Publication
Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Salvage and Rescue 2015 Annual Report
Date: 2016/01/11
Author(s): Archdeacon T.P., Austring T.J., Henry E.B.
Publication: Prepared for U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 17 p.
Abstract:
Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (RGSM) are often trapped in isolated pools during times of river drying from June to October each year in the Middle Rio Grande (MRG). Salvage of RGSM is performed by staff from the New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office with assistance and coordination from several other agencies. Rio Grande Silvery Minnow are collected from isolated pools each day drying occurs and transported on UTVs equipped with water tanks supplied and aerated with pure oxygen. Rescued RGSM are then transported and released into areas with continuous flow. Any RGSM found dead are classified as either incidental take (IT) if found during first drying, or attributed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit if found during subsequent drying events.
Between 11 September and 1 October 2015, 17.4 unique miles of the main channel of the MRG became intermittent, with 5.2 miles in the Isleta reach, and 12.2 miles in the San Acacia reach. Two areas of discontinuous flow were salvaged in the San Acacia reach, 2.1 miles from the south boundary of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (BDANWR) upstream and 10.1 miles from the north boundary BDANWR upstream. We observed 1,319 RGSM > 30 mm standard length (SL) in isolated pools during this time. Of these, 1,246 (109 hatchery origin) were found alive and transported to a location with flowing water. We found 73 dead RGSM during this time. Eleven of the 73 dead RGSM were associated with first river drying and attributed as IT to water operations in the MRG during the 2015 irrigation season (under the 2003 Biological and Conference Opinions on the effects of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Water and River Maintenance Operations, Army Corps of Engineers Flood Control Operation, and related Non-Federal Actions on the MRG). The other RGSM found dead were assigned to the USFWS take permit. Additionally, 18 RGSM died during transport and were assigned to USFWS take permit. The level of approved IT (11 observed take multiplied by 50) was 550 RGSM for 2015.