SBAHG Update & Nonnative 

Fish Strategic Plan: 

Review and Discussion

Laura Dye & Emily Higuera, SBAHG Co-Chairs

GCDAMP Technical Work Group Meeting

January 26, 2023
Acknowledgements 

Strategic Plan writing group: Shana Rapoport, Craig Ellsworth, and 

Mel Fegler

Charles Yackulic, Drew Eppehimer, & Kirk Young

Smallmouth bass Ad Hoc Group & Technical Work Group

THANK YOU! 
Directives from the Secretary’s Designee

May 18, 2022, directs Reclamation and GCMRC to work with the TWG regarding the following: 

Develop a draft strategic plan to prevent, detect, and respond to cool- and warmwater invasive fish 

establishment below Glen Canyon Dam. The plan should include proposed monitoring, specific 

activities to be considered for prevention and response, along with their relative effectiveness, 

detection thresholds (“triggers”) for action, and conditions for discontinuing response activities 

(e.g. due to success, futility, resource limitations, etc.).

August 12, 2022 ; The first of the non-native fish actions is simply to ask the TWG, GCMRC, and 

Reclamation: to complete the draft non-native fish strategic plan and have it ready for distribution 

as soon as possible. This includes incorporating the next steps and prioritizing activities, equipment, 

and budgets for short-, mid- and long-term actions as discussed during the first day of AMWG 

deliberations. In turn, these will be combined into future project management plans within the 

GCDAMP program.
Roles as Co-Chairs

● Facilitate stakeholder discussions 

● Provide updates to TWG chair and Reclamation

● Synthesize stakeholder input to reach consensus in the Strategic Plan

● Create neutral space for preferences to be shared
SBAHG Goals

● Redirection per the August 2022 Directive: Main goal to produce 

a draft Strategic Plan as soon as possible

● Continue updates related to smallmouth bass detections, 

operational alternatives EA, and fish escapement device(s) 

● Facilitate stakeholder conversation and involvement where 

possible
Since October 2022 TWG...

● Four SBAHG meetings

● Fish Exclusion Device SME developed at BOR

● SMB EA Operational Alternatives 

○ Informational session

○ Comment period

● Six-week SMB removal effort in Lees Ferry

● Three rounds of Strategic Plan review 
Strategic Plan Outline

● Executive Summary and Introduction

● Guiding Principles

● Strategic Approach

● Invasive Fish of Concern

● Monitoring for Invasive Fish 

○ Elaborated on in Attachment E

● Prevention and Response Actions

○ Elaboration of rapid response in Attachment A, and other actions in 

Attachment F

● Monitoring the Effectiveness of Actions

○ Ties into Attachment A & E

● Concluding Statement and Implementation Recommendations
Strategic Plan Attachments

Attachment A: Short-Term Rapid Response

Attachment B: GCMRC Science Plan - SMB 

Attachment C: Existing Actions & Monitoring

Attachment D: Hot Spot Table 

Attachment E: Proposed Additional Monitoring 

Attachment F: Supplemental Actions 

Attachment G: Recommendation Addendum

Attachment H: TWG Comments Received
Recommendation Addendum

Purpose: Provides implementation recommendations from TWG to 

the AMWG 

● Who could ‘own’ the Plan

● How the Plan could be actionable

● What the SBAHG’s role could be moving forward
Key Takeaways

GCDAMP stakeholders emphasize the following key takeaways:

(1) Long-term prevention will require limiting fish entrainment into GCD.

(2) Mid-term operational flow options to prevent and/or reduce 

reproductive success and limit establishment of fish .

(3) Short-term rapid response actions may be needed to address newly 

located and detected invasive fishes.
Summary: comments and feedback 

● The Plan does not capture diverse cultural perspectives 

○ The Plan is a technical document, guided by LTEMP and DOI documents

● How does the Plan work with existing management plans/compliance?

○ The Plan does not supersede existing planning and compliance 

● What about other actions? (i.e., TCDs, reservoir elevations, CO 

pikeminnow reintroduction, etc.)

○ Included in Attachment F, Supplemental Actions
Summary: comments and feedback 

● Inclusion of trade-off assessments and mitigation measures

○ More discussion and examples incorporated

● Rapid response: when does it become “maintenance” actions?

○ Language added to Plan and Attachment A

● More discussion of triggers and offramps

○ USFWS and GCMRC Assessment framework in Attachment A
Review minor edits since Wednesday, 1/18/2023

Strategic Plan (main doc)

Pg. 2, 3rd paragraph: 

"This Plan is not intended to curtail or restrict management agency actions already

available under existing planning and compliance for rapid response." 

● Duplicated in Attachment A, added to Recommendation Addendum as #2

Pg. 7, 3rd paragraph:

"The flow options being considered under Reclamation’s current (2022 and 2023) 

Environmental Assessment for Glen Canyon Dam Operational Flexibilities in Response to 

Warmwater Invasive Fish are considered a temporary, mid-term action to respond to 

smallmouth bass until and unless a fish exclusion device (long-term action) can be installed 

and determined to be effective.”
Review minor edits since Wednesday, 1/18/2023

Attachment A

Pg. 1, 1st paragraph

Add: other long-term “non-flow” management strategies

Delete “for rapid response”

Pg. 3, Short-term RR options

Revised #5 language 
Review proposed edit, Attachment A pg 3

5) While the actions provided in this document are described as short-term, the 

techniques used in these actions could be adapted and utilized in mid- to 

long-term efforts to suppress an established population. Should a change from 

rapid response actions to suppressive high risk non-native mitigation be needed, 

additional analysis and assessment of cost, impacts to resources, and other 

policy considerations should be conducted. Additionally, a shift to suppression 

efforts would no longer be considered short-term, and further management of 

an established species should be informed by the stage of the invasion curve, 

and other external factors, such as the ability to implement the preventative 

mid- and long-term actions described in the Plan. This does not prohibit an 

agency from conducting reoccurring rapid response actions within their existing 

plans and compliance, but acknowledges that the Plan currently does not 

address long-term management of an established population.
Thank You!

Emily Higuera

Arizona Dept. of Water Resources

Email: ehiguera@azwater.gov

Phone: 602-771-8516

Laura Dye

Colorado River Commission of Nevada

Email: lauradye@crc.nv.gov

Phone: 606-875-7752
Proposed Motion

The TWG accepts the Nonnative Fish Strategic Plan as developed through 

the Smallmouth Bass Ad Hoc Group and recommends that it is provided to 

the Adaptive Management Work Group to consider it as a means for 

addressing the Secretary’s Designee’s request from the August 2022 

AMWG meeting.

or

The TWG provides the draft Nonnative Fish Strategic Plan, as developed through 

the Smallmouth Bass Ad Hoc Group, to the Adaptive Management Work Group 

for their consideration in response to the Secretary’s Designee’s request from the 

August 2022 AMWG meeting.