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1 <br />with gravel or cobble substrate. The eggs are randomly splayed onto the bottom, and usually <br />hatch in less than one week. <br />razorback sucker <br />The razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) is brownish-green with a yellow to white-colored <br />belly and has an abrupt, bony hump on its back shaped like an upside-down boat keel. Razorback <br />suckers are found in deep, clear to turbid waters of large rivers and some reservoirs over mud, <br />sand or gravel and like most suckers feeds on both plant and animal matter. Razorback suckers <br />can spawn as early as age 3 or 4, when they are 14 or more inches long. Breeding males turn <br />black up to the lateral line, with brilliant orange extending across the belly. Depending on water <br />temperature, spawning can take place as early as November or as late as June. In the upper <br />Colorado River basin, razorbacks typically spawn between mid-April and mid-June. <br />bonytail <br />The bonytail (Gila elegans) is a member of the minnow family and has large fins and a <br />streamlined body that typically is very thin in front of the tail with a slight hump behind the head. <br />They are gray or olive-colored back, silver sides and a white belly. The bonytail typically lives in <br />large, fast-flowing waterways of the Colorado River system. Adults feed on terrestrial insects, <br />zooplankton, algae and plant debris. Young feed mainly on aquatic insects. They are capable of <br />spawning at 5 to 7 years of age. During breeding, males turn red-orange on the belly and paired <br />fins. No reproducing populations are known in the wild. <br />humpback chub <br />The humpback chub (Gila cypha) is member of the minnow family that is olive-colored back, <br />silver sides, a white belly, small eyes and a long snout that overhangs its jaw. The pronounced <br />hump behind its head gives the humpback chub a striking, unusual appearance. The humpback <br />prefers deep, fast-moving, turbid waters often associated with large boulders and steep cliffs <br />feeding predominately on small aquatic insects, diatoms and filamentous algae. These fish spawn <br />as young as 2-3 years and at lengths as small as 5 inches. Their spawning season is between <br />March and July. During breeding, males develop red tinges on the venter and cheeks. <br />The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has previously determined that water depletions in the Upper <br />Colorado River System are a major source of impact to the endangered fish species. Continued <br />water withdrawals have restricted the ability of the Colorado River system to produce the flow <br />conditions required by the various life stages of these fish. <br />OSM was unable to locate any previous consultations addressing water depletions from the <br />Colorado River system for the Blue Ribbon mine. Evaporative loss from the two remaining <br />sediment ponds on the permit area is estimated to be 0.57 ac/ft per year. Therefore, OSM is <br />requesting the initiation of formal section 7 consultation for the 0.57 ac/ft annual depletion <br />resulting from the Blue Ribbon mine. <br />OSM understands that, should the estimated annual depletion change in the future, or if Minrec, <br />Inc. makes changes in the Blue Ribbon permit application or mining operations, OSM will need <br />to reinitiate consultation with your office.