Native fish conservation and management in the Upper/Middle Rio Grande, Pecos River, Canadian River, Tularosa and Guzman basins, New Mexico during 2013

Authors: Steven P. Platania, Thomas P. Archdeacon, W. Howard Brandenburg, James E. Brooks, Colleen A. Caldwell, John Caldwell, Evan W. Carson, Stephen R. Davenport

Year: 2013 (xlv)

Abstract

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) published its 2012 Biennial Review of Threatened and Endangered Species of New Mexico. The review included 25 taxa of fish of which 14 occur within the area covered by this report (Upper/Middle Rio Grande, Pecos River, Canadian River, Tularosa and Guzman basins, of New Mexico). Seven of those species were afforded state endangered status while seven were listed as state threatened taxa. Between 2010 and 20012, there were no changes in the composition or conservation status of the fish list generated by the NMDGF Review of Threatened and Endangered Species. Their list does not include extirpated or extinct forms. There are four species in the Upper/Middle Rio Grande Reporting Area accorded Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act; two endangered, Hybognathus amarus, Rio Grande Silvery Minnow and Gambusia nobilis, Pecos Gambusia) and two threatened, Notropis girardi, Arkansas River Shiner and ,Notropis simus pecosensis, Pecos Bluntnose Shiner). All four of these taxa are accorded endangered conservation status by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Additional taxa are included on conservation lists generated by other federal (ex. U.S. Forest Service), state (ex. New Mexico Heritage Program), and non-government organizations (ex. American Fisheries Society) and the reader is directed to the DFC webpage and the ‘Species Tracking’ link for additional information. A large team of individuals from multiple organizations worked diligently throughout 2013 to conserve New Mexico’s native fish fauna. The 20+ year fish population monitoring efforts in the Rio Grande and Pecos River continued to provide information regarding the conservation status of Rio Grande silvery minnow and Pecos Bluntnose Shiner, respectively, while also documenting the relative health of the associated fish community. A new population monitoring study was initiated in 2013 in the Canadian River with a principal focus of tracking the status of Arkansas River Shiner (which is at the periphery of its range in northeast New Mexico). Additional relatively new (short-term) studies in the Reporting Area that will provide valuable information pertinent to the conservation of rare fishes include: Limiting factors of Pecos Bluntnose Shiner throughout its range in the Pecos River, Microchemical analysis of Pecos Bluntnose Shiner otoliths documenting movement, Seasonal ecology of Pecos Pupfish on a remnant wetland, Life history of a genetically distinct population of Round Minnow, Pecos River larval fish guide, and Distribution and conservation status of rare Canadian River fishes. These and other new projects will be highlighted at the 2013 DFC Meeting in Flagstaff, AZ. Drought conditions persisted throughout New Mexico in 2013 with 75% of the state categorized (under the five level federal drought intensity scale) as ‘severe’ or ‘exceptional’ (exception is level 5). The National Weather Service reported the combined three-year period of 2010-2013 in New Mexico as the driest and warmest since record keeping began in the state in 1895. Reservoir storage levels in New Mexico averaged 17% of normal with Elephant Butte Reservoir (New Mexico’s largest storage facility) only at 3% of storage capacity in early September 2013. Record breaking (and deadly) monsoon rains entered New Mexico in mid-September 2013 (ca. 10-18 September) bringing temporary relief to the drought. While the record spates resulted in down listing from ‘exceptional’ to ‘severe’ in the driest portions of the state and provided additional water for rivers and reservoirs, they did not break the drought as evidenced by the modest increase in storage realized at Elephant Butte Reservoir (post record September rain: 6% of storage capacity).