RAZORBACK SUCKER IN LOWER GRAND CANYON AND THE LAKE MEAD 

INFLOW AREA—A HISTORY OF THE SPECIES AND BIOLOGICAL OPINIONS 

Mark McKinstry, Bureau of Reclamation, 125 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 

84138; mmckinstry@usbr.gov; (801) 524-3835 

In 1995 the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) stated in a Biological Opinion 

(BiOp) on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam that the Bureau of Reclamation 

(Reclamation) should “...sponsor a workshop, and develop a management plan for RBS 

in Grand Canyon.” Then, in December 2007 the USFWS issued a Biological Opinion to 

the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) on proposed coordinated operations of Lake 

Powell and Lake Mead. One of the Conservation Measures in the BiOp was for 

Reclamation to “...examine the potential habitat in the lower Grand Canyon for the 

species [razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus], and institute an augmentation program in 

collaboration with FWS, if appropriate.” A project to survey for razorback sucker at the 

Colorado River inflow (CRI) area of Lake Mead was also recommended in the 

comprehensive review report on 10 years of razorback sucker monitoring in Lake Mead. 

In 2010 Reclamation initiated two projects to evaluate razorback sucker use of the CRI 

and lower Grand Canyon. The first project was a comprehensive survey for the fish at 

the CRI area using captive, pond-reared, sonic-tagged razorback suckers to locate wild 

fish. The second project consisted of two components: (1) a thorough literature review of 

the species, with special emphasis on information about this species in Grand Canyon, 

and (2) a river trip with several experts on the species’ ecology and biology, as well as 

representatives of various management agencies, to evaluate the habitat in the lower 

Grand Canyon and make recommendations regarding fulfilling the BiOp’s conservation 

measure. In early spring of 2010 three wild adult razorback sucker were discovered 

using the CRI area and several larvae were captured, indicating that fish were using this 

area and were reproducing. The literature review found 10 records of razorback suckers 

being captured in Grand Canyon between 1944 and 1990, primarily near the mouths of 

tributaries, including the Paria River, Little Colorado River, and Bright Angel Creek. All 

were adult fish and none have been captured since 1990. Further work at the CRI from 

2011 through 2013 showed that more fish were using the CRI area and moving between 

the CRI and other spawning and congregation areas in Lake Mead (Virgin and Muddy 

River inflows, and Las Vegas Wash) as well as moving further upstream at least 35 miles 

to Quartermaster Canyon. In 2014 Reclamation initiated a more comprehensive study of 

the fish in lower Grand Canyon concentrating on the river from Lava Falls downstream to 

Lake Mead. This action is being conducted under collaboration with the Glen Canyon 

Dam Adaptive Management Program, Lower Colorado River Multi-Species 

Conservation Program, Upper and Lower Colorado Regions of Reclamation, National 

Park Service, USFWS, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, Nevada Division 

of Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Hualapai Indian Tribe, Bio-West Inc., 

ASIR LLC, and other stakeholders and is one of the few projects where both the upper 

and lower basins are working together for the conservation of Razorback Suckers.