The program operates primarily within the state of Utah along the Virgin River and its tributaries in Washington County. Different activities are being conducted for different species in different locations. woundfin, Virgin River chub, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, flannelmouth sucker, desert sucker, Virgin speckled dace, and Virgin spinedace are all found in the mainstem Virgin River below Pah Tempe hot springs. Tributaries of the Virgin and those areas about Pah Tempe have different species assemblages. Recently, efforts have centered around the area on the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers impacted by the flooding of January 2005.

Red shiner eradication
Red shiner are a nonnative fish species which prey upon and compete with native fish. It has been found that native fish cannot survive in the presence of these introduced fish. This removal takes place annually and has been very successful in reducing the numbers of red shiner. Currently eradication efforts are being conducted on approximately a 35 mile reach of river during the course of a week. Complete eradication of red shiner is expected within 5 years.   top

Hatchery production and stocking of woundfin and Virgin River chub
In order to aid recovery efforts, fish produced from Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center have been stocked into the Virgin River and select off-channel sites (ponds). Since 2003, approximately 12,000 Woundfin have been stocked into the Virgin River while in 2006, approximately 6,000 Virgin River chub were stocked into the Virgin River below the Johnson Diversion. The stocked fish with the exception of woundfin stocked in June 2003 have been market with VIE (Visual Implant Elastomer) or coded wire tags. All fish are being monitored by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR).   top

Population monitoring
Population monitoring is conducted by the UDWR to determine the status of populations as well as the effects of various natural and/or human caused alterations to the river and its inhabitants. Monitoring occurs on a variety of levels from full passes, to monthly sampling of five “population monitoring” stations located in representative reaches of the river. Annual monitoring of 10 sites between Pah Tempe and Lake Mead comprises the Virgin River Fishes Recovery team sampling. This sampling has been accomplished since 1976 in both spring and fall and is designed specifically for tracking trends in woundfin populations.   top

Research
The Program is constantly trying to learn additional information on the fish and how they react to change within their environment. These changes may be related to flow, turbidity, temperature, or other species. If a question arises, the Program will fund studies to determine how best to address the question or problem.   top

St. George Washington Fields Diversion
Since the late 1800’s, the St. George Washington Fields Canal Company has been diverting water from the Virgin River for agricultural needs. Due to the rights of the canal company, to take all of the water in the river at river levels bellows 86 cfs, this occasionally meant that endangered fish would be pulled into the canal where they would perish. In order to prevent this ongoing problem, the Program worked with the Canal Company and the Washington County Water Conservancy District to install 5 moving screens on the canal. These screens prevent fish from going into the now piped canal. The screens also serve to keep debris out of the water entering the canal, which enabled the piping of the canal to occur for water savings and closure of the open canal.   top