WSP07997

• File Number: 8240.200.10.L
• Description: UCRBRIP Newsletters/Brochures
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 6/1/1994
• Author: UCRBRIP
• Title: Recovery Program Newsletter Summer 1994
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

Dam operations, wetlands restoration among priorities

RECOVERY PlAN, from Page 1

for actions to recover the fish:"
Once common throughout the
Colorado River drainage, populations
or' these. four species. have plwnmeted
because of construction of dams and
water diversions, introductions of non-
native fish and other habitat changes.
In March 1994,a tOtal of l,980 river.
miles in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming,
Arizona, California, New Mexico and
Nevada were designated as critical habitat
for these fislL The Service chose areas
that are' within the fishes' historic range,
currently are inhabited by endangered fish
or are needed for recovery and can pro-
vide habitat for spawning, nursery, feed-
ing, rearing and movement. The Fish and
WildJife SeIVice, in cooperation with the
Recovery Program" has reviewed the.
recovery action plan and made changes
necessary to address critical habitat needs.
The recovery action plan includes:
. Targeting in-stream flows for pro-
tection in the Colorado, Dolores,
Duchesne, . Green, Gunnison, Little
Snake, White and Yampa rivers.
. Re.leasing water from federal dams.
to re-create high spring flows.and lower,
more stable flows the rest of the year. .

. 'These are all actions thatwe expect
will have tangible benefits for
. endangered fish.'

- John Hamill

. Removing or altering selected
dikes; levees a~d other barriers to critiC
cal. wetlands to 'make those sites avail-
'. able for endangered. fish. (Wetlands.
support more plant and anirnallife than
any other habitat type on earth and pro-
vide nutrient_rich waters needed by
young razorback suckers.)
. Building fish ladders and passage-
ways to aUow fish to reach more of their .
. historic range. Construction is sched-
uled to start in 1995 on a fish ladder at
Redlands Diversion Dam .on the lower
Gunnison River and on passageways
around agricultural. diversion structures
on the Yampa River. .
. Finalizing guidelines for stocking
non-native sport and forage fish in .lakes
. and reservoirs while minimizing preda-
tion and competition risks to endan-
gered fish.
. Stocking limited numbers of hatch-

~ry-raised endangered fish in their his-
toric ranges: For example, a plan to
reintroduce bonytail c'hubs - ihe rarest
of the four endangered fish species -
will be developed next year. InAprilthe
Service . removed 41 wild adult razor-
back suckers from a western Colorado
pond and stocked them in the Gunnison
and Colorado rivers, where very few
razorbacks exist.
. Helping other agencies evaluate
and reduce potential hanTI to endan-
gered fish from environmental contam-
inants 'such as selenium, petroleum
derivatives, heavy metals and uranium.
'These are all actions that we expect
.will have tangible. benefits for endan-
gered fish," Hamill said. "With raZor-
back suckers, wehave seen a rapid drop
in the number of these fish in the wild.
We hope these activities will reverse
that trend."

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Mailing list available, letters to editor welcome

Letters to the ednor .
Signed letters to the editor will be published in this newsletter on a space
available basis:

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To be placed on the newsletter mailing list, please till out this form and send
to the ad<!ress below. . .

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Comments)'

Send letters to the editor and mailing list requests to: Connie Young, newslet-
. ler editor, Colorado River Reoovery Program, c/o U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, P,O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, or fax
to Colorado River Recovery Program at [phone].

@ P,inted on 50% recycled paper with 10% post consumer mate,ial.
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