Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
Encyclopedia
The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is a multi-agency partnership to recover endangered
fish in the upper Colorado River
basin while water development proceeds in compliance with state and federal law (e.g., state water law, the Endangered Species Act
, and interstate compacts).
: the Colorado pikeminnow
, the razorback sucker
, the bonytail
, and the humpback chub
. The goal of the program is to stem further reductions in numbers of these species and, eventually, to create self-sustaining populations, while water development proceeds in compliance with state and federal law.
, the Governors of Colorado
, Utah
, and Wyoming
, and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration. In December 2001, those same officials signed an extension of the Agreement that extended the program through September 30, 2013. Recovery Program partners include: the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, the Colorado Water Congress, the National Park Service
, the State of Colorado, the State of Utah, the State of Wyoming, the Nature Conservancy
, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Utah Water Users Association, the Western Area Power Administration, the Western Resource Advocates, and the Wyoming Water Association. As originally established, the program consists of five elements:
State and federal agencies have also entered into agreements about restricting the stocking of gamefish
that might possibly escape into the river;
Reports indicate that native species are still rare in many of the areas under study. For example, a 2006 report on 83 habitat areas in the Yampa River
, which sampled 14,140 fish, reported only 1.6% of that total (221 fish) were native. It also noted that 86% of these native fishes were taken in isolated pools where few or no smallmouth bass occurred; only 32 native fish were captured in the mainstem, where nonnative predatory species occur, considered an indication of the negative impact of non-native fish. A 2006 report on the middle Green River, following removal of large predatory nonnatives (pike and bass), suggested a small recent (2005–2006) increase in small nonnative cyprinids, but no increases in native species.
Reports like those about the lack of recovery of native species in the Yampa and Green Rivers have fueled public opposition to the sportfish-removal element of the program. In 2006, Colorado Wildlife Commissioner Rick Enstrom, appointed as the Commission's representative of the state's sportsmen, and an outspoken critic of the sportfish removal aspects of the recovery program, stated:
Opponents of sportfish removal blame the decline of native fish on habitat loss through dam construction and irrigation diversions in the river basin, and claim that nonnative introduced sportfish serve largely as a scapegoat.
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
fish in the upper Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
basin while water development proceeds in compliance with state and federal law (e.g., state water law, the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
, and interstate compacts).
Overview
Four species of fish native to the Colorado River basin are in danger of becoming extinctExtinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
: the Colorado pikeminnow
Colorado pikeminnow
The Colorado pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius is the largest cyprinid fish of North America and one of the largest in the world, with reports of individuals up to 6 ft long and weighing over 100 pounds...
, the razorback sucker
Razorback sucker
The razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus, is an endangered fresh water sucker of rivers in the Colorado River drainage of western North America.-Description:...
, the bonytail
Bonytail chub
The bonytail chub or bonytail, Gila elegans, is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah in the southwestern United States...
, and the humpback chub
Humpback chub
The humpback chub Gila cypha, is a federally protected fish that lived originally in fast waters of the Colorado River system in the United States. This species takes its name from the prominent hump between the head and dorsal fin, which is thought to direct the flow of water over the body and...
. The goal of the program is to stem further reductions in numbers of these species and, eventually, to create self-sustaining populations, while water development proceeds in compliance with state and federal law.
History
The program was established in 1988 under a Cooperative Agreement signed by the Secretary of the InteriorUnited States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
, the Governors of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration. In December 2001, those same officials signed an extension of the Agreement that extended the program through September 30, 2013. Recovery Program partners include: the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, the Colorado Water Congress, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, the State of Colorado, the State of Utah, the State of Wyoming, the Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Utah Water Users Association, the Western Area Power Administration, the Western Resource Advocates, and the Wyoming Water Association. As originally established, the program consists of five elements:
- provision of instream flows;
- habitat development and maintenance;
- native fish stocking;
- management of nonnative species and sportfishing; and
- research, monitoring, and data management.
Impact
According to a 2004 policy statement:
[N]onnative fishes of immediate primary concern and currently explicitly targeted for management are northern pikeNorthern PikeThe northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
(Esox lucius), smallmouth bassSmallmouth bassThe smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
(Micropterus dolomieu), and channel catfishChannel catfishChannel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
(Ictalurus punctatus). These nonnative fish species pose significant threats to the endangered fishes because of their high or increasing abundance and range expansion, their habitat and resource requirements overlap with those of the endangered fish species, and they are known fish predators.
State and federal agencies have also entered into agreements about restricting the stocking of gamefish
Game fish
Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...
that might possibly escape into the river;
The Recovery Program believes it will be necessary to remove substantial numbers of the more abundant target nonnative fish species from certain river reaches, and, through research and monitoring, demonstrate sustained reductions in nonnative fish abundance and resulting positive native fish responses at the population level. As deemed appropriate and practical, efforts will be made to relocate nonnative sportfish removed from rivers to local ponds or reservoirs publicly accessible to anglers. Relocation of sportfish will be in compliance with State laws and regulations, in coordination with State fish and wildlife agencies, and in accordance with the 1996 Procedures for Stocking Nonnative Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The number or biomass of sportfish relocated to any one body of water in a given year will be determined by State fish and wildlife agencies.
Reports indicate that native species are still rare in many of the areas under study. For example, a 2006 report on 83 habitat areas in the Yampa River
Yampa River
The Yampa River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately 250 mi long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. It's located in the Southwestern United States...
, which sampled 14,140 fish, reported only 1.6% of that total (221 fish) were native. It also noted that 86% of these native fishes were taken in isolated pools where few or no smallmouth bass occurred; only 32 native fish were captured in the mainstem, where nonnative predatory species occur, considered an indication of the negative impact of non-native fish. A 2006 report on the middle Green River, following removal of large predatory nonnatives (pike and bass), suggested a small recent (2005–2006) increase in small nonnative cyprinids, but no increases in native species.
Reports like those about the lack of recovery of native species in the Yampa and Green Rivers have fueled public opposition to the sportfish-removal element of the program. In 2006, Colorado Wildlife Commissioner Rick Enstrom, appointed as the Commission's representative of the state's sportsmen, and an outspoken critic of the sportfish removal aspects of the recovery program, stated:
Colorado leads the nation in T & E [threatened and endangered]recovery success stories, and most have been accomplished through habitat manipulation or stocking, not the elimination of top tier predators.
Opponents of sportfish removal blame the decline of native fish on habitat loss through dam construction and irrigation diversions in the river basin, and claim that nonnative introduced sportfish serve largely as a scapegoat.