2013-04-05_PERMIT FILE - C1996083A (24)

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• maturation. If this is true. then access to these sheltered off=channel pools may be very iriportant to successful spawrtine in the upper reaches of the Co'orado River. Historically, bottomlands that routinely flooded durne the spring runoff period would have provided these warm productive habitats; in recent years, flooded gravel pits ma}• have provided the only compazable habitat. Razorback Sucker The razorback sucker, an endemic species unique to the Colorado River Basin, was historically abundant and widely distributed «~thin warmwater reaches throughout the Colorado River Basin. Historically, razorback suckers were found in the main stem Colorado River and major tributaries in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and in Mexico (Ellis 1914; Hinckley 1983). Bestgen (]990) reported that this species was once so numerous that it was commonly used as food by eazly settlers and, further, that commercially mazketable quantities were caueht in Arizona as recently as 1949. In the Upper Basin, razorback suckers were reported in the Green River to be very abundant neaz Green River, Utah, in the late 1800's (Jordan 1891). An account in Osmundson and Kaeding (1989) reported that residents living along the Colorado River neaz Clifton, Colorado, observed several thousand razorback suckers during spring runoff in the 1930's and eazly ] 940's. In the San Juan River drainage, • Platania and Young (1989) relayed historical accounts of razorback. suckers ascending the Animas River to Durango, Colorado, azound the turn of the century. A mazked decline in populations of razorback suckers can be attributed to construction of damp and reservoirs, introduction of nonnative fishes, and removal of lazge quantities of water from the Colorado River system. Dams on the main stem Colorado River and its major tributaries have segmented the river system and drastically altered flows, temperatures, and channel geomorphology. Major changes in species composition have occurred due to the introduction of numerous nonnative fishes, many of which have thrived due to man-induced changes to the natural riverine system. The current distribution and abundance of the razorback sucker have been significantly reduced throughout the Colorado River system (McAda 1987; McAda and Wydoski 1980; Holden and Stalnaker 1975; Hinckley 1983; Mazsh and Hinckley 1989; Tyus 1987). The only substantial population of razorback suckers remaining, made up entirely of old adults (McCarthy and Hinckley 1987), is found in Lake Mohave; however, they do not appear to be successfully recruiting. While limited numbers of razorback suckers persist in other locations in the Lower Colorado River, they aze considered raze or incidental and may be continuing to decline. In the Upper Basin, above Glen Canyon Dam, razorback suckers aze found in limited numbers in bo:h len:ic and lotic environments. The :.:rgest popula[ion of razorback suckers ir. the Upper Basin is found in the upper Green River and lower Yampa River (Tyus 1987). Lanigan and Tyus (1989) estimated that from 758 to 1,138 razorback suckers inhabit the upper Green River. In the Colorado River, most razorback suckers occur in the Grand Valley azea neaz Grand Junction,