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Show " Its native range is the Pacific Ocean and coastal streams from Alaska south to northern Lower California; also the Athabasca River drainage of Alberta, Canada." '•'- The Water Resources Work Group of the Upper Colorado Region State - Federal Inter- Agency Group for the Pacific Southwest Inter- Agency Committee Water Resources Council1^ lists 18 different water diversions from the Colorado River Basin to the Bonneville Basin that already exist ( refer to Table I- l). Some of these diversions have been operating for more than 50 years. The report estimates the magnitude of the diversion at about 100,000 acre- feet annually. The State Division of Wildlife Resources long- time policy of stocking large numbers of non- native game fish derived from commerical and governmental sources throughout the United States has also contributed to the mixing of gene pools and to the demise of some native species. The 39th Biennial Report of the State Department of Natural Resources, July 196b- July 1970"' states that during this 2- year period about 24 million game fish eggs were obtained from other states. The report also indicates that approximately 18 million trout eggs were obtained from broodand wild fish from various parts of Utah. The fish developing from the eggs were then stocked throughout the State. The status of the non- game species has not been documented as well as it has been for game fish. Members of the sucker family exhibit a strong tendency to hybridize when the opportunity arises. One recent example occurred within the Colorado River drainage where the crosses between the bluehead sucker and the mountain sucker have been documented. The implications of hybridization of non- game species is not well understood. Interconnecting waterways also provide distribution routes for aquatic invertebrates and other organisms. Existing data regarding these organisms are sketchy but indications are that there are extremely few genetically different and isolated species. One of the reasons for this widespread distribution is that transportation of these ' small creatures is not restricted to water. The above discussion indicates that a considerable amount of gene pool mixing between Colorado River Basin fish populations and Bonneville Basin species as well as overall mixing with species introduced from other states has already occurred. Construction of fish screens in Syar Tunnel and the lethal effects of the high head turbines in the power system would be a deterrent to gene pool mixing. It appears questionable that construction of the Bonneville Unit would significantly worsen the situation. However, it is important that those waters in which unique fish populations have remained distinct be preserved intact if at all possible. Present fishery surveys suggest that the most of these locations are either above proposed Unit diversions or outside the scope of the Central Utah Project. ° » ^ 32 if future studies reveal that a real problem or threat of this nature exists then reasonable steps would be taken to ensure the preservation of the species concerned. 654 |
