EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In November 1993, the Colorado Wildlife Commission included Rio Grande sucker (Catostomus plebeius) on the state list of endangered wildlife. The Commission directed the Division of Wildlife to identify actions needed to ensure the long term survival of this fish in Colorado. This recovery plan is an outline of the work necessary to achieve this vision. It suggests cooperative efforts by state and federal agencies, water users, and other organizations and individuals to preserve Rio Grande sucker populations in Colorado. There are three major recovery plan elements:

Reestablish populations of Rio Grande sucker to ensure their long term survival.

Protect key streams and watersheds through management practices that provide optimum sucker habitat. This includes remedial actions to restore the biological, physical and chemical components.

Coordinate management of this fish and its habitat by collaborating with other agencies, organizations and individuals.

GOAL

To ensure the long term survival of Rio Grande sucker as part of the wildlife community in waters of the San Luis Valley. The conceptual idea is to protect the genetic purity and preserve the genetic variability of remaining stocks this fish.

OBJECTIVE

Create at least three stable metapopulations of Rio Grande sucker: one for each of the river basins of the San Luis Valley that include the Close Basin, Rio Grande and Conejos drainages. Ancillary to this work it would be desirable to also manage a number of refugia that include populations in isolated streams and perhaps other waters that must be maintained by intensive management. A key feature of the early stages of the recovery effort will be research describing life history and population and community ecology.

ACTIONS

Inventory of habitat and populations - a database of potential waters and populations, population sampling and monitoring.
Reestablish populations - identify potential waters, make transplants, research techniques and criteria.
Habitat improvement and restoration - research and manage streams in selected watersheds to create optimum sucker habitat.
Protect of habitat and populations - exclude nonnative fishes, set fishing regulations, improve land management practices.
Public information - build consent for conservation plan elements.

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(Dean Hendrickson)				General information: (E. Phil Pister)

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This page last modified: 09 December 2003