If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don't look at where you stand on slavery today. Look at where you stand on animal rights. Paul Watson.
The following is a document archive for the native fish of the Colorado River, which have the highest rate of jeopardy toward extinction in the nation. Read article here.
Historically, the native fish fauna of the Colorado River Basin was dominated by the minnow (cyprinids) and sucker (catostomids) families. Of the 34 known native species to the Colorado River basin, 74% are found nowhere else in the world, or endemic.
Threats to these species include streamflow regulation and habitat modification, altered food web, predation by nonnative fish species, parasitism, hybridization with other native fish species, and pesticides, toxins and pollutants. These changes to the river environment have occurred so quickly that the species have been unable to a adapt, so pro-active human intervention is the only hope they have. Since the river is truncated by 83 dams in the upper basin and 10 dams in the lower basin, this loss of genetic diversity will also impede their recovery.
2018 - SUMMARY OF CURRENT STATUS OF ENDANGERED FISH
RESOURCES
###
MAP OF COLORADO RIVER BASIN
THE RECOVERY PROGRAMS
Official Websites of USFWS Programs
BIOLOGICAL OPINIONS
UPPER COLORADO RIVER & ITS TRIBUTARIES
Upper Colorado River Main Stem
Gunnison River (Aspinal Unit); tributary of Colorado River; Colorado.
Dolores River; McPhee Dam; tributary of Colorado River; Colorado and Utah.
GREEN RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES
Flaming Gorge Dam; Green River; Wyoming and Utah
Yampa River; tributary of Green River; Colorado and Utah.
Duchesne River; tributary of Green River; Utah.
SAN JUAN RIVER
Navajo Dam; above Lake Powell; Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
MAIN STEM COLORADO RIVER
BELOW GLEN CANYON DAM
Glen Canyon Dam; Colorado River; Utah and Arizona
Hoover Dam; Colorado River; Nevada and Arizona
Lower Colorado River (below Hoover & Davis dam complex)
BELOW HOOVER DAM AND DAVIS DAM
Arizona and Californis
Gila River and Salt River; New Mexico and Arizona
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS REPORTS
FLOW RECOMMENDATIONS
Green River (Flaming Gorge Dam to confluence with Colorado River
Yampa River (major tributary of Green River)
White River (major tributary of Gree River below Yampa River)
Duchene River (major tributary below White River
Price River (major tributary below White River
San Rafael River (last major tributary and below Price River)
COLORADO RIVER (above Lake Powell)
Gunnison River (major tributary of the Upper Colorado River)
San Juan River (terminates into Lake Powell)
FIVE YEAR REVIEWS
RECOVERY GOALS
DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITATS
- Federal Register
- Overview by Maddux et al. 1993.
- Green River from Gates of Lodore (Dinosaur National Monument) to the Colorado River confluence, Colorado and Utah.
- Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado.
- White River from Rio Blanco Lake Dam to the Green River confluence, Colorado and Utah.
- Duchesne River from river mile 2.5 to Green River Confluence, Utah.
- Colorado River from Colorado River Bridge (I-70, exit 90 in Rifle) to North Wash (Lake Powell), Colorado and Utah.
- Gunnison River from the confluence of the Uncompahgre River to the Colorado River confluence, Colorado.
- San Juan River from State Route 371 Bridge (Farmington) to Neskahai Canyon (Lake Powell), New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.
- Colorado River from confluence of Paria River to Imperial Dam, Arizona, Nevada and California.
- Little Colorado River from river mile 8 to Colorado River confluence.
- Gila River from New Mexico border to Coolidge Dam, Arizona.
- Salt River from Highway 60 Bridge to Roosevelt Diversion Dam.
- Verde River from boundary of Prescott National Forest to Horseshoe Dam.
Note: Includes 100-year river floodplain and full pool elevation of reservoirs. Lake Powell is not critical habitat except for the uppermost arms of San Juan and Colorado rivers. Total river mileage is 1,980.
ACADEMIC RECOVERY PLANS
Lower Colorado River
Gila River Basin
LISTING IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER
COLORADO RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES
Colorado River Mainstem
Upper Colorado River
Gunnison River
Dolores River
Green River
Yampa River
Canyonlands (Southeast Utah Group)
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell)
San Juan River
Grand Canyon
Lower Colorado River
Multiple Species Conservation Program
Salton Sea
Gulf of California, Delta and Limitrophe
GRAPHICS
INVENTORY
PHOTOS
- Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius) (photo)
- humpback chub (Gila cypha) (photo) (close-up not public domain)
- bonytail chub (Gila elegans) (photo)
- razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) (photo)
Photos for detailed identification
PRESS
UPPER COLORADO RIVER RECOVERY & IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM (RIP)
SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN RECOVERY & IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM
FISH SPECIES
Razorback Sucker
OTHER
A CHRONOLOGY OF PUBLIC COMMENTS (under construction)
Additional reading
All content © 2025 On The Colorado