The goal of this agreement is to assist the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) with movement and habitat studies of endangered fishes in the Colorado River Basin while at the same time providing opportunities for undergraduate students in the Fish Ecology Lab (FEL) at Utah State University (USU) to gain
valuable work and research experience.
FEL will assist in the research, development and installation of various PIT-tag detection systems to be used in studies in the Colorado River Basin.
BOR has various obligations under the Endangered Species Act to assist in the recovery of several fish species.
PIT- tag detection systems are used in several areas of the Basin to evaluate various biological parameters (e.g.
movement, survival and habitat use) to assist management of these species.
In many instances hatchery-reared fish are stocked in tributaries or the mainstem of rivers and movement patterns of the fish are used to assist with future stocking recommendations.
Additionally, wild fish are often tagged with PIT tags and their movements and survival are tracked using PIT-tag technology.