Taos Field Office conducts fish population survey in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

In early June, BLM New Mexico Taos Field Office Lead Fisheries Biologist Sage Dunn and Fisheries Biologist Cody McLean successfully planned and completed a fish population survey on the Ute Mountain section of the Rio Grande River within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico. Conducting a fish population survey on this stretch of the Rio Grande is an arduous endeavor, requiring a 25-mile, three-day float, and ending with hiking all boats and gear up 300 feet to the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge.

Pulling off this survey requires impeccable timing and cooperation from staff office-wide and outside partners; because of these challenges, this survey has not been conducted since 2010. Due to the density of nesting raptors in the Upper Rio Grande Gorge, the earliest this survey can be undertaken is June 1, when springtime flows have begun to subside and, in many years, when the river is already too low to navigate. The trip is also logistically complex, requiring many hands to help hike out gear and shuttle vehicles. The trip also depends upon the availability of a New Mexico Department of Game and Fish fisheries biologist.

This year everything fell into place, with flows above the minimum required 400 cubic-feet-per-second, allowing the team to navigate the large rafts down the river. Also on hand were staff from the river program, along with resource staff and a New Mexico Department of Game and Fish fisheries biologist. In addition, two students and a teacher from the Bosque School in Albuquerque, New Mexico joined the trip to collect samples for their own studies.

The team launched at Lobatos Bridge in Colorado, floating nine miles down to New Mexico and sampling the first reach right at the state line. Sampling consists of rowing the shocking raft down the mile-long survey reaches with two netters in the front of the raft. The netters work on netting stunned fish and keeping them in a live well until the end of the reach, where the fish are weighed, measured, and released. Six one-mile-long reaches were sampled in this stretch of the Rio Grande River. Participants caught Brown and Rainbow trout, in addition to native species such as the Rio Grande Chub, which is a BLM Special Status Species.

At the end of the float, everyone banded together for the daunting task of hiking rafts, frames, inflatable kayaks, and other gear out of the gorge at Cow Patty and Lee Trails. Both trails are relatively short but boast steep inclines and large boulders. Many hands made short work and the team carried all equipment out safely.

A special thanks goes to the Taos Field Office managers, who allowed their staff members to divert from their day jobs in order to help facilitate this important survey.