Native Aquatic Species of the Gila River Basin
in Arizona and New Mexico
What's New
Bonita Creek fish barrier and native fish restoration
In September 2008, Reclamation completed construction of a fish barrier across Bonita Creek in Graham County, Arizona. The fish barrier was intended to facilitate the removal of nonnative fishes and restore the native fish community. The lower stream had been invaded by a host of nonnative fishes that impacted the native fish community and threatened the intact native assemblage further upstream. Immediately following barrier construction, native fishes (Gila chub, speckled dace, longfin dace, Sonora sucker, and desert sucker) and Sonora mud turtles were salvaged from the impacted reach and held alive in flow-through 
tanks. The reach was then renovated with the piscicide rotenone (CFT Legumine), detoxified, and salvaged native species were repatriated. In addition, four federally-listed fishes native to the Gila River basin but not recently found in Bonita Creek (loach minnow, spikedace, Gila topminnow, and desert pupfish) were introduced to the stream. Restoration of native fishes in Bonita Creek is just one of several recent efforts to reverse the decline of the fauna in the Gila River basin. The project was a collaborative effort of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Safford, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, universities, and private volunteers. Fossil Creek native fish repatriations
Following Reclamation’s successful construction of a fish barrier, participating agencies completed chemical renovation. With the restoration of historic flows to Fossil Creek, Gila-Yavapai counties, Arizona, in 2004 and 2005, repatriated native fishes (headwater chub, speckled dace, Sonora sucker, and desert sucker) have expanded in population size and distribution. The major exception was longfin dace, where only 13 individuals were salvaged and repatriated, and none had been observed since. In 2008, 306 longfin dace captured from Tangle Creek (a nearby stream) augmented the Fossil Creek population, and they since have been observed over many miles of the stream. In 2007 and 2008, additional federally-listed fishes native to the Gila River basin but not recently found in Fossil Creek were introduced. These included loach minnow, spikedace, Gila topminnow, desert pupfish, and razorback sucker. All have been detected during post-stocking monitoring, and it is hoped that most will reproduce by or during spring 2009. The restoration of Fossil Creek native fishes continues to be among the most successful projects of its kind within the Gila River basin.Muleshoe Ranch native fish monitoring and augmentations
Since the initial stockings of federally-listed fishes (loach minnow, spikedace, Gila topminnow, and desert pupfish) to streams and springs within the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area (CMA) in southeastern Arizona in late 2007, all have been augmented with additional numbers in 2008. Monitoring in 2008 has documented that loach minnow has reproduced in Hot Springs Canyon, and spikedace has reproduced in Redfield Canyon! This represents the first known successful reproduction of either species in newly-stocked streams. This success increases expectations that the recently implemented program to restore native fishes in the Gila River basin is possible and can work. In addition, monitoring of pupfish and topminnow at stocked spring sites within the CMA has documented that most populations also have reproduced. Despite this great news, many more streams need to be restored in this manner before conservation of the beleaguered Gila basin native fish fauna can be considered assured. Reclamation funded much of the repatriation work through the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and is planning on constructing a fish barrier on both Hot Springs and Redfield canyons to protect those native fisheries against invasions by nonnative fishes.
Bubbling Ponds Native Fish Hatchery propagation efforts
In addition, other species such as woundfin, Gila topminnow, and Gila chub have been successfully held and/or propagated at the hatchery, and progeny have been released to the wild. Attempts to obtain additional rare populations of Gila River basin native fishes for propagation at the hatchery are ongoing. This hatchery, under operation by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, is serving an invaluable role in efforts to conserve and recover native fishes of the basin. Reclamation funded much of the construction of the hatchery, and its use as a propagation facility is a major component of Reclamation’s program to assist with recovery of native fishes in the Gila River basin.Updates to the website
Last Reviewed:
June 25, 2009
Webmaster:
Joseph J. Billerbeck - jbillerbeck@usbr.gov