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Project Leader

Associate Manager/ Date Deputy Assistant Regional Director

Assistant Regional Director Date

Form 3-1OO (Rev. l/891 CONTENTS

Paqe

I. Narrative Section 1 A. Introduction 1 B. Station Operations 3 1. Personnel,/Personnel Actions 4 2. Ecosystem Teams, Recovery Teame & Working Groups 4 3. Genetics Hanagement, Captive Breedlng Guidelines and Cryopreservation 6 4. Fieh Culture Activities 8 a. Razorback Sucker 8 b. Warner Sucker 10 c. Colorado Squawfish t2 d. Bonytail L2 e. Woundfin 13 f. Chihuahua Chub 14 S. Pahranagat Roundtail Chub T4 h. Virgin River Roundtail Chub 15 i. cuzman Beautiful Shiner 15 j. Xagui Catfish 15 k. Desert Pupfish and Leon Springs Pupfish 20 t. GiIa Topminnow 20 m. Big Bend Garnbusia 20 3. Fieh Health 20 4. Pregerved and Frozen Specimens 20 C. Cooperation 20 D. Publicationg and Reports 2t E. Training 22 F. Formal Presentations 22 c. Vieitore 22 H. other Activitieg 24 I. Maintenance llanagement System 25 J. Future Outlook 26

II. Forms Section 31 A. Fieh and Fish Egg Distribution Summary (Form 3-102) 32 B. Hatchery Production Summary-Intensive Culture 35 (Form 3-1O3a) c. Hatchery Production Sunmary-Exteneive Culture 35 (Form 3-1O3b) D. 9lild BroodEtock Summary (Form 3-101) 38 E. Captlve Broodetock Summary (Form 3-23L1 39 f. Five Year Hatchery Production Sunmary 40 (Form 3-115) c. Fieh Health Activitiee Summary- 4t National Fish Hatcheries (Form 3-108) ll. Operatione/Uaintenance Coat Data (Form 3-110) 42 I. Relrort of Station Pereonnel (Form 3-114) 45 J. Public Relatlone (Form 3-L721 46 III. Appendix (photographs) 47 I. NARNATIVE SECTION rlfirRoDucrroN Dexter National Fish gatchery and Technology Center ie located in the Pecos River Valley of southeastern Ner.r Mexico, 2O miles southeast of RoEwelI and 2OO miles southeast of Albuquerque. Established to meet the demands for warmwater game fish throughout the Southwest, the hatchery was authorized under the White Act of 1931. The land, originally the property of the New Mexico State Game and Fish Commission, hras acguired by the Federal Government on August 31, 1931 for 53,255.90. The station lands comprise a total of 64O acres that lie wholly within Section 16, T13S, P.268, Chaves County. Con- struction of facilities started immediate)-y after purchase of the property with the assistance of the Public Works Administration and Vforks Progress Administration. Operations began in 1932. The waters of the Southwest have changed dramatically in the last hundred years. Rivers have been dammed and diverted to meet the demands of human settlement and development of this arid region. In the proceEs, scores of unigue freshwater ecosystems have been altered or destroyed and many organisms dependent upon these habitats have declined in both numbers and area of historic occurrence. The near disappearance of fishes native to these waterg is a caee in point, and their decline has occurred unintention- ally and almost unknowingly by man. After Congress passed the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and wildlife Service (service) was charged with the responeibility of identifying and protecting threatened and endangered species of wildlife. During this proceeE the Service began searching for a facility to work with iroperiled fisheg of the American southwest including northern llexico. Dexter NFH was selected as the locality to establish an imperiled fishes recovery program and this facility was thrust fully into the endangered species program in L978. With its establishment, three main goals were set to delineate responeibilitiee for this neer progr€rm: A) eetablish a REFUCE for critically imperiled f ishes of the American Southwest, B) implement STITDIES AIifD DBVELOPMENI PROiIECTS including investigation of spawning and culture techniquesrand C) where reguired/identified for recovery, PRoDucE/R"EAR SET,rICTED SPECIES FOR REIilTRODUCTIO}T PROGRAI.IS. Subseguently, the following station objectives hrere also established to further define and clarify the new mission and operational protocol of this long-time Service facility: 1) to maintain a viable, protected gene pool of varioug imperiled fishes of the Southwest, 2) where poesible, develop culture techniques for these native fisheg, 3) study their biological requirementa, 4l provide live and preeerved fieh apecinene to authorized agenciee and inetitutions concerned with these epecieer 5) provide an exchange of expertise and data on holding, culture and management of theEe species, 6) publish findings when appropriate, and 7, implement a public information program concerning the plight of, and recovery efforts for, imperiled fish species of the Southwest. During Fy 93 a geneticist position was established at Dexter arid recruitment carried out. "Dr. J. HgIt Williamson was selected 'for the poaition and reported for duty on December 2, 1993. Holt's technical expertise hae greatly complimented the technical capabilities of the other staff members, enhanced the management of fishes maintained in captivity at Dexter, in- creased the scientific output from the Etation, and improved technical grridance for all Region 2 fiehery managerent and fish production prograns. Of the 600 freshwater fish species found in the United States, 1O1 are preeently ligted ae threatened or endangered and 31 of theee occur in Region 2. Pourteen listed species were held and cultured at Dexter during ?Y 94. With the exception of only two species maintained for FWS - Region 1, i.e., Pahranagat roundtail chub and Warner sucker, all specieE are from New Mexico or a state contiguous to New Mexico bordere (Arizona, Utahr Colorado, Texas, Chihuahua and Sonora). No other place in the world hag such a concentration of rare and endangered fish at a single locality. Dexter's responsibility to provide for the long-term maintenance of these fishes ie indeed unique, ae is the development of culture and production technigues of eelected species in order to provide fish for reintroduction under recommended and approved recovery Programs. Dexter National Fish Hatchery was designated a Technology Center during FY 91, one of only six in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This was done in recognition of the pioneering fishery reeearch work that has been carried out at the facility since the inception of the endangered fishes program and the continued responsibility to further the recovery of the native endangered fishery resources of the Southwest. The number of species maintained at Dexter changes frequently, depending upon need, and deepite many ruccesses, Dexter ig not meant as the final eolution to eaving endangered fishes. The Endangered Species Act aleo calls for the protection of the habitat on which tisted species depend for their continued existence. Hindsight, it is often said, is the best teacher. We can see some of the mietakes we have made in the past and hopefully learn from them. With careful and intelligent planning, loss of our natural resourcee, including the elimination of species, need not be the price for modern progresE . Situated in the northern fringes of the Chihuahuan Desert, the elevation at Dexter ie 3r50O feet, average rainfall about L2 inches, and the growing Eeason 180-200 days. Fish culture r^rater is supplied by five shallow aguifer wellg (15O feet in depth) capable of pumping a combined 215OO gpm. The well water ie a constant 64"F, and is alkaline with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Total hardness averages 2,J-OO mg/I and total dissolved solids 3,5O0 mg/L. Dexter NFH & TC has both shallow groundwater and artesian groundwater rights ast follows: Water Source Purpose Prioritv Date(s) Anouut of Vfater Arteeian Fish Culture July, 1906 318 Acre-Ft/annuo Sba].low Fish CuLture october 8, 1931 Septenber 26, L932 1795 Acre-Ft/aaaun December 11, 1933 The artesian well (110OO feet deep) failed during Fiscal Year 91. Formerly capalrle of free-flowing 2,5O0 gpm, the whole well caved in and collapsed at the 15O foot level, sealing off al"I flow. With the cost to drill and develop a new artesian well near 51001000 or more, we hope to negotiate a trade for additional shallow water to supplement our existing 1795 Acre-Ft ehallow water right. The Regional Water Rights Office initiated the negotiations on the trade which has led to a Cooperative Agreement with the Bureau of Recla- mation. The Bureau has purchased 39O acrq-feet of shallow water to trade for our 318 acre-feet of artesian water. Some water will be }ost in the transfer and the final quantity of water to be available for hatchery fish cultural puqEoeeE is not prdeently known. However, it will be a minimum of 318 acre- feet and likely wil} be more, perhapa 35O acre-feet or higher. Buddy Jensen attended eeveral meetinge regarding this trangfer arrangement and it rtae near corpletion and approval at the end of FY 94. Fisb culture facilitiee available for use at Dexter during FY 94 consigted of four 6'x 40'racerraya, ten 3'x 10'fiberglaea circular tanksr and 46 earthen ponds. Ponds vary from 0.1 to 1.8 gurfaces acres and comPrise a total of 22 surface acre€r. A pond lining project using Hypalon, funded with FY 92 HMS funds, 9ot under way early in FY 93. Thirteen Ponds (A, B, C, 1A, 2A, 4A, 6A, 8A, 58, 68, 78, 88 and 1C) were lined to reduce water lose, pumping coEtE, and herbicide use. An additional 10 pondg (3A, 5A, 2 thru 8C, and 2OC) lined with polypropylene were completed with MMS funds during FY 94. WaEte water from aII fish culture operations collecta in two sumps that are isolated from all other surface waterE on and off the facility. Other facilitiee include a large vehicle/equipment Etorage buil-ding, a small eguipment storage building for Cushnan Ecooters, riding monerE, etc. and a metal Ehop, two metal Butler buildings erected by YACC crer^rs (used for office space, wood shop, and storage), an oil, paint and other flammable substances storage building, a visitor's center, and three cFQ's (one occupied by a Service employee, and two utilized as office space: one by the Tech Center and one by the Dexter Fishery Resource office). A total of S1.4 M in FY 93 funds were appropriated by Congreee for design, planning and construction of a new Fish Cultural Building (Wet Lab) and other modern facilities at Dexter. Deeign work for the Wet Lab wag completed late in FY 93 and went out for bids during the ftrst quarter of FY 94i it waE awarded during April L994. Construction of the }let Lab reguired demolition of the old administrative/fish culture eomplex; that occurred on July 18, L994. Therefore, Tech Center personnel were required to relocate to Quarters No. 3 to Eet up administrative headquarters. During FY 94, Congrest approp- riated additional funding for construction at Dexter. Funding appears to be sufficient to permit construction of the new administrative complexr/genetics laboratory Eo urgently needed to carry out newly assigned responsibilities. Fish culture operations are concentrated in the northwest area of the hatchery property and the remainder is co-managed with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish as a Wildlife l.tanagement Area under a Cooperative Agreement. The wildlife area, where the sumps collecting hatchery effluent are located, ie open to seaeonal hunting for pheasant and migratory birds.

STATTON OPERATIONS Planned fish cuLtural work for FY 94 incl-uded but was not limited to the following: providing a refuge for L4 speciee of imperiled fishes; meeting Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker and bonytail chub egg and fry commitments; continue work on woundfin production techniques; continue Yaqui catfigh spawning experiments; and carry out National Fishing Week Activities.

Table I lists the species of fish maintalned and,/or cultured at Dexter NFH & TC during FY 94. Specific data on individual species and other station activities is discussed in various sections below. PERSONNIL The FY 94 tech center staff consisted of eight PFT employeesr: Positioa Grade Enplovee Ceater Director .GS-13 Auddy L. Jensen Assistant Director cs-12 Roger L. Eannau Geueticist GS-13 J. Eolt llilliamson Fishery BioJ.ogist cs-11 Troy D. Wiaban Maiotenance ldaD vfc-o8 Pbillipe Sosa Maintenance Man wc-o7 JaneE iI . Lay Biological techniciau es-o5 Curtis B. Knoll office Asgistant GS-O6 A. Sbaron @ats PERSONNEL ACTTONS A Geneticist position was advertised government-hride on the 'green sheet" and via OPl.l. AdditionalIy, numerous advocacy groups and researcherg were contacted regarding potential candidates for the position. Dr. J. Holt Williamgon wa€r selected for the position effective September 18, 1993. However, Dr. 9lilliErmsron remained on a "detail assignment" with FwS - Region 5 through November, 1993. He reported for duty at Dexter on December 2, 1993. Longtime hatchery employee Troy llinham, who had worked at Dexter since 7970, retired effective 5 /3/94,

ECOSYSTEI.I TEAl.lS, RECOVERY TEAl,lS & WORXING GROIIPS Dexter NFH & lC was aseigned to the Upper/Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem Team which incLudes the Mimbres River of South Central New Mexico, a tributary to the closed Lago del Guzman in NW Chihuahua. Dexter participated in the organization of the Upper/MiddJ-e Rio Grande ecoteam. The team developed an ecosystem management plan consisting of eight Etrategies that identified high priority activities. Dexter staff identified fisherles-related action items within the plan. The plan was submitted to the Ecosystem Facilitation Team in the Regional Office for review. Strategy #7 was initiation of data acquisition and synthesis necessary to monitor status and trends of natural resources. Dexter identified three action items: 1. Develop a data base identifying and characterizing fish resources in the Middle and Upper Rio Grande basin. 2. Genetically inventory, identify, and characterize the population of endangered GiIa trout, oncorhvnchus qilae, in the Mimbres river basin of New Mexico, i.e., McKnight Creek. 3. Genetically inventory, identify, and characterize threatened and endangered fishes of the Guzman River basin, Chihuahua, Mexico, and New Mexieo, UsA. strategy #8 was promotion of aquatic biodiversity. Dexter identified four action items: 1. Develop and implement fisheries management plan for endangered Gila trout in the Mimbres River basin of New Mexico. 2. Develop and implement fisheries management plan for endangered Chihuahua chub, Gila niorescens, in the Mirnbres River basin of New Mexico. 3. Develop and implement fisheries management plan for threatened and endangered fishes of the Guzman basin of Chihuahua, Mexico and New Mexico, USA. 4. Develop and implement fisheries management plan for recreational figherieg in the Middle and Upper Rio Grande baein. Dexter NFHTC is also operationally associated with fishery resources in the following ecosystems: Upper Colorado River Basin Lower Colorado River Basin San Juan River Basin Pecos River Basin Gila, SaIt, Verde River Basins Hor^rever, we do not have the financial resourceE with which to properly participate and interact with these ecosystem teamg. Hopefully we can develop a communication process which wilI lead to adeguate interaction with the other "ectoteams' in order to addrese the concernE this facility hae with imperiled fiEhes both throughout and beyond the Region. Dexter supports recovery, management, and research and development activities in these ecosyEtems through provision of fiEh for stocking or studies, facilities for genetic refugia and experiments, and technical oversight and advice. In addition to the Ecosystem TeamE, Dexter personnel also coordinate with and serve as consultants to several Recovery TearnE and Fish 9lorking Groupa. Teams/Groups and species are listed below:

Desert Fishes Recovery Team * Gila topminnow * Desert pupfish * Loach minnow * Spike dace * Sonora chub * Beautiful shiner * Yagui topminnow * Yagui chub * Yaqui catfish Rio Grande FisheE Recovery Team * Leon Springs pupfieh * Comanche SpringE pupfish * Pecos pupfish " Big Bend gambusia * Pecos garnbusia * Bluntnose shiner Colorado River Fishes Recovery Team * Colorado sguawfish * Razorback sucker * Bonytail * Humpback chub Apache Trout Recovery Team * Apache trout Gila Trout Recovery Team * GiIa trout * chihuahua chub

Virgin River Fishes Recovery Tean * Virgin River chub * Woundfin warner*Su'n";":::l'33"[::"n'

Upper Klamath Basin Sucker Working Group * Shortnose sucker * Lost River sucker * Small scal-e sucker

Genetics Manaqemeut, Captive Breediuo Guideliues and Crvopreservatiou The documentr " the Upper Colorado River Basin"; written by Dr. williamson while he worked in the upper basin, was circulated for review in both the upper and lower Colorado River basins. Initiated development of general genetic management guidelines for endangered fishes in Region 2. These guidelines are similar to those developed in Region 5 and will be used to develop and implement genetics management plans for T&E fishes at Dexter and at other facilities in Region 2 (see below). a. Develop genetic Dauagement aud broodstock developnent plaus ,t cila trout, oncorhynchus giTae - Initiated development of captive breeding plans for GiIa trout. * Apacbe trout, o. apache - Initiated development of captive breeding plans for Apache trout. * Razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus Made recommendations for breeding strategies to AZFRO in Parket, AZ for Lake llohave razorback sucker spawning and rearing during FY 1994. Produced young from Dexter broodstock according to genetic management guidelines for reintroduction into Arizona waters. * Bonytail, GiIa efegans - To create an alternate artificial genetic refuge and production broodstock for bonytail in the uPper Colorado River basin, personnel at Dexter NFHTC created 28 unigue family lots from paired matings of 1981 YC Fr bonytails (Lake Mohave origin). Breeding was according to genetics management guidelines - 28 different maleE and 28 different females hrere used, all with unique PfT-tag identification numbere. Most of the egg lote rdere lost shortly after arrival at the Valley City National Fish Hatchery in Valley City, North Dakota. The effort wiII be repeated in FY 1995. * colorado squawfisb - Received additional PlT-tagged F, 1990 Yc csF from the state of Colorado to supplement Dexter's CSF production broodstock and assist with maintenance of future upper bas!n broodfieh. b. Conduct cryopreservation activities CryopreEervation is an important tool in supporting genetic conservation programs for threatened and endangered fishes. In the short term, cryopreservation prevents immediate extinction and provides flexibility to captive breeding programs. cryopreservation is intrrcrtant in the long term because it preserves management opportunities and allows permanent Etorage of genetic material and preservation of gametes, particularly sperm. Cryopreservation planning, implementation, and evaluation formed a significant and growing portion of biotechnology research and development prograrn at Dexter NFHTC in FY L994. Iheee efforte were deeigned and condilcted not only to support-management activities at Dexter NFHTC but aleo to support endangered fish recovery and management projects at other state and federal facilities and field offices. In cooPeration with pereonnel in the Regional office, Arizona Fisheries Resource Office, federal hatcheries in New Mexico and Arizona, and Louisiana State University (LSU), the Dexter staff assisted in developing and implementing field collection technigues and short tern storage of sperm and eggs of razorback Eucker and bonytail chub. Efforte were initiated for short term atorage and cryopreaervation of Colorado sguawfish sperm. Ueing methods and protocole developed at Dexter, sperm from approximately 50 Lake l{ohave razorback sucker was collected this past spring during the annual razorback sucker sarnpling effort and transported and stored at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. The Ste$rardship program for big river fishes in the lower Colorado River baein supported the cryopreeervation effort at Dexter with SIOrOOO. These monies were used to support technology development at Dexter NFH & TC and at LSU for the four big river endangered fishes and to develop the protocols used at Lake Mohave. Support from the Regional and Washington offices resulted j.n another S25rOOO in end of year money for purchase of equipment and supplies.

During FY 1994 a technical and programmatic f oundation riras built to suPport a cryopreservation program for the Region at Dexter. In the future, Dexter staff, working with etaff from other projects, will refine cryopreaervation protocols for razorback sucker, bonytail chub, and Colorado equawfieh. In addition they will expand the sperm repository for razorback Eucker, GiIa trout, and Apache trout. Dexter staff will lead expansion of repository capacity of the Service in Region 2 for maintaining 6perm of other endangered fish Epecies. But first, protocole and methods will have to be developed for these species -humpback chub, Yaqui catfish, woundfin, etc. The new facilities under construction at Dexter will provide a physical presence and support staff for this exciting ne$r conservation tool. c. Conduct genetic surveys and monitoring activities Apache trout - Dexter's geneticist, as technical advisor to the Apache trout Recovery Team, wrote the proposal and contract for genetic analyses required in the recovery plan. The 525,OOO contract to Genetic Analyeee of Smithville, Texas calls for allozyrme analyses of tissues sampLed from trout in high priority streans to identify and characterize locaI populations and to determine their relative genetic status. The 525rO00 $ras provided by Stewardship funds for recovery and management of southwestern trout. Gila trout - Dexter's geneticist, as technical advisor to the Apache trout Recovery Team, wrote the proposal and contract for genetic analyses reguired in the recovery plan. The SlOrO0O contract to Genetic Analyses of Smithville, Texas calls for allozyme analyses of tlssues sampled from several salmonid species. cenetic analyses is reguired to identify genetic markers to distinguish Ermong species and identify introgression and hybridization. Thie preliminary phase of analyses will precede identification of samples from a number of high priority streams in FY 1995. Results from the FY 1995 study will form the basis of recovery and management of the species, including captive propagation and reintroduction. S5TOOO was from the Stewardship funding for Eouthwestern salmonids. The remaining S5,OO0 came from AZFRO, the Mescalero NFH, and the Regional Office. Razorback sucker - Dexter's geneticist remains involved with the basin- wide genetic survey-'of- wild and captive razorback sucker initiated in the uPPer Colorado River basin in FY 1989. The study was scheduled for completion in FY 1994 and drafts of final reports from contractors are in review. Both allozyme and mitochondrial DNA analyses were used. Results, conclusions, and recommendations will affect management of the species in the lower basin, particularly in Lake Mohave and at the Dexter NFHTC. @lorado sguawfisb - Dexter's geneticigt remains involved with the baEin- wide genetic survey of Colorado Equawfish initiated in the upper Colorado River basin in FY 1990. Both allozyme and nuclear DNA analyses r.tere used. Results, conclusions, and reconmendations will affect management of the species in the lower basin, particularly development and maintenance of artificial genetic refuge populations and production broodstock at the Dexter NFHTC. yaqui catfisb and otber Rio Yaqrri, Rio Bavispe, and Rio Guznan fi.sb fauna - i comprehensive NAFTA proposal to conduct a genetic survey in the Rio Bavispe and Rio cuzman basins of Sonora and Chihuahua was presented for funding in FY 1994.

FTSE CULTT'RT ACTIVTTIES Planned fish cultural work for Fy 94 included but was not limited to the following: providing a refuge for 14 species of imperiled fighes; meeting Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker and bonytail chub egg and fry commitmentsi continue work on woundfin production technigues; continue Yaqui catfieh spawning experimentsi and carry out National Fiehing 9ileek Activitieg. Table 1 lists the species of fish maintained and/or cultured at Dexter NFH & TC during FY 94. Specific data on individual specieg and other etation activities is discussed in varioug sections below. Razorback Sucker - Seventeen female F1 domestic razorback sucker $tere aPawned on ffarch 2, 1994 utilizing chorionic aonadotropin (CG) to induce egg ovuJ.a- tion, and 34 males utiliied to fertilize hand stripped e994. A total of 11483156o eggs were taken for a mean egg take of 87'268 per female. Each females eggE were split into two individual lots which were in turn fertilizeAwith milt from at leaEt two different males. Eggs Ltere incubated in Heath trays and McDonald hatching jars. After 24 hours' 58r535 e99s r^tere removed from the Heath trays and ehipped to meet egg commitments. Swimup fry resulting from the remaining 1,415,O25 eggs totaled J-78'545, a 12.5t survival from egg to swimup, somewhat lower than FY 93 resu1tE. An additional five femalei and 10 males $rere spahrned on April 8, 1994. A total of 424,958 eggs were taken for an average of 84,992 per female. Swimup fry totaled 74,908, a I7 -5 t survival from green egg to swimup fry- Razorback eucker e99a, fty, fingerlinge and adults were distributed a€t follows during FY 94: csu Larval Fish Lab, F"t. Collins 7 r6L5 eggs NFCRC, Yankton' SD 3O,46O eggs IIFCRC, Colrubia, MO 30,45O eggs Page Springs SFE, AZ 57,OOO fry Colorado State University, Ft. Collias 3rOOO fry University of Arkansas F&W @oP. Unit L24,9O8 frZ Dexter lfFE & TC Sump Pond 62 1545 fra Lake Bavasu, AZ 6,OOO fiagerlings Cibola NWR, CA 14,OO5 fingerlings SaIt River, Az L,289 adults

The 1,289 adultg gtocked in the Salt River averaged over a Pound each and totaled t,624 pounds. lable 1. Liet aud status of species beld at Dexter NFE in ff 94.

species (Acronyn) Scientific lrare Federal statusr

Fanily Catostomidae

Razorback sucker (RBs) Xyraucben texapus E

Warller sucker (WAS) Catoatonus waraerensis E

Faoily Cyprinidae

Colorado sguawfisb (CSF) Ptvcbocbeilus lucius E

Boaytail chub (BTc) Gila elecrang E Cbihuabua chub (CCE) Gil.a niqrescens T Pabrauagat rouudtail cbub (PRc) Gila robusta iordaui E

Virgiu River roundtail chub (VRC) cila robueta seminuda E

Wo"ndfin (ViDF) Plaqopterus arqentissimus E cuznan beautiful sbiaer (cBs) Notropis f. fortosus T

Family Ictaluridae Yaqui catfish (YCF) fctalurus pricei T

FauiJ.y Cyprioodontidae

Leoa Springs pupfish (LsP) Cvprinodon boviaus E

Degert pupfish (DEP) Cvprinodon nacularius E

Famil.y Poecil'iidae

Gila topnin.ow (Cll,t) Poeciliopsis o. occidentalis E

Big Bend gambusia (BBc) Gambusia qaiqei E

rE= Endangered lbreatened We had no problem meeting commitments to cooperators during the fiscal year. Hohrever, due to pond lining construction and other commitments, hre were unable to rear a 1994 year class of razorback sucker for grow out for 1995; we will be back on track during spring 1995. At a 1991 combined meeting of Service and AGFD administrators and biologists, it was determined '-hat the stocking protocol for all razorback sucker and Col-orado squawfieh would be changed to larger fish and fewer numbers for all management areas. Numbers had to be eacriflced in order to accommodate the greater biomase of fish being held over for additional grow-out. It was decided to go for an average minimum ELze for both species: 15" for razorbackE and 8" for squawfish. The equawfish minirnum length hae since been revised ulnard to 10 Eo L2 inches. It ie anticipated that it will take 30 monthg to produce 15' razorbacks and 4O+ months to produce 10 to L2" sguawfish. Once minimum, mean sizes are attained, it is hoped that between 3rOOO and 5rO0O razorbacks and 1OrO00 to 12r0O0 squawfish can be stocked annually in Arizona waters in efforts to recover these unique native fishes. We are presently maintaining 2O9 adult, domestic, lower basin razorback broodfish derived from Lake Mohave stock. we are also holdi,ng 287 wild y-o-y collected from Lake Mchave and maintained by Chuck Hinckley at Lake Havasu until fall. We anticipate i-ncorporating aCditional fish from Lake llohave during the next two years and eventually establishing a complete new broodetock originating from Lake Mohave wild adults.

Waraer Sucker - During the spring of 1991, FHS - Region t had reguested that Dexter NFH & TC pereonnel pick up and maintain the Warner Eucker for them. Following much dlecussion and planning, thj-E was agreed to. The Warner guckere were collected by Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land llanagement and Service pereonnel over a period of geveral trcnths (April - July, 1991), and held in an ieolated epring run habitat until we picked them up during October I99L. we attempted to spawn vfarner suckere during the week of March 15, 1993 but r.rere unaucceaaful in obtaining any ova from females even though males were ripe and flowing milt. Failure to obtain any ova at all was eurprising. HaereveE, fish were not in the best condition due to the impacts of continuoue Lernaea infeetation. Additionally, our timing could have been off a little although experience with other catoetomide, including others from the general area, L.e., northern California and aouthern oregon, Ied us to make the epawning attemptB at the time they were carried out. In retrosPect, I believe we tri-ed the fieh a little t'oo early and the femaleg had not reached conrplete maturation. The problem of Lernaea on the warner suckers persisted into euruner 1993 but we perlodically removed the fish from their grcnd and 'hand-picked' the anchor rrorms off them. We entered fall 1993 with a total of 27 Warner sucker that finally agpeared to be free of anchor vrorms. lfe checked the fish during eatLy epring L994 (2O fish were now aurviving) r and with the exception of one fLeh, they were in the beet health we had ever geen them and our "Lrorm pick- ing" vigilance had apparently paid off. On May t3, L994, the Warner guckers were brought to the holding house for observation and assessment of poseible apawning. of the 20 fieh, 15 were ferl,aLea and flve were maleg. seven females did not appear to be in epawning condltion and t.rere returned to the pond. The eight females were injected wtth Chorlonlc conadotropin at 150 I.U.'s per pound of body weight and the flve malee at 3OO l.V.' a per pound of body reight. InJection of the femalee hras repeated at the a:rme dosage on May 14th and 15th for a total of three conrecutive daily lnJectionei malee were injected only once.

10 On l,tay 16th the spawning attempt was made; results initially appeared to be very good. AII seven females gave eggE although four females gave most of them; a total of 1621282 eggs were taken. The eggs 'Iooked" good and we r^rere confident of getting viable embryos, but we got none. Apparently the eggs were just past prime maturation and had entered a reabsorption process so no fertilization occurred. The milt was viable! We urere highly disappointed with the results but did add to our data base on the epecies combined with laet yearE efforts. The 13 fieh used in the spawning triale were returned to the pond in good condition. During late September, t994, the Warner Eucker pond wae drained to move the fish for the winter and no fieh nor fiEh remaine were preaent in the pond. The fish were in good condition going into the pond and r.rere observed in the pond for a month or more prior to the water visibility declining over time. There were no obgerved mortalitieg in thie pond throughout the surnmer al- though the pond was fed and checked on a daily basie. We have no logical explanation for the demise of the 20 glarner suckers. Fish health was good; Lernaea had been eradicated and no other problems r.rere ever observed with the species since its arrival to Dexter in fall 1991. Bird predation ie not a factor with the deep ponds, water visibility, sLze of fish, and their benthic type behavior. We can only think of one thing that may be a factor. The fieh were in a lined pond and we had an extremely hot summer with resultant high water temperatures that approached 90 degrees F. PossibJ.y the suckers were unable to withstand these higher temperatures and succumbed aE a result or the temperatures stressed them so much that other eecondary factors set in and they died. However, aE earlier noted, no gtressed or dead fish were ever seen. There r"rere not even any large bones, such aE operculums, present when we drained the pond. Thus, rre have no an€rr^rers to this unresolved question. Since hre rdere to continue spawning methodology with the Warner sucker we will diecuss FY 95 options with Region I personnel to determine a course of action for next spring. Colorado Squawfish Four F1 domestic, 1974 year class, female Colorado squawfieh were spawned on June 1, L994 utilizing carp pituitary to induce egg ovulation; all spawned successfully. The spawning was carried out to meet egg commitmentE to cooperators. Due to scheduled demolition of the hatchery building and resultant removal of equipment, the sguawfish were spawned in the outdoor raceways this year. A total of 327,233 eggs were taken with a mean of 81,808 per female. Eight male Colorado squawfish were used for fertilization. Requested eggs r.rere shipped 24 hours post fertilization and remaining egge placed in a Bump pond. Due to congtruction schedules, no 94 year class Colorado sguawfish were reared thia year. FY 94 Colorado squawfish distribution was as follows:

NFCRC, ggtrrnhi3, ltlO 50,OOO eggs NFCRC, Yaoktoo, SD . 5O,OOO eggs CSU Larval- Fisb Lab, Ft. CoIIins lO,OOO eggs Dexter IIFE & 3C SuDp Pond 2L7,232 egge Vernal, tll CRFP L,25O fiugerlings Page SpriDgE SFE, AZ 35,625 fiagerlings

Page Springs SFE, AZ 13O gub-adults

11 we are presently maintaining L29 F1 domestic '74 year claEs and 194 Fl domestic '81 year claes Colorado squawfish brood. We are also maintaining 894 F1 domestic '91 year class future broodetock produced at Dexter from 10 wild fish obtained from the mainstem Colorado River in the vicinity of Grand Junction, Colorado. Some of these fish wiII eventually go back to the state of Colorado for their management programs. Bonvtail Cbub - Bonytail chub $rere spasrned on April 27, 1994. A total of 28 females and 28 males were used to make paired matings in a spawning matrix for production of a captive broodstock for r.ws - Region 5. A total of 112451496 eggE were taken for an average of 44,482 Per female. Region 6 experienced unexpected losses with their bonytail so an additional spawning attempt was made on May l1th. Hosrever, the fish had already began spawning in their holding pond and only one fair female could be found. She gave 131958 eggs which were fertilized with milt from one male. Swimup fty resulting from eggs incubated at Dexter totaled 254r5OO, a 3O.8t survival from egg to swimup. Egg, tty, and fingerling shipments/stockinge are presented in the table below. As in previous years, bonytail aleo spawned naturally in holding ponds and when adult fish r^rere moved in the fall, volunteer fingerling fish were harvested for distribution along with regular production fish. Once again, these fish were distributed during october and, therefore, will appear in the Fy 95 annual report; FY 93 produced fish appear under FY 94 distribution in this report.

FY 94 bonytail chub distribution was as follows:

NFCRC, Yankton, sD 3L,25O eggs I{FCRC, Coluobia, Mo 3L,25O egge CSU Larval Fisb Lab, Ft. Collins 6,25O eggs Valley City NFE, ilD 353r968 eggs

NFCRC, Yankton, SD L2,75O fry CSU Larval Fish Lab, Ft. Collins 4,250 fry University of Arkansas Coop Unit 25,OOO fry Arizona Gane aad Fish Departuent 5,75O fry Valley City NFE, ND L2.SOO fry Arizoua FRO - Parker 44,25O fry Bill Williams NhlR, AZ L7,992 fingerliugs Cibola t{WR, CA 2L,573 fingerlings Dexter participated with Region 5 facilities and staff at VaIIey City NFH, ND and Bozeman Fish Culture Technology Center, UT to develop intensive fish culture methods. A diet study was conducted at Valley City NFH evaluating the performance of young BTC on different prepared diete. we are maintaining a total of 400 domestic Fl '81 year class bony.tail chub brood and four adults collected from Lake Mohave. Additionally' approxi- mately IO'OOO 94 YC BTC were held over for grow-out for FY 95 stocking in Lake Mohave. tgouadfin - The endangered woundfin ie a Emall cyprinid firet described by Cope in J-874. Its dorsal fin rays are modified into a spine, which is presumably the source of the common nane. It is the most highly modified of 3 speciea in the tribe Plagopterini, and the only speciee in its genus. In the 18OO'g it waEr found sporadically throughout the lower Colorado River basin, but ig currently limited to a short reach of the Virgin River system' in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The epecies' decline during thig century has been attributed to decreaeed water flow, introduction of exotic epeciee

t2 (especially the red shiner, 9yg;!4.f.8 lutrensis), and other forms of habitat destruction. The woundfin was placed on the Endangered Species list in 1970 and the recovery plan for this epecies includes captive propagation. For thiE Purpoae, it wa6 firet brought to Dexter National Fish Hatchery in southeastern New Mexico in 1979. On May 7 1993, a .2O surface acre hypaLon lined pond was stocked with 98 '91 YC woundfin.' These fish were Dexter produced Fl's that were two years old. Eight spawning baskets had been placed in the pond prior to the fish being introduced. The spawning baskets srere constructed of I inch mesh hardware cloth, approximately 18" X 18' X 4" deep, containing 2,' to 3'. river bottom cobble. Woundfin spawning activity consists of a single female escorted by two t.o five males moving over the cobble and aII fish simultaneously rolling and tumbling for a few seconds. Presumably both ova and milt are released during this vigorous activity. Considerable spawning activity was observed and many fry of varying sizes, indicating multiple spawning periods, were consistently seen around the edges of the pond. When the woundfin epawning pond waa drained on August 2, 1993, 80 adulte and 4,OOO y-o'y r^tere recovered and moved to a -25 eurface acre pond for the remainder of the growing season. When it waE drained on Oct. 18, 1993 (tr.y 941, 56 adultg and 3r859 y-o-y were recovered. TheEe fish were distributed during FY 94 as follows:

Virgin River, NV 3,2O8 fingerlings ceorgia Southern University lOO fingerlings These production technigues noted above were utilized during spring/eummer 1994 to carry out woundfin production for fall 1994 distribution (FY (95), which will be reported next year. As noted above, one hundred y-o-y woundfin r^rere sent to Dr. Steven Vives of Georgia Southern University on Oct 25, 1993 for his continuing studies ag detailed in previous annual- reports. He is conducting experiments on manipu- Iating spawning and reproductive behavior through use of water temperatures and photo period. Presently we have the following numbers of woundfin on hand : 115 '91 & '92 YC adults, 323 '93 YC adults, and 559 '94 yC juveniles (= 997 fish). Chibuabua Chub - The first stocking of this species took place during late October t992. On October 28, 450 Chihuahua chub averaging about 5 to 6 inches in Iength were transported to western New Mexico where U.S. Forest Service and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish pereonnel assisted Service employees with stocking the fish in l,tcKnight Creek, tributary of the l{imbreg River. The fish were transferred from the diEtribution truck into plastic buckets which vtere then placed in panniers and packed by horse to the isolated stocking site. The stocking area was revigited by NI{DGF, USFS, and UsFwS personnel during spring, L993, and sampling revealed that the chubs not only over-wintered well but also survived a high magnitude flood event as well.

The recovery trrl3ograrn for Chihuahua chub calls for additional reintroductions so there should be several more stockings in the next few years. However, there was no spawning or stocking of Chihuahua chub during FY's 93 or 94, but FY 95 to FY 99 stockings are anticipated as recovery efforts accelerate. l{e recommend that more wild fish be added to the captive Etock to provide additional genetic diversity since the captive population originated from only ten fish in L979 (15 years ago). We are presently maintaining 149 adutt Chihuahua chub.

13 pabranaqat Roundtail Cbub - This species ie being held for Region 1 where the chub'E hiUitat in the Pahranagat Valley of southcentral Nevada is very restricted. During Fy 92 the pond being used to maintain this epeciee developed a leaking hole under the kettle. This uras not visible and was not discovered until !.re drained the pond and found very few figh. The 4-5 inch diameter hole was then discoveied when a fieh moved in it.. After digging it out we were able to recover a total of 74 fish (52 adultg and 12 YOY). On February 23 ' 1993, the fish were moved to a new pond and only 43 adults and two juveniles had survived the winter. Due to the lose of fish down the hole and additional losses during the winter, vre removed the fish on April 12 for spawning (39 adults) to build the population back up. Since numbere were low, ere attempted to uee all the fish in the spawning procesrE to maximize available genetic diversity. on April t4, about 19 iemale chubg were spawned with only 10 of them giving good takes of e99s. All 20 males were used to fertilize the egge taken. Several females that gave a emall anount of eggs were re-injected and checked again on April 15; ihey did not give additional eggs. The 1O females that ovulated successfully gavl a total of 6,350 eggs. On April 27, 2,8OO fry were atocked in a rearing pond. During October 1993, 34 adults and 8OO+ y-o-y were moved to a new pond for over-wintering. No spawning efforts were made on this species during FY 94. 9{e ended the year with 101 fish. Virqin River Roundtail Cbub - There hras no intentional epawning of t!1" specieE in FY 94. Pond spawning occurred as in Past years, but as in 1993' with leee recruitment than previouely experienced due to being maintained j-n a lined pond. However, eince random recruitment ie not needed under our refuge mJintenance purpoEes, this ie not a problem. A total of 94 adult fish were moved for overwinter holding, down from 1O9 figh a year ago. This species continues to recover in the Virgin River and may be removed from our inventory during 1995. Guzman Beautiful Shiner - We maintain this species for refugia purposes and erentual production for re-introduction into the Mimbres River basin in New Mexico. tlative to the tributarieg of the Guzman basin in Nll Chihuahua and SC New Mexico, this species has been extinct in the U.S. portion of its range for many years. The Dexter stock was collected from the Rio Piedras Verde, a tributary of the Rio Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua- yaqui Catfisb - The following etudy proposal wag established to test culture techniqueg for Yagui catfish during 1993:

IIITRODUCTION

The Yaqui catfish, Ictalurus pricei (Rutter), is native to the Rio Yagui drainag-e of Chihuanua ina son-ora, Mexico. .Draining that portion of 'the Sierra l{adre Occidental west of the Continental Divide, the Rio Yaqui, the Iargest river in Sonora (Tamayo and West, 1964), flowd south and souihweeterly to the Sea of CorEez with its northernmost headwaters in southeagtern Arizona and southwestern NeLt Uexico, USA. Rio Yagui tributaries entering the U.S. include Whitewater Draw which heads in the Mule llountains and gouthweEtern corner of the Chiricahua lr{ountaing of eoutheaEtern Arizona, and Black Draw which enters Arizona from Nerr llexico and then flows through San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge on the U.S./Mexico International Boundary. San Bernardino NWR vras eetabliehed as a refuge for the endangered

L4 fishes of the Rio Yaqui system which formerly occurred in the U.S. portion of the drainage. Fishea have been widely introduced in Mexico, but records of theee actions are largely unpublished (Hendrickson, 1983). Possible negative impacts of introduced exotic fiEheg on the native ichthyofauna of the Rio Yaqui are poorly studied but likely are slmilar to problems documented for U.S. waters by Miller (L951), Minckley and Deacon (1958, 1991), Pister (1974, 1981), and l'leffe et al (1983). Stocking/transfer records of fish distributions during the mid-twentieth century have often been difficult to track in the U.S. and almost impossible in Mexico. It ie known that channel catfish, -Ig!-aLW. punctatus, hrere widely introduced into the Rio Yaqui drainage following impoundment of the Rio Baviepe at PreEa Angoetura and the Rio Yaqui at Presa Novillo. Intermittent collections during the 1970'E and early 1980's documented the movement of channel catfish from the reEervoir localities upstream into the Rio Bavispe, Rio Yaqui, Rio AroE and other tributary riverg in the Rio Yaqui syat,em (personal communication, Dr. Dean A. Hendrickeon). There $raa a growing concern anongst both United States and Mexican scientists that the Yaqui catfish genome in the Rio Yaqui wae inninently jeopardized due to competition and hybridization with the rapidly expanding population of channel catfish. Due to these impending threats, the Yagui catfish eras federally listed a€r Threatened (49FR34494; August 31, 1984). The Fish and Witdlife Service and Arizona came and Fish Department in cooperation with varioue Mexican Federal and State agencies/inetitutions made three federally permitted (both U.S. and Mexican permits) collecting trips into Mexico to procure and return to the U.S. various members of the endangered ichthyofauna of the upper Rio Yaqui drainage. two of the trips were speci-flcally for obtaining Yagui catfish which would be used to re- establish a U.S. population of I. oricei, and also to provide pure specimens back to Mexico fot their perusal. The captured wild fish hrere to be maintained at Dexter National Fish Hatchery, nord Dexter National Fieh Hatchery and Technology Center, Dexter, New Mexico, for study, genetic teating, and eventual development of culture techniques and production. During late September and early October L987, personnel from Dexter National Fish Hatchery, San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona State University and Centro Ecologico de Sonora collaborated on a collection effort for Xaqui catfish from the Rio Aros, near Natora, in east-central Sonora. Over a one week period, 72 subadult and 257 fingerling catfieh were collected from this locality. The fish were transPorted to Dexter NFH on October 6, 1987. The sub-adultg survived the winter i-n holding ponds but the YOY fingerlings did not survive.

During early April 1.990, personnel from Dexter NFH, San Bernardino NWR, Arizona GFD, Centro Ecologico, SEDUE, and la Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, participated in a second collecting effort for Yaqui catfish from the Rio Sirupa, the primary tributary to the Rio Aros in weet-central Chihuahua, juet wegt of l{adera. A total of 19O subadult catfigh from the Rio Sirupa arrived at Dexter NFH on April 10, 1990.

CURRENT STATTTS OF CAptM yAQnr CATFISE Becauge the channel catfish had penetrated much of the Rio Yaqui system by the time the current figh collectione rrere made, the fieh captured were preaumed and hoped to be Yagui catfieh, but extensive examination r.ras required to establieh purity of individualE.

15 Between 1990 and 1-992, 1) several fish were lost due to normal attrition resulting from various causes common to captive held and handled species, 2l all live fish were studied extensively to examine and measure morphometric characteristics, and 3) several fish were Eacrificed and fin clips taken from all other figh in order to carry out a biochemical analysis of gene products by two independent researchers. Samples of various tissues and organs (barbel, fin, muscle, brain, heart, Iiver, kidney and gonads) from selected specimens were ex€rmined via starch-gel electrophoresis, a common laboratory technigue uged for etudying the eystematic relationehips of organiems. Utilizing the data acguired with the broad tieeue/organ analysis' the fin clip tissue of aLI other fish wag analyzed to complete the study. The morphometric and elect4ophoretic analyses hrere used in eombination to finalize a systematic analysis of the captive catfish and make a selection of those individuals conEidered to be pure Yaqui catfish. The analyeee revealed tbat of 2Ol- eurviving catfish, 152 erere pure Yaqui catfish, 30 were hybrid intergradee with channel catfiEh, 5 were hybrid backcroeaes, and L4 r.rere undetermined and muet be re-examined. Permit arrangementE with the l.texican government reguired that the Service return a minirnum of 10t of the pure Yaqui catfish to a designated entity in Mexico upon completion of the studies. On June 30, L992, 31 (2Ot) of the pure Yaqui citfish were dellvered to the Universidad Automona de Nuevo Leon Aguaculture Lab in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico by Dexter NFH&TC personnel- At thie writing there are at least 112 pure Yaqui catfieh being maintained at Dexter NFH&TC, approximately 4Ot of which we believe to be sexually mature. The 14 guestionable fish have not yet been reanalyzed.

PROPOSED CULTURE TECnNTQUES/I{ETSODS Spawning characteristics of the Yaqui catfish are unknown. Though undocumented, rumor€, have persisted for years that one or more epeciea of Mexican catfiehes, including the Yagui catfish, have been utilized by private fish farmers in the U.S. in attempts to enhance growth of cultured catfish through hybrid vigor. Even if true however, any llexican catfish utilized erere likely taken from populations on the eastern eide of the Continental- divide due to their accessibility to gouthern fish farmers. The Yaqui catfish is the only ictalurid native to west slope waters of northwestern Mexico and occur prirnarily in remote mountain areas far from the fish farming belt of the southern U.S. Due to the total lack of culture data on Yagui catfish' spawning efforts during 1993 were concentrated on testing various standard catfish culture techniques in an attempt to perfect methods that would work with this species. Since we were working with wild fish, we anticipated that hormone induced ovulation would be necessary. As with other species of catfish, it waE expected that water temPerature would be a critical- factor affecting spawning. Spawrring activity in channel catfish begins soon after the water temperature reaches 70 degrees q and peaks between 75 and 82 degrees F. These ternperatures are reached in mid to Iate June at Dexter NFH & TC.. Selecting sexual mature fish and protrrerly judging secondary sexual characteristics was considered to be routine but possibly problematic in a ne9'sPeciea.ThefoI1owingspawningtechnigues' and replicated in triplicate if possible: 1) Open pond spawning with no hormone injection 2) Open pond spawning with females injected with hormonee 3) Paired pen spawning in ponds with no hormone injection

15 4l Paired pen spawning in ponds with females injected with hormones 5) Paired raceeray spawning with no hormone injection 6) Paired raceway spawning with females injected with hormones. Hor-rnone induced ovuLation was tested utilizing human chorionic Aonadotropin (HCG) at 8OO IU's/Ib body weight and cornmon carp pituitary (CCP) at 2mg/Lb body weight. Injections were to be intraperitoneal (IP) with CCP and both IP and intra-muscularly (IM) with HCG. In channel catfish, females in good condition usually ovulate within 15 hours following the first or second hormone injection. If required, repeat injections (to a total of 5 injectionE on fiEh in marginal condition) are made at 4A hour intervals. In Yagui catfish, both 24 hour and 48 hour intervale were to be tested. Ideal temperature for hatching channel catfish eggs is 78 to 82 degrees F. Temperatures in this range r^rere to be tested for Yagui catfish if fertilized ova could be obtained. Eggs $rere to be incubated utilizing both jars and Heath trayE and three methods. some egg masEes hrere to be separated using the Rathbun Process. In this proceEE the glycoprotein matrix that bindg the catfish eggs together is broken down chemically using a 1.51 sodium sulfate solution. Individual eggs freed from the matrix would be incubated via both jar and Heath tray technigues. Additional)-y, we planned to test incubation of undisEolved egg masEes in heath trays. If spawning rras successful, sac fry r.rere to be held in tanks for advancement to swimup fry stage. Then, providing space was available, they would be stocked in a rearing pond at approximately 30rOOO per surface acre. RESUIJTS AIID DISCUSSIOI{ Initiation of Yagui catfish spawning trials began on July 7th, 1993. Spawning technigueE were modified slightty with the decision to not try CP unless succesE was obtained with HCG and males were to be injected as deemed neceBsary during the spawning experimente. Paired pen spawning was aet up in screened sections of 6' X 40' concrete raceways. Six spawning units vrere set up, three each !n tero raceways. A 20 gallon cream can (= spawning container) was placed in each spawning unit and a 4' X 8' sheet of 5/8 inch plln*ood placed across the raceway to provide cover. Three femalee were injected with HCc at 5OO I.U.'s [two intra-peritoneally (IP) andone intra-muscularfy (IM)), andthree at 75O I.U.'s (alsotwo IP and one IU). Both the males and females were placed in their respective spawning units sinultaneously. Fish were checked on July 9th; no eggs r.rere present and alL eix females r.rere re-injected at the original dosage. Spawning cans erere checked daily with no eggs preEent on JuIy loth, l1th or 12th. One female waa re-injected on JuIy 12th. There were stilJ, no eggs on JuJ-y 13th and five of the six males were injected with HCG at between 5OO and 8OO I.U.'s per trround of body weight, depending on appearance and condition of the fish. One female waE in poor condition and removed from the study; the male was in good condition and was released to a holding pond. The fiEh were,checked on July 15, L6, L7, 18 and 19 with no eggs present in the spawning containerg. The first part of the study was terminated on JuIy 19th. A second phaee of the paired pen Epardning etudy wag initiated on July 19th and open ;rond spawning was gtarted on July 2Oth. On the 19th, two femalee were injected with HCG at approxirnately 9OO f.U.'s 1>er pound of body weight and placed in the epawning penE. Two malee FerG! injected with Hcc at approxi.urately 1,0OO I.U-'s but held in the holding house to allow the femaleE 24 hourg alone while the hormone eras working. llal-es rrere placed into the

T7 spar.rning unitE with the females on July 2Oth. On JuIy 2L all fish were inside the spawning cans so we did not disturb them. On JuIy 22 there were no eggs and both females were re-injected at the same dosage as previously given. There were no eggs on July 23 and both females and males were re- injected. Fieh were left undisturbed for two days and checked on July 25; stilI no eggs and females were re-injected the fourth time. Spawning containers were checked on July 27, 28, and 30; no eggs. On July 2Oth we placed 57 Yaqui catfieh in a O.3 surface acre epawning pond. Of these, 12 males and 1O females were injected intra-muscularly with HCG at I'OOO I.U.'s per pound of body weight. Three spawning cans were placed in the pond with the fish. This experiment was to test open pond spawning of both un-injected and hormone injected fish. Spawning cans were checked the first time on July 27th; there were no eggs. When the pen €,pawning experiment was terminated on July 30, three additional spawning can€r were placed in the pond; there rtere no eggs in the three original canE placed in the pond. Spawning can€r erere checked every few daye for three weekE with no spawning success observed. Spawning cans were then removed from the Pond. None of the catfish spawned throughout the spawning trialg. We were able to hand strip a few isolated eggs from two or three of the females but those eggs did not appear to be good. The one female fish that was in poor condition was sacrificed in order to examine her ovarieg. The ovaries were full of eggs that appeared to be fully maturated. It is unclear why r.re erere totally unguccessful in obtaining eggs from the Yaqui catfish in 1993 but we may have waited a littl-e too late to start. We based spawning time on experience with channel catfigh and water temPera- tureE. t{e carried out a thro station approach on Yagui catfish in L994. Uvalde NFH personnel picked up 40 of our broodstock during late summer 1993 so that the fiEh could overwinter and acclimate to the water and temperature conditione at Uvalde, Texas, an excellent channel catfigh production station. Since Uvalde is at a lower elevation, more southern latitude, and hag different water guality parameters than Dexter, we hoped they can be euc- cessful with culture attempts. Due to congtruction activities and production commitments for other species during spring/summer I994, Yagui catfish spawning trials at Dexter were restricted to open pond spawning wittr HCG injected and un-injected fish. On Tuesday, June 14th, 15 females and 5 males received IP injections of HCG at 1rOO0 I.U.'s per pound of body weight. Ten spawning cans utere placed in a spawning pond and the 2O injected Yaqui catfish were simultaneously stocked into the pond along with the 52 un-injected fish. The first week, spawning canc vrere checked on Wednesday and Friday following the Tuesday injectionE. One spawning can contained 12 unfertilized eggs when checked on Friday. During the next three weeks, the cans were checked on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. No spawning occurred during this period. The sparrrning cans were left in-the pond for two lmore months and were checked once weekly; no spawning occurred. The unfertilized eggs vte-rg.?pParently "blown' by an injecteii female similar to what happened during 1993 spawning trials. At Uvalde NFH, hatchery personnel carried out three spawning trials with the Yagui catfish (YcF) they are holding. On April 9, they injected two pairs of broodstock with HcG: females at 9O9 I.U-'e and malee aE 221 I.U.'8 Per pound of body weight. Water temperature braE 72 degreeE F - a low range spawning tenperature. Three pairs of 89 YC fmperial strain channel catfieh (CCF) were simultaneouely injected with HCG at the Eame doaage as the YCF. No YCF Epawns vrere collected but all three CCF pairs spaerned at 48 hours.

18 On May 20, L7 female and 8 male YCF were injected: females with 455 I.U.'s HCG and 4.5 mg LHRH per pound of body weight and maleg with 182 I.U.'s HCG per pound of body weight. llater temperature was 79 degrees F - a mld-range spawning temperature. Four pairs of Norris strain CCF were simultaneously injected with the same hormones and dosage rateE as the YCF. No YCF spawns were collected but all four CCF pairs spawned at 35 hours.

On June 11, four pairg of YCF were injected: females with 9O9 I.U.'s of HCG and 23 mg LHRII and malee with 455 I.U.'E HCG per 1rcund of body weight. Water temp€rature btas 84 degrees F - a high range spawning temperature. No CCF were injected. No YCF Epar.rna were taken. After three spawning seasons (two at Dexter and one at Uvalde) r we have made no breakthroughs on Yaqui catfiEh culture. Consequently we will digtribute the culture etudy methodology and results to various catfish 'experte' for their review and suggestions for the 1995 spawning season. Additionally we have propoeed that the spawning habits and other pertinent life history paraneters of the Yagui catfish be investigated within its native habitat in the uPPer Rio Yaqui of Sonora and Chihuahua. Thie atudy will likely be undertaken as a Master's program at the University of Arizon.a, Tucson, and coordinated with/through the Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo- In order to broaden genetic diversity of the captive stock originally collected from the Rio Sirupa, Chihuahua (1990) and the Rio Aros, Sonora (1987), we have proposed collecting additional fieh from the Rio Baviape drainage of the upper Yagui system. Thie would permit increaeing genetic variabj-Iity of the current captive population utilizing fish from the Rio Yaqui tributaries closer to the historic range of the species in the U.S. In anticipation of this eventuality and in coordination with our Mexican cooperatorE, Dexter personnel participated in two monitoring/sampting tripe to the Rio Bavispe drainage of NE Sonora: Aug 29 - Sept 4 and Qct 24 - 28, 1994. An additional sampling trip is scheduled during spring 1995 to define the precise collecting localities for additional Yagui catfi.sh and for Yagui sucker later in 1995. Desert Pupfisb and Leon Sprinqs Pupfish - Both of these cyprinodontids have been maintaining good populations in earthen ponds, with approximately 3rOO0 individualE of each species being transferred to winter holding ponds. Additional fish are being maintained in aquaria over winter to protect againet trrctential pond losses. Desert pupfish are being maintained both for refugia Purpoetes and for ongoing reintroduction progr€rmE in Arizona. Leon Springs pupfish are being maintained for refugia purposes. We provi.ded 2r35O Leon Springs pupfiah to the Environmental Protection Agency at Gulfbreeze, FL and 25 to the University of Arkansas Fish and wildlife Coop Unit for reeearch purposes. GiIa Topoinnow - i{e are holding the Sharpe Spring Etock of GiIa toSrminnow for reintroduction purposes. Over 3rOOO tolminnow were transferred to an overwinter holding pond and they are aleo being held ingide in aguaria. Tlrenty five (25) Gila topminnow were provided to the University of Arkansas Fish and l{ildlife Coop Onit for research purposes. Bicr Bend Ganbusia - As in most years, Big Bend gambusia did not survive well in the overwintering flow-through pond outdoors, but some fish made it through. Those held inside in aguaria did well and both groups were used for spring pond stocking. Approximately 3,OOO individuals of various gizee were traneferred to a new pond for winter hold over, and about 25O were again brought inside for overwintering in aguaria.

19 Fish Eealtb yaqui catfish carry the yellow grub but at a low level- of incidence. EnJysted yeIlow gruUs that are visible are manually removed and this parlicular epecies of parasite apparently is not be able to complete its Iife Lycle at this facility as the required intermediate host snail is not Present on thie station. One of our primary problems is the regular reintroduction of the anchor worm parasite, Lernaea sp. with most new fish coming in from the wild. Until the lresent cirCumstancee with FDA and drug/chemical use is rectified, I iecommend that aII new introductione to the station be cLosely reviewed for potential fleh health problems prior to aPProval for euch action. lle had no problems getting clearance to stock any requested species in Fy 94.

Preserved and Frozen SPecimens The demand for preserved and frozen specimenE as well as live fish remains an important part of the prograrn. Many agencies and institutione need this type of material and look to Dexter aE a Eource of scientific specimens.

COOPERATION Due to our involvement with a broad array of species from the throughout the eouthwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, the development of holding and culture techniquee for these unigue fiehes, and regular involvement with recovery teams and other recovery oriented grouPs, it ie imperative that we maintain a regular cooperative diaLogue with our many cooPerators. Additionally, we muet be prepared to respond to the many requestg we get for technical aesistance and fish from various Eources. We worked in one or more capacities with the following entities in FY 94: State game and fieh agenciee in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Oregonf the New l{exico and Arizona Fisheriee Resources Offices; Alcheaay-Williams Creek, l{eecalero, UvaLde and WiIIow Beach NFH'si San Marcos NFH & iCi San Bernardino NWR; Albuguergue, Phoenix, and Austin Fish & wil-dlife Enhancement Offices; Portland FVIE Field Office (Region 1); National Fishery Contaminant ReEearch Center, Yankton, SD and Columbia, l'{O (NBS); CRFP officel - Grand Junction, CO and Vernal, lJT, and Valley City NFH' ND (Region 6); Arizona State Univergity, the University of Arizona, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico State University, Colorado State University, the Univerglty of Texaa, and the TexaE llemorial Museum at Austin; Louisiana State Univereity, Baton Rougei Klamath Indian Tribe (Oregon); Genetic Analysis, Smithville, TX; Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora, El Centro Ecologico de Sonora, HermoellJ-o, and Universidad de l{onterrey' Nuevo Leon' and Univereidad de Sonora, Hermoeillo, MXl the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation in Oregoni and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, National Bureau of Fieh Genetic Resources, Allahabad, India. The cooperative work with FWS - Region 6 and Colorado DOW vtas reported. i-n tfe Colorad-o eguawfish-and .razorback'eucker sections. The cooperation with the FWS - Region 1, the Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Falls, Oregon, and the Bureau of Land Management, Lakeview, Oregon, was previously reported. During February, Buddy taught the 'Endangered Fieheg" segment of the Serviie,g Generll Fieh Culture Training (l{odule II) at the Fieheriee Academy, Leetown, W.V. He gras also scheduled to teach in October but eras unable to 9o because of ongoing work in Mexico. Holt attended the Upper Colorado River Bael-n Endangeied Flehee Reeearchere meeting in SaIt Lake City' Utah.

20 PUBLTCATIONS AIID REPORTS Scholz, Allan T., Mary Beth Tilson, Ronald J. White, Stacy A. Horton, Bruce Haines, Buddy Jensen, and Roger Hamman. 1994. "Thyroxine Induced Chemical Imprinting in Colorado Squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius) and Razorback Sucker (Xvrauchen texanus): Results of 1993 Investigations." Technical Report No. 5, Eastern Washington University, Cheney. Williamson and Wydoski. 1994. Genetics MaDagenent Guidelines: Recovery Implenentatiou Progran for Endangered Fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basiu. United States Department of Interior, Fish and t{ildlife Service. Denver, Colorado. Kapuscinski, Steward, Goodman, Krueger, Williarnson, Bowles, and Carmichael. In review. Genetic conservation guidelines for salnon and steelbead supplenentation. Fisheries Bulletin. Sholtz, Modde, Haines, Pfeifer, Burdick, Williamson. In review. Restoratiou plan for razorback eucker in the upper Colorado River basia. AFs Proceedings Symposium on Use of Cultured Fishes Carmichael, Williamson, Gorman, and Tiersch. In review. Micro-hatcbery techaiguee for fieLd propagatioa of tbe endaagered razorback sucker. Progreesive Sigh Culturist.

IRAINTNG Buddy Jensen, Roger Hamman, and Sharon Coats attended a "Time Management Seminar" in Roswell, New Mexico. JameE Lay attended a "Watchable l{i}dli-fe Workshop' sponeored by Eaetern New Mexico University - RosweII Campus, and the Neh, Mexico Department of Game and Fish. James Lay took a "Mig-Welding Class" at Eastern Neet Mexico Univereity - Rogwell Campus.

FORXAL PRESENTATIONS Buddy Jensen presented a slide show and talk on NAFTA efforts/Mexico cooperation to a state-uride Americorps kickoff program in albuguerque during September, 1994. Roger Hamman presented a program on the tech center to the VaIIey Sertoma Club in Dexter during August, 1994.

vIsrToRs Just over 25OO people iieited the hatchery this year and we gave 11 guided tours to school, church and civic groups. The foll-owing individuale are included in the numbers above: tlasbington Office: Richard N. Smith (Deputy Director); Vince Mudrak (Fisheries) i Roger Schultz (Fisheries). Regional Office: John Rogers, Regional Director; Conrad Fjetland, ARD-AFF; Pat Langley, DARD-AFF; Jim Hutchegon, A.M-FR; George Diwine, ES; Vic

2L Segura, DP; John Armijo, HR; April Fletcher, contaminants - RW; Mark Wilson, Nl.tESO; Andy Landoll-, ENi Larry Dunkenson, R-8, and Gary Carmichael, FR - Uora. Otbers: Arcadio Valdez - Universidad de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey' l.{x Alain Branchaud - University of Quebec, Montreal Yvan Turgeon - Quebec, l4instere du Loiser, Service de Ia Faune Aquatique Bill- SeaweII - San Marcos NFH & Tc, (NBS) Jim Johnson - University of Arkansas Fish & wildl-ife Coop Unit (NBs) Ann Ewert - General Services Administration Greg Kindcshi - Bozeman FTC Dave Leith - Abernathy Salmon Technology Center, Longvier^t, wA Mike Hendrix - Northeastern Fisheries Center, Lamar' PA Su6an Baker - RO, Region 6 Tom Pruitt - ouray Native Fish Hatchery, Ouray, UT Barbara Giesecke - llescalero NFH crant !{ebber - Mescalero NFH Hike Torres - Mescalero NFH Jerry Landye - Pinetop Fish Health office Beth McCasaland - Pinetop Fish Health office Kate Terrell - Alchesay/williams Creek NFH David oviedo - Uvalde NFH Manual Ulibarri - Ulvade NFH Frank Dunn - Cibola NWR BiIl Radke - Bitter Lake NWR Marge Burfield - Bitter Lake NWR Betsy Rogenfeld - Bitter Lake WR Bob Tulley - Colorado Division of wildlife Terrence Tiersch - Lousiana State University, Baton Rouge Chuck GesE - SEC, Denver Bob Hart - SEC, Denver Paul Anderson - North Dakota Game and Fish Department Miles Mclnnis - NM Dept of Game & Fish Scott Brown - Nlt Dept of Game & Fish Jim Grasmick - NM Dept of Game & Fish Jack Kelly - NM Dept of Game & Fish James Laird - Arizona Game and Fish Department Clinton Anderson - Arizona Game and Fish Department Donna Anderson - Roswell Independent School District (Mentorship Program) Jimmy Dudlow, RoswelL HS & Stacey creen, Goddard HS - (Mentorehip Progran) Rob Leary - Unlversity of Montana, Missoula Dean Chase (retired FVIS - Mescalero NFH) Bilt White (retired Fvls - former Dexter NFH l{anager, 1950's) J.C. Morrow (retired FWS - San Marcos NFH & TC)

The following school/other orgaaizatioaal groups were given tours:

Adult Development & Training Center - 13 students, 5 adults Adult Seniors Group - 24 Dexter School - 1st grade - 44 students, 8 adults Dexter School - 4th grade - 25 students, .4 adults Dexter School : 5th grade'- 25 students, 4 adults' Hagerman School - 4th grade - 35 students' 4 adults Pecos Elementary - 40 students, 5 adults Roswell Boya and Girls Club - 25 Home School Systeme - 7O students, 5 adults wagners chitd Garden - 40 students, 5 adults NMMI Summer Science Class - 4 students, 1 teacher In addition to thoEe who visited the atation, the following individuale were contacted during the fiscal year relative to Dexter activities:

22 R.C. Vrijenhoek, Cornell University Charles Krueger, Cornell University Fred Allendorf, University of Montana Dave Philipp, Illinois Natural History Survey Tony EcheJ-Ie, Oklahoma State University Dennis Shiozawa, Brigham Young University Todd Crowl, Utah State University Don Morizot, University of Texae Clark Hubbs, University of Texas Dean Hendrickson, University of Texas Nick Parker, Texas Tech University Bob Edwards, University of Texas, Edinburg Tom Dowling, Arizona State University W.L. Minckley, Arizona State University Paul MarEh, Arizona State Univereity Mike Douglae, Arizona State University Eugene Maughn, University of Arizona Bob Muth, Colorado State University Terry Tiersch, Louisiana State University Wayne Starnea, Smithsonian Don Buth, University of California, Los Angeles Al Scholtz, Eastern Washington University Colleen Coldwell, New Mexico State University PauI Turner, New llexico State University Steve Platania, University of New llexico

OTEER ACTTVITTES Deputy Director Dick Snitb and Regioaal Director Joha Rogera toured the station and visited with staffs of both stations (Dexter NFH & TC & New Mexico FRO) during January. lech Center Meeting - Dexter hosted the Annual Tech Center Director's Meeting and fist joint meeting with the Tech Team during May. The next combined meeting wiII be hosted by Dave Leith at the Abernathy Salmon Culture Center in Longview, Washington. fbe Eolding Eouse and office Compl.ex hra6 torn down on JuIy 18, L994 in order to permit construction of the new Wet Lab. It was an emotional moment for the crew but the demo crew had it on the ground within 10 minuteE. we vacated the old complex during late April and early May so that all. usable eguipment could be salvaged for later use. Larry Dunkenson, Realty aud GSA Represeatative, Ana Ewert, visited the station to perform a ReaI Property Utilization Survey. Aanexation - Due to a propoaed plan by the Town of Dexter to annex the tech center into the city limits, Buddy JenEen spent considerable time writing up Ianguage to incorporate into Town Ordinances that could conceivably impact center operations and recreational uge.

Ibe new Station Brocbure was completed and printed during the 2nd Quarter; it's real nice and.we have had lots of good co-mments about it- Visitor Center Vandalism - Sometime during the nj-ght of october 22, 1993, vandals broke the large aquarium io the visitor's center which contained a Yagui catfish; the catfish was gone. With the front of the 2OO gallon tank out, the water poured directly out onto the visitor center carpet which had only recently been installed. The vandals also got into a race$ray containing Yaqui catfish. The nurnber of fish taken waE never precisely determined but they left their dip net behind in the raceway. Although thie problem was widely advertised by the Chaves County Crime Stoppere, we never had a break in the case.

23 Meutorsbip Progran - During the 1993-94 school year, Jimmy Dudlo, Roswell High School, and Stacey Green, Goddard High school, worked with us under the Roswell, New Mexico Independent School District High School Gifted Mentorship,/Internship Program for nine months. Our facilities are located 20 mil-es from Jimmy's and Stacey's homes and high schools, but they made the early morning drives on a regular basis and were always punctual. They had to arise very early to meet our schedules because we start at 6:30 Ail. Both students were highly motivated and displayed a great amount of intellect and skill. They demonstrated excellent science and mathematical abilities and knowledge, and conseguently, were quick to underetand and grasp scientific procedures, data collection, and analysis. Cooperativc Eagging Progran - During October, 1993, Hiles Mclnnis, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, assieted Dexter personnel with cheek placement of CWT'e in large Razorback sucker etocked into the Salt River, Arizona. During September, 1994, Jack Kelly, Miles Mclnnie, and Jim Graemick' NMDGF' eet up and tagged Uvalde and Inks Dam NFH reared largemoutb bage at Dexter. The fish were later stocked into Brantley Reservoir near Carlsbad. Connuuity Service - Station personnel served as judges for the Dexter Consolidated Schools Science Fair and co-hosted and helped with the Annual Milkman Triathlon held at Dexteri the primary part of the running course is set up on the tech center. Buddy served on the Dexter City Council through March, 1994 but did not eeek re-election. In the Boy Scouts of America, he EerveE as, Troop Committee Chairman of Troop 19 in Dexter and as Scoutmaster of Troop 145 in Roswell. Roger and Troy participated in numerous community service projects and other worthwhile activities sponsored by the Roswell EIks Lodge. UST Site - During core drilting/soil sampling in 1993 to evaluate pJ-acement of new buildings scheduled under the Station Development PIan, an old underground fuel storage tank site was found to be contaminated. Contaminant funding was secured to pursue evaluation of the old UST site. During EY 94' the site wag evaluated, zone of contamination identified' and remediation equipment installed by Atkins Engineering Associatee. Atkins was also awarded a FY 95 contract to complete the remedlation Process and clear the site for anticipated construction. DOD Surylus Property - For the past five years we have been screening DOD surplue property at Holloman and Cannon AFB's. We have been able to pick up thousands of dollars worth of small power eguignent and tools, hand tools, transits, scales, movie projectors, slide projectors, screens, trailers, and some major p5-eces of equipment. National Fisbiag hleek - Dexter NFH & TC co-sponsored three National Fishing 9leek events as follows: 1) Lake van, Dexter, NM w/Town of Dexter 2) Ned Houk Lake, Clovis, NlI w/Clovis Optimist CIub 3) Turtle Baby, socorro' NM w/Bosgue del Apache NWR Fish were provided by Uvalde NFH, Uvalde, Texas. A totaL.of '>29 children and 128 adults participated. Workers'included four Service volunteers, nine co- sponsor volunteere and 32 other volunteerg. volunteer Organlzations included the following: Boys Scouts and Girl Scoute of Anericai Clovis Optimist Club; Socorro Fire Departmenti USFWS; BLU; New Mexico Department of Garne and FiEhi and B.A.S.S. Over STOO.OO worth of prizea were donated to these NFV| events by local merchants, highlighting the fishing competition by having prizee for all participants, not just those who caught fish. lhe Bitter Lake yCC crerd spent two weeks at Dexter carrying out needed maintenance projectE and assisting with moving trrcnds of fish. llaintenance

24 projects completed included trimming trees on all wildlife management area roads, cleaning lined ponds, and repairing the hatchery perimeter fence. Pub1ic Relations - Lynn French, KOAT - Ch 7 reporter, and daughter of Jerry French, Nl.lR l{anager, did three nehrs Etories on Dexter activitie€ri one on the hatchery, one on our National Fishing !{eek event, and one on the YCC crew. A television interview was also given to a KBOR - Ch 8 reporter. Numerous radio and newspaper interviews were also granted during the year. Roger EaEnan attended an INAD coordination meeting in Denver, Colorado.

}IAfNIENANCE l.tANAGtUtMl SYSTEI.I The following MMS Accomplishment Liet shows the expenditure of S2O8,013 in 1313 funds in FY 94. 1) Well and Pump l.l.aintenance S 7,943 2) Drain Line & Water Supply Lines 547,24I 3) Tank Replacement for Wet Lab 581,596 4) Aabeetos Removal - Bldg. Demolition & GFQ Shingles S2I'943 5) Re-roofing GFQ's after Asbestos Shingle Removal S 5,493 6) Set Up office space in cFQ # 3 529,167 7) UST Contarninants Remediation S 5,380 8) Replacement Van S 5,700 9) Race$ray Electrical Upgrade S 2,450 UllS accompliehmentE $rere significant and highly important to carying out the miseion of the station. tlelI maintenance iE an annual recurring expense that ig essential to pumping fieh cul-tural urater. Work on one r.reLl waE postponed till FY 95 due to serious MMS needs elsewhere. Tanks lost during the storm events of 1993 and 1994 were replaced.

A new 15" drain line was installed for the wet lab, raceways and A, B & C ponds. The Dexter crew spent considerable time aseisting on this project because the contractor did not know how to lay a line to grade. Most asbestos problems on the station hrere remediated; some transite drain- line removed during excavation for the wet Iab must still be removed from the station. Following removal of the asbestos containing shingles from the cFQ's1 they erere re-roofed with conventional asphalt shingles. The get up of temporary office sipace in cFQrs required considerable work that included running neer phone lines, ne$r power suppliee, transformers and breaker boxeE, neer heating and eooling systems, Eeptic tank cleanup, painting, etc. Some MMS funds were used to help complete the UST contermination remediation installation so that it could be made operational. A new mid-size van r.ras ordered (additional funds from 1312) to replace the 1985 van on station, and the raceway power system which failed was upgraded.

F'UTURE OTITIJOOK Dexter NFH & TC water rights for current and near future planned operational levels appear to be adequate and secure, even with the water suits filed by the State of Texas and the Megcalero Apache Tribe. It ie currently projected, should New Mexico lose the aforementioned lawsuits, junior water righte with a priority date after the mid L94O'g could be in jeopardy. Dexter NFH & TC's ehallow water righte date 1931, L932, and 1933. l{ith the failure of the Arteeian Well, the Realty and 9tater Rights pereonnel have pursued trading our artesian brater right for additional shallow water. An agreement has been reached with the Bureau of Reclanation on this iesue.

2S The Bureau purchased shallow water rights near the hatchery and has arranged to trade those to the Service and transfer our artesian water to thelr Seven Rivers operationE. This trade was near compl-etion and approval late in the fiscal year. The water trade, along with completed pond lining, should resolve our short term water concerns. Lined ponds wiII benefit us in several ways, e.g., water conservation, reduced pumping costs, better fish production in the absence of @, and more efficient fieh harvest without Chara and probleme resulting therefrom. congress appropriated S1.428 t4 for planning, design and construction of a nevt office complex, wet lab, genetics lab and water quality lab during FY 93. Plane for the wet lab Lrere completed during late summer 1993 and construction of the wet lab began with demoLition of the old building on JuIy 18, L994. Completion of this building, scheduled for mid-January 1995, will permit us to advance our efforts in the study and preservation of listed fighee !n coming years. However, additional FATE's and operating funds must be aII- caged to Dexter in order to carry out this work. The following two areaEi of biological concern needed to be addressed: 1) !{ith improved techniques for evaluating genetic makeup of fishes brought to, held and produced at Dexter NFH, we must move forward in deveJ-oping/finatizing a 'cenetic Plan' for aII hatchery operations. This document would provide guidance for enguring that all fish work, i. fish in, maintenance, epawning, fish out, etc., maximizes genetic diversity for all species. This document should be built around/utilize the report prepared for the Service by Dr. Aony Echelle titled 'Review of Genetic Diversity and ConEervation Genetics in Fishes of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region II, With a Suggeeted Program of Conservation Genetics.' 2't In line with the above genetic concern, it seeme logical that with the unique attributes of this Service facility, Bome changes in staff abilities and facilities are in order to fully address these genetic concerns aE addressed above. With new facilities coming on line we must move forward now to addreEE the staffing and funding needs that wiII come with completion of the new facilities. Update: During FY 94, a Geneticist wae hired and conseguently the two concerns outlined above are being addressed. We will be moving forward rapidly in meeting both the needs of this progran but other regional genetic needs as well. In line with this, the following proposal has been submitted in an attempt to get funding to purchase needed equipment and chemicals to carry out the genetics work proposed for the region.

PRoJECT: Establish baseline genetic data and develop Genetic Management Plans for all Region 2 Threatened and Endangered fishes. OBJECIIVES: 1) Develop broad genetic data bases for all wild and caPtive T&E fieh species in Region 2. 2, Develop genetics management plans for each T&E fish species in Region 2.

BACKCROITND: Threatened and endangered fish species are the most vulnerabLe of our fisheriee resources to imminent extinction. Their conservation is necessary to reduce rapid loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Their protection and recovery is reguired by federal law according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 aE arnended. Cooprebensive, long-range recovery and management plans are required to develop and i:nplement effective recov€lry actions. Genetic divereity, including variation within and aqrong different populatione composing the apecies, ie aesociated with fitneee'

26 adaptation, and long term species Eurvival. Therefore, a critical element of recovery planning for T&E fishes is genetics management of all wild and captive populations of each target species. There are over 30 listed fish species within Region 2. Poor genetics management results in loss of genetic diversity. The most effective, reduced-risk genetic management is baEed on comprehensive genetics data. The first stages of genetics management planning are based on accurate genetic identification and characterization of the species. Data from genetic studies permit assesr€rment of genetic Btatug and relatlve priorities necesrsary for selecting the most appropriate recovery and management actions. Genetics data also permit evaluation of genetic riEks relative to specific populations and associated with specific management actions, such as captive breeding and reintroduction. Genetics data are also critical in evaluating the genetic impacts of recovery and management actions, including potential negative genetic impacte to captive populations and wild populations associated with captive breeding and reintroduction, i.e. inbreeding depression, outbreeding depression, founder events, unintentional eelection, and introgression or genetic contamination. Genetics analyses is also expected to address specific problems or issues associated with mating systems, heterozygosLEy, geographic variation, hybridization, introgression, phylogenetic studies, population structure, and identification and characterization of conservation units. Although various methods of genetics analysis exist, the single moEt widely used, effective, appropriate, and economical method of genetic analyees is allozyme or proteln analysis using starch-gel electrophoresis. PROPOSAL: Develop genetics management plans and broad genetics data bases for all wild and captive T&8 fish species in Region 2. To aid in accomplishing the objectives, genetics analyses capability must be developed at Dexter National FiEh Hatchery and Technology Center. The initial Etage in developing this capability is to eguip a starch-gel eLectrophoreeis laboratory. COOPERAIORS: Dexter NFH & TC, NM - Lead Station; aII Region 2 FR field stations. FLJNDS REOItESTEDI L994195 - S125,OOO to purcbase a start-up laboratorl wl equipnent and cbesicals, or

- S2OOTOOO to set-up a ful.ly operational lab iacJ.uding eguipnent and full chenical inveatory. Near the end of the Fiscal Year, $re received S3OrOO0 in end-of-the-year funding to purchase genetics equipment. Additional eguipment and thus funding, will be needed to properly equip the Genetlcs Laboratory that is scheduled for construction durinq FY's 95-96. rcxrco cooRDI[ATIox We need to obtain additional Yaqui catfish wild broodfish and a Yagui sucker Etock from the-Rio Bavispe of Sonora. In line with this need the fo).Iowing proposal was submitted for funding under NAFTA. Although no funding became available for FY 95 work, we are proceeding with planning, coordination and permitting to carry out this effort in conjunction with our Mexican coopera- tore and San Bernardino NWR. Backqround: Yaqui catfish and Yagui gucker formerly occurred in etreamg in southeastern Arizona that are tributaries to the extensive Rio Yaqui drainage of Mexico, but have been extirpated there for more than 50 years. Both species are listed as "Threatened" under the Endangered Strrecies Act of L973, as amended. They are, presently at least, still relatively abundant in variouE parts of the Rio Yaqui drainage in both Sonora and Chihuahua. Since 1987 Yaqui catfish collected in Sonora in 1987 and in Chihuahua in 1990 have

27 been maintained and studied at Dexter. Genetic purity of these individuals has been established through extensive studies. To date however, no Yaqui suckere have been procured from the drainage and that objective in the recovery of the Rio Yaqui fish fauna in the U.S. awaits the action recommended in this proposal. A Rio Yaqui FiEhes Recovery Plan is in final draft form and this dual proposal lcollecting and re-establishing both species) is made in concert with the objectives and recommended actions of the plan as well as recommendation of the Desert Fishes Recovery Team responsible for formuJ-ating appropriate recovery actions for these listed fishes. Proposal: Obtain up to 2O0 additional Yaqui catfiah from the Rio Bavispe in the northern Rio Yagui system of Sonora, ilexico. Obtain a minimum of 1OO and up to 2OO Yagui suckers from the main etream Bavispe or ite tributariee, i.e. Cajon Bonito and/or Rio San Bernardino, although collection gites may differ by epeciea. We made one trip in late Augruet and early September, 1994 to survey for fish and a second trip during October, 1994 to collect $tater samples and do stream-side water quality work. The water quality work was also scheduled on the first trip but heavy rains and extensive flooding prevented that work as well as inhibiting the fish populations sampling. Presently we are in the process of obtaining permits to carry out this project during spring and /or fall of 1995. This amount of lead time is neceEsary in order to secure appropriate Mexican collecting permits from SEDESOL and/or SEPESCA.

2A Cooperatore: 1) United States Fish and tlildlife Service - Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center and San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge; 2) Arizona came and Fish Departmenti 3) Centro Ecologico de Sonora, Hermosilloi 4) Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo; 5) SEPESCA Mexican National Department of Fisheries; and 5) SEDESOL - Mexican National Department of Ecology (Endangered Species).

Personael: Buddy L. Jensen - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dexter, Nl,t Felipe Sosa - U.S. Fieh and Vlildlife Service, Dexter, NM Kevin CobbLe - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Douglas' AZ Francisco Abarca - Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix Jolie Wanger - Americorpe Volunteer, USF9IS, Dexter, Nl.l Alejandro Varela Romero - Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo Ivan Parra -. centro Ecologico de Sonora, Hermosillo Fuods Recruested: 199{ - S1,5OO for Mexicaa collaborators exPenses - 95rOOO for Service biologistr 1995 - S2,5O0 for Mexicau collaborators erPenses - 55TOOO for Service biologistc Through Service participation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wil-I expend approxirnately $10,O0O on this project. We seek separate funding to suPPort our Mexican collaborators in this effort since their funding for such efforts is non- existent. They are, however, highly interested and motivated towards carrying out these cooperative ventures leading to resource management and protection of unique and rare fishery reEources. Their only limitation is funding ! STATION FT'IIDING NEEDS The following funding proposal for FY's 95 & 95 iE presented to adviEe of the need to plan for and commit additional operational funde to the Dexter Fish Technology Center in upcoming years.

ACTTVITY rT 95 BT'DGET FY 96 ITEEDS FISEERY RESOI'RCES EfE's (SOOO) FTE's (SOOO)

Eatcbery Operatioas 8.O 5470 9.5 S520

Eatcbery Mainteuaace s roo s 190 Construction s2.2U sr.ou

RESOURCE iTUSTIFICATIOI| During FY 94, a total of 14 threatened and endangered (= listed) specieE r.rere worked with at Dexter NFH & Tc (Dexter). Although Dexter maintained, studied, cultured, and produced fish for various reintroduction/recovery progr€rms, the station received no funding from the endangered species program - all operationEr were funded through the Fish Hatchery O&M 1312 Subactivity. Thie was a rEpeat .scenario of the previous nine .years, i.e., fishery reEourcea hag completely picked up the tab for this important endangered species recovery activity. Ihe Eadaugered Species Progran sbould belp fund tbis effort since all work is witb listed species! This program bae broad involvement ae well. aa implications for endangered fishee management and recovery throughout the American West. Listed fiehes being maintained and cultured at Dexter c@e froo 9 different U.S. states (TX, NU, AZ, CA, NV, UT, CO, VfY, and OR) and 2 Mexican EtateE (Chihuahua and Sonora). Fishery development accomplishrnents at Dexter involve nuttrerouE federal and State agencieE, Native American Indian Tribes, and Hexican Federal agencies

29 and State fngtitutions as cooperatorE, i.e., Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Hanagement, Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish, Colorado Division of wildlife, Texas Parkg and wildlife Department, California Department of Fish and carne, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Utah Division of !{iIdIife Resources, Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe, Klamath Indian Tribe, SEDESOL, SEPESCA, Centro Ecologico de Sonora, and Ia Univergidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. In addition to Region 2 (FWS) and llexico coordinated projects carried out at Dexter, both Region 1 and Region 6 of the Service have routinely reguested that this Region 2 facility carry out work to help them meet some of their endangered fishes resource management objectives and responsibilities. we have done so. The Project Leader alao completed a conEulting assigrunent to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Fisheries, regarding management of their endangered fishery resource€r. A Eecond visit to India scheduled for Spring, 1994 was postponed and is tentatively rescheduled for sometime during 199s. This program is both natlonal and international in scope, stretching far beyond regional boundaries to asgist with endangered fishes igsueg. However, this facility is old (1931-32) and is not presently equipped or staffed to carry out the ful1 technological mission assigned to the station. Recogniz- ing thia, congress appropriated 91.4 milLion dollars during FY 93 to plan and design a complete set of nerr, administrative, laboratory/research, and maintenance buildings for Dexter. The planning and design costs r.rere significantly reduced by redrawing buildings already designed for the Mora Fish Technology Center. Enough of the S1.4 l,l was left following design to award a congtruction contract for the wet lab. Additional funds were made available in FY 95 to proceed with construction of the new Genetics Labor- atory and Administrative Center. We are seeking an additional $1.O to 52.Ol,t during FY 96 or beyond to complete the development program outlined for Dexter including conEtructing a shop building, completing site amenities, constructing development ponds, and purchasing additional- water rights.

S52OTOOO and 9.5 nEE's are requested to carry out scheduled operations during FY 95. These would be permanent additions to the Etations gtaff and funding baee. During late FY 93 a geneticist was recruited and selected to lead the advancing technology program at Dexter. Dr. J. Holt Williamson reported to Dexter on December 21 1993, bringing the station FTE positions up to 8.0. However, one employee retired during May 1994 under the early out authority and hag not been replaced due to buy out costs and short FY 95 budgets. The vacant position needs to be filled, and the figures above for FY 95 reflect an additional 1.5 FTE's and S5O,000 over FY 95 budget needs. We need the FTE's to hire aeS-7/9 lab technician/biologist to assist the geneticlst and a cS-3/4 receptionist/clerk/typist to help the Office Assistant. This individual would reguire a complete FTE during FY 97, raising the station total to 1O.O FTE's. These positions and supporting budget are required in order to advance the Regiona' need to develop and implement genetic data bases and genetic management plans for aII fishery resource culture and management programs. Since we put a geneticist aboard, several Project Leader'6 have contacted ue requeeting asgistance in providing genetic management planning in their programe. Theee early reguests are juet the. start of what the demand on thie poeition will be. It is essential to get more help for this individual and the office aesistant who is already inundated with work. The demands on her tj-me and expertise continue to increase at a rapid pace- Report preparation and ecientific publications will increase dramatically and other written and electronic communications, travel and purchasing wiII also increase with additional etaff.

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