2008-04-04_PERMIT FILE - C1981038A

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BIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND Colorado Squawfish The Colorado Squawfish evolved as the main predator in the Colorado River system. The diet of Colorado Squawfish longer than 3 or 4 inches consists almost entirely of other fishes (Vanicek and Kramer 1969). The Colorado Squawfish is the largest cyprinid fish (minnow family) native to North America and, during predevelopment times, may have grown as large as 6 feet in length and weighed nearly 100 pounds (Behnke and Benson 1983). These large fish may have been 25-50 years of age. Based on early fish collection records, archaeological finds, and other observations, the Colorado Squawfish was once found throughout warmwater reaches of the entire Colorado River Basin, including reaches of the upper Colorado River and its major tributaries, the Green River and its major tributaries, and the Gila River system in Arizona (Seethaler 1478). Colorado Squawfish were apparently never found in colder, headwater areas. Seethaler (1978) indicates that the species was abundant in suitable habitat throughout the entire Colorado River basin prior to the 1850's. Historically, Colorado Squawfish have been collected in the upper Colorado River as far upstream as Parachute Creek, Colorado (Kidd 1977). A marked decline in Colorado Squawfish populations can be closely correlated with the construction of dams and reservoirs between the 1930's and the 1960's, introduction of nonnative fishes, and removal of water from the Colorado River system. Behnke and Benson (1983) summarized the decline of the natural ecosystem. They pointed out that dams, impoundments, and water use practices are probably the major reasons for drastically modified natural river flows and channel characteristics in the Colorado River Basin. Dams on the main stem have essentially segmented the river system, blocking Colorado Squawfish spawning migrations and drastically changing river characteristics, especially flows and temperatures. In addition, major changes in species composition have occurred due to the introduction of nonnative fishes, many of which have thrived as a result of changes in the natural riverine system (i.e., flow and temperature regimes). The decline of endemic Colorado River fishes seems to be at least partially related to competition or other behavioral interactions with nonnative species, which have perhaps been exacerbated by alterations in the natural fluvial environment. The Colorado Squawfish currently occupies about ],030 river miles in the Colorado River system (25 percent of its original range) and is presently found only in the Upper Basin above Glen Canyon Dam. It inhabits about 350 miles of the main stem Green River from its mouth to the mouth of the Yampa River. Its range also extends 160 miles up the Yampa River and 104 miles up the White River, the two major tributaries of the Green River. In the main stem Colorado River, it is currently found from Lake Powell extending about 201 miles upstream to Palisade, Colorado, and in the lower 33 miles of the Gunnison River, a tributary to the main stem Colorado River (Tyus et al. ]982).