2008-04-04_PERMIT FILE - C1981038A

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• 11 Utah. Grand, San Juan, Wayne, and Garfield Counties. The Colorado River and its 100-year floodplain from Westwater Canyon in T. 20 S., R. 25 E., section 12 (Salt Lake Meridian) to full pool elevation, upstream of North Wash, and including the Dirty Devil arm of Lake Powell in T. 33 S., R. 14 E., section 29 (Salt Lake Meridian). New Mexico. San Juan County: and Utah, San Juan County. The San Juan River and its 100-year floodplain from the Hogback Diversion in T. 29 N., R. 16 W., section 9 (New Mexico Meridian) to the full pool elevation at the mouth of Neskahai Canyon on the San Juan arm of Lake Powell in T. 41 S., R. 11 E., section 26 (Salt Lake Meridian). Bioloay Specific information on biological and physical habitat requirements of the razorback sucker is very limited. Until very recently, fisheries research investigations throughout the Upper Basin have focused on the three listed Colorado River fishes, and data collected on the razorback sucker was largely coincident to those studies. Localized extirpation of razorback suckers from some localities, coupled with the species' continued decline in numbers and distribution, has prompted some research; however, details of its life history requirements, particularly in riverine environments, are still not fully understood. • In general, a natural hydrograph with a large spring peak, a gradually descending limb into early summer, and low stable flows through summer, fall, and winter are thought to create the best habitat conditions for endangered fishes while maintaining the integrity of the channel geomorphology. Prior to construction of large main stem dams and the suppression of spring peak flows, low velocity, off-channel habitats (seasonally flooded bottomlands and shorelines) were commonly available throughout the Upper Basin (Tyus and Karp 1989; Osmundson and Kaeding 1991). The absence of these seasonally flooded riverine habitats is believed to be a limiting factor in the successful recruitment of razorback suckers in their native environment (Tyus and Karp 1989; Osmundson and Kaeding 1991). Tyus (1987) and McAda and Wydoski (1980) reported springtime aggregations of razorback suckers in off-channel impoundments and tributaries; such aggregations are believed to be associated with reproductive activities. Tyus and Karp (1990) and Osmundson and Kaeding (1991) reported off-channel habitats to be much warmer than the main stem river and that razorback suckers presumably moved to these areas for feeding, resting, sexual maturation, spawning, and other activities associated with their reproductive cycle. While razorback suckers have never been directly observed spawning in turbid riverine environments within the Upper Basin, captures of ripe specimens, both males and females, have been recorded (Valdez et al. 1982; McAda and Wydoski 1980; Tyus 1987; Osmundson and Kaeding 1989; Tyus and Karp 1989; Tyus and Karp 1990; Osmundson and Kaeding 1991; Platania 1990) in the Vampa, Green, Colorado, and San Juan Rivers. Sexually mature razorback suckers are generally collected on the ascending limb of the hydrograph from mid-April through June and are associated with coarse gravel • substrates (depending on the specific location).