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A Partnership for Endangered Fish on the Colorado River
An aerial view of the Redlands Dam, the fish passage structure (left) and the Redlands Canal (right).
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Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions. Julie Stahli: I am the director of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program. I previously served as the recovery program’s deputy director for a couple of years and as the database manager prior to that. At one time or another, I’ve worked for partners in our program, including the States of Colorado and Utah, nonprofits, and water organizations doing either fisheries or policy work.
18 | HYDRO LEADER | May 2022
Dale Ryden: I am the project leader at the Grand Junction Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. Our field station performs management and recovery actions on the four endangered fish species in the Colorado, Gunnison, and San Juan Rivers and in Lake Powell. I’ve been with this office for 32 years. I started off as a biological science technician, and I’ve worked my way up to the project leader position. Travis Francis: I am the deputy project leader for the Grand Junction Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. I’ve been with this office for 20 years, starting as a biological science technician and then working as a fish biologist. I moved into the deputy project leader position a couple of years ago. Hydro Leader: Please introduce our readers to the recovery program. Julie Stahli: The recovery program started back in 1988, when such programs were a novel concept. The partnership hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER ENDANGERED FISH RECOVERY PROGRAM.
or more than 30 years, the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program has brought water users, power interests, conservation groups, and state and federal agencies together to support the recovery of endangered fish species. In this interview, Hydro Leader talks with three of the program’s fish experts about the program’s activities, which range from installing fish ladders and monitoring instream flow to reducing habitat for nonnative predators.
