2009-02-04_APPLICATION CORRESPONDENCE - C2008086

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Garfield and San Juan Counties, Utah. The Colorado River from Brown Betty Rapid in T. 30 S., R. 18 E., section 34 (Salt Lake Meridian) to Imperial Canyon in T. 31 S., R. 17 E., section 28 (Salt Lake Meridian). Species/Critical Habitat Likely to be Affected The humpback chub and its critical habitat, as described below, are likely to be adversely affected by the subject Project. Although the Project does not occur within the designated critical habitat for the humpback chub, the Project depletion would adversely affect critical habitat by reducing the amount of water flowing into designated critical habitat: Grand County, Utah; and Mesa County, Colorado. The Colorado River from Black Rocks in T. 10 S., R. 104 W., section 25 (6th Principal Meridian) to Fish Ford in T. 21 S., R. 24 E., section 35 (Salt Lake Meridian). Garfield and San Juan Counties, Utah. The Colorado River from Brown Betty Rapid in T. 30 S., R. 18 E., section 34 (Salt Lake Meridian) to Imperial Canyon in T. 31 S., R. 17 E., section 28 (Salt Lake Meridian). BONYTAIL Species Description Bonytail are medium-sized (less than 600 mm) fish in the minnow family. Adult bonytail are gray or olive-colored on the back with silvery sides and a white belly. The adult bonytail has an elongated body with a long, thin caudal peduncle. The head is small and compressed compared to the rest of the body. The mouth is slightly overhung by the snout and there is a smooth low hump behind the head that is not as pronounced as the hump on a humpback chub. Status and Distribution The bonytail is the rarest native fish in the Colorado River. Little is known about its specific habitat requirements or cause of decline, because the bonytail was extirpated from most of its historic range prior to extensive fishery surveys. It was listed as endangered on April 23, 1980. Currently, no documented self-sustaining populations exist in the wild. Formerly reported as widespread and abundant in mainstem rivers (Jordan and Evermann 1896), its populations have been greatly reduced. Remnant populations presently occur in the wild in low numbers in Lake Mohave and several fish have been captured in Lake Powell and Lake Havasu (USFWS 2002d). The last known riverine area where bonytail were common was the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument, where Vanicek (1967) and Holden and Stalnaker (1970) collected 91 specimens during 1962-1966. From 1977 to 1983, no bonytail were collected from the Colorado or Gunnison Rivers in Colorado or Utah (Wick et al. 1979, 1981; Valdez et al. 1982a, 1982b; Miller et al. 1984). However, in 1984, a single bonytail was collected from Black Rocks on the Colorado River (Kaeding et al. 1986). Several suspected bonytail were captured in Cataract Canyon in 1985-1987 (Valdez 1990). Current stocking plans for bonytail identify the middle Green River and the Yampa River in 25