From Deseret News archives:
Upper Colorado and San Juan fish recovery programs lauded
The two programs were selected from a field of 700 nominees.
Biologists and outreach personnel with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources are among those involved in the programs.
The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery has become a template for other such projects across the country that involve people and groups with different, and sometimes conflicting, interests.
The program's goal is to recover endangered fish in the Green and Upper Colorado river drainages. The big challenges are how to apply science and recover the fish without seriously affecting the interests of people in the drainages.
Since the Green and Colorado rivers run through several states, and water use impacts a long list of interests including communities, government agencies and private and commercial interests recovery efforts needed to involve a broad base of constituents.
Sampling fish in Utah was one of the first projects the UDWR and its partners got involved in. Sampling helps determine population numbers, the locations where the fish are, their seasonal movements and other base-level information.
Projects then began to focus on specific species and the habitats they needed. The information gathered has helped determine which river flow patterns will help the fish the most and when water needs to be released from Flaming Gorge dam to supply those flows.
More recent studies are looking at the flood plains near the rivers.
"For example, the levee removal project looked at breaching old man-made levees around key flood plain locations to try and provide larval razorback sucker with important rearing pond-like habitat," said Trina Hedrick, native aquatics project leader in the Northeastern Region.
"The construction of Flaming Gorge dam altered flows to a point that flood plains were often disconnected from the river, even during high flows. Breaching the levees allowed river flows to expand back into traditional flood plain habitat. That made this habitat available again to razorback suckers.
"Since the breaching of the levees, we've been doing research into what flows are necessary to maximize spawning efforts.
Comments
- Tigers vs. Miners by the numbers 2:32 a.m.
- Springville vs. Dixie by the numbers 2:25 a.m.
- Wasatch vs. Juan Diego numbers 2:22 a.m.
- Mustangs vs. Tbirds by the numbers 2:02 a.m.
- Nuggets win after clock review 1:41 a.m.
- Robbery ends poorly for one suspect 1:20 a.m.
- Wednesday on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Integration is possible on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Herbert talks land issues in D.C. 12:59 a.m.
- Developer looking to buy RSL share 12:58 a.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
265 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
152 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Glad that he's finally going to be scouting how to beat TCU. Seems to...
Too anyone who whines about people who EARN high salaries; when was the last...
Don't know bout all that "Texas" stuff, but I'm here to tell you people, that...
Gorbachev was a brilliant leader and single most important individual in...
It buys votes from every irresponsible, lazy American in order to keep the...
My fear is the damage to the economy adding trillions of dollars to the...
I don't know, Ak can be horrible too, there are those times when he only...
Utah 24, TCU 21
You are so right about the BS of these 3 radio clowns!
And some of you out there could care less if we give up our freedoms as long...


You can be the first to comment on this story.