Bonneville Basin Area Report

Authors: Brandon Albrecht

Year: 2011 (xliii)

Abstract

With many thanks to a number of co-authors (not all were available at time of abstract submission, but to be acknowledged during the presentation); I present this year’s brief summary of activities and highlights associated with native aquatic species found within the Bonneville Basin. The June Sucker Recovery Program continues to be very active. June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) are propagated from brood stock held at Utah Division of Wildlife Resources hatchery facility at the Fisheries Experiment Station (FES), Logan, Utah. Record numbers of June sucker are returning to the Utah Lake tributaries to spawn. Least chub (Iotichthys phlegethontis) was petitioned to list in 2008. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s 12-month finding was released in June 2010 as warranted, but precluded. The states of Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and Idaho and Federal agencies formed the range-wide team for the northern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda copei) and continue to remain very active. Founding of this team has spurred various sampling efforts to document this unique species, and in Idaho, several populations are being studied within historic Snake/Bear River drainages. Preliminary genetics data from efforts in Idaho suggest a fairly recent connection between Bear River and Snake River northern leatherside chub populations. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is conducting a two year State Wildlife Grant funded project to determine the current distribution of northern leatherside chub in the Bonneville Basin in Wyoming. Specific objectives are to determine baseline abundances for major populations of northern leatherside chub in Wyoming, identify species of sympatric fishes, identify habitat relationships, and collect tissue samples from major populations for genetic analyses. The northern leatherside chub was also petitioned to list and is undergoing a 12-month status review. At time of abstract submission this finding remained pending. The southern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda aliciae) team is also finalized and the Southern Leatherside Chub Conservation Agreement and Strategy is supported by signatory agencies solely within Utah.