Wednesday December 4, 2024
Bureau of Land Management —
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.