Status and management of the native fishes of the Upper Colorado Basin

Authors: Trina N. Hedrick, W. Howard Brandenburg, Michael A. Farrington

Year: 2010 (xlii)

Abstract

Activities continue in an effort to improve the status of many of the native fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin. These activities are guided principally by four programs: the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program (UCRRP), the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program, the range-wide Conservation Agreement for the Colorado River cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus, and the Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for the roundtail chub, Gila robusta, bluehead sucker, Catostomus discobolus, and flannelmouth sucker, C. latipinnis. The two recovery programs (which work specifically towards recovery of the Colorado pikeminnow, Ptychocheilus lucius, and razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus, and also the bonytail, G. elegans, and humpback chub, G. cypha in the case of the UCRRP), use the protection of instream flow, habitat restoration, nonnative fish control, propagation, life history monitoring, and information and education to bring benefits to the four ‘big river fishes.’ Examples of recent efforts include continued research into the use of floodplain habitats by razorback sucker and increased effort towards removal of problematic nonnative species. Renovation of rainbow trout streams and reintroduction of the Colorado River cutthroat trout continues in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Additional locations continue to be targeted for barrier placement and cutthroat reintroduction. Research into the movement and life history needs of the roundtail chub, bluehead sucker, and flannelmouth sucker continues in many locations in the upper basin.