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Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife Department
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Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program To help protect the habitat
for the federally listed endangered fish species th On the Uintah and
3 Species of Utah Conservation Program Three declining fish species that are native to the Upper Green River Drainage and occupy the Uintah and Ouray Reservation are Flannelmouth Sucker, Bluehead Sucker, and Roundtail Chub. The State of Utah has designated these fish as Species of Special Concern in the State of Utah. The Ute Tribe F&WD has and will continue to coordinate monitoring and conservation projects in conjunction with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) to manage these vulnerable fish species.
The Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife Department, participates with the UDWR in Monitoring and Population Assessments on the Upper Duchesne River and it's associated tributaries. The F&WD will continue involvement in the effort to conserve the "Three Fish Species of Utah".
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Project The UIT F&WD has developed a Colorado River Cutthroat Trout
(CRCT) conservation project for the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. CRCT are endemic to the upper
Green River watershed, and are the only cutthroat trout species native to the
Uintah and Ouray reservation. The F&WD has identified six candidate
sites for CRCT rehabilitation. Preliminary habitat and population
assessments have been conducted at each location to identify feasible locations
for implementing the project. Two sites have been selected for
active management, and in field year 2006 prescriptions and habitat enhancement
will begin.
In support of this project the F&WD is developing a hatchery project with the Utah Reclamation, Mitigation, and Conservation Commission (URMCC). A percentage of the hatchery production will be dedicated to raising tribal Colorado River Cutthroat Trout for tribal fisheries.
Education and Outreach The Ute Tribe F&WD has obtained an endangered species permit to exhibit the endangered fish, Colorado Pikeminnow and Razorback Sucker. These fish will be housed at the tribal F&WD offices, and used in conjunction with an interpretive program that will be developed for the tribal high school. Uintah River High School biology students will help in raising these fish to stocking size; at which point, students will help to release the fish into their native habitat. This activity will be accompanied by learning workshops which will educate the students on the importance of the endangered fish, biological diversity, and ecosystem management. In addition, similar interpretive programs will also be developed for the students on Colorado River Cutthroat Trout, and the tribal hatchery that is in development to support the CRCT project. This educational outreach will be a continually developing program for native fish species that will be supported by the evolution of all the conservation projects of the Ute Tribe, Fish and Wildlife Department.
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Copyright©2007 Ute Tribe F&WD |
at occur on the Uintah and
Ouray Reservation, the Ute Tribe Fisheries Department has coordinated
conservation projects with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The primary project
is non-native fish removal of the Duchesne River.
Fish species that have been introduced into the upper Colorado River watershed
have contributed, through predation and competition, to the decline of native
fish populations. By removing and/or relocating non-native species,
habitat for the endangered species on the Uintah and Ouray may be conserved, and
may ensure successful spawning, rearing, and persistence of these species.
Ouray reservation, two endangered
species occur. Populations of Colorado Pikeminnow, and Razorback Sucker
have been observed in the Green, White, and Duchesne Rivers. The Ute
Tribe F&WD will continue to contribute to the recovery of these species, and is
scheduled for recovery projects in the field year 2006. 
