Notice of Intent to Award

archived

Under the direction of P.C. Marsh and the late W.L. Minckley, Arizona State University (ASU) served since 1988 as a central repository for southwestern native fishes tagging data. Beginning in federal FY 2009 (October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009), responsibility for these data transferred from ASU to Marsh & Associates (M&A) under continued direction of P.C. Marsh. Information has been assimilated from a suite of mark‐capture and other studies of bonytail, flannelmouth sucker and its hybrids, and razorback sucker at locations along the lower Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to the U.S. and Mexico International Boundary. Data is received, processed, and archived from various entities working on Lakes Mohave, Havasu and Mead, in the lower river Cibola, Havasu, Imperial and Palo Verde divisions, and elsewhere along the lower Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), U.S. Geological Survey, and other entities have funded these database activities over the years. Ongoing native fish conservation programs on the lower Colorado River downstream of Grand Canyon are expected to result in annual stocking of thousands of PIT‐tagged bonytail and razorback sucker (MSCP 2006) and captures of tens‐to‐hundreds of individuals of these species, plus flannelmouth sucker. Stocking and tagging records have been acquired and maintained for these programs and fishes for many years, and we now have a well-developed, sophisticated, and user friendly database. This database provides researchers, managers, and decision makers with timely, up‐to‐date, and accurate information ranging from detailed reports to status or history of individual fish. As part of its overarching role in the conservation of natural resources along the lower Colorado River, the Lower Colorado River Multi‐Species Conservation Program (MSCP) will need to develop a comprehensive, integrated data management system to accommodate the diverse needs of its several programs and numerous species. The current database is well‐positioned to integrate with a MSCP system that can address the programmatic needs of the MSCP while also meeting the management and research needs of native fishes.

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