Paul Srnith Ponds area; <br /> <br />RMI 158.3-158.8 <br />(0.5 rnile) <br /> <br />In terms of overall use by endangered fish, the Hotspot Area and Walker Wildlife Area <br />rank out as the most important sites, followed by the U.S. Sand and Gravel Area. All <br />three sites are concentration areas for squawfish during spring, most notably the first <br />two. The U.S. Sand and Gravel area also contained a site where squawfish spawned in <br />1994. In addition, all three are the primary sites where the extremely rare razorback <br />sucker has been documented in recent years. Radio-tracking studies have shown that <br />both the U.S. Sand and Gravel and Walker sites are used as summer and wintering areas <br />by razorback sucker. <br /> <br />From the standpoint of value as flooded bOllomlands, the Hotspot and Walker areas are <br />the most heavily used by both species during spring. The following is a list of sites where <br />the last 13 razorback suckers were captured from the Colorado River: <br /> <br />1986 RMI 174.4 Hotspot <br /> RMI 174.4 Hotspot <br />1987 RMI 3.6 <br /> RMI 168.2 U.S. Sand and Gravel <br /> RMI 178.2 <br /> RMI 183.6 <br /> 1988 RMI 144.2 <br /> RMI 174.4 Hotspot <br /> RMI 175.2 Hotspot <br />1993 RMI 168.3 U.S. Sand and Gravel <br /> RMI 163.8 Walker <br /> RMI 163.8 Walker <br />1995 RMI 163.8 Walker <br /> <br />Eleven of the 13 fish were from sites within the Grand Valley. Of these eleven, six were <br />from the 15-mile reach (above the confluence with the Gunnison River) and five from <br />the 18-mile reach (downstream of the Gunnison confluence). Again, most (9) of the <br />captures were made in the three important sites noted above. Radio-tracking studies <br />during 1986-1988 indicated that razorback suckers largely used the 18-rnile reach during <br />summer and winter but would move to and from the 15-rnile reach during the spring <br />spawning season. <br /> <br />Spring use of the Hotspot and Walker areas by Colorado squawfish is extremely high. <br />During 1990-1994, an intensive effort was made to catch, mark and release as many <br />squawfish as possible from the Colorado River. In the Grand Valley, 176 different <br />squawfish were captured. From the 32.5 rniles of river, this amounted to an average of <br />5.4 different fish caught per mile over four years. For the 1.5 miles of the Hotspot <br />reach, 43 were caught, or 28.7 fish on a per-rnile basis. Thus, catch rates there were over <br /> <br />4 <br />