News Release Archive

Reclamation Lowers Lake Mohave Water Level as Annual Razorback Sucker Harvest Underway

Media Contact: Rose Davis, 702-293-8421, 09/27/2012 11:32

For Release: September 27, 2012

BOULDER CITY, Nev. - The Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region is lowering water levels in Lake Mohave, located above Davis Dam on the Colorado River, to aid in annual activities related to the conservation of an endangered fish species. Beginning this week, Lake Mohave will steadily lower from an elevation of about 641 feet to elevation 630.5 feet by the end of October.

Water levels will begin rising again in early November as the conservation project is finished. Updated information on water levels at Lake Mohave and other Lower Colorado Region reservoirs is located at www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html under Current Conditions. Boaters may experience decreased access to ramps and should be extra cautious on the lake. For current recreation opportunities and changes, contact the National Park Service office at 702-293-8691.

The reduction in the water level in Lake Mohave this year is needed for maintenance and removal of overgrown vegetation in fish-rearing ponds along the Colorado River. Each year, Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) gathers tens of thousands of newly hatched razorback sucker larvae from Lake Mohave to be raised in state and federal hatcheries throughout the southwest. After an initial growth period in these hatcheries, many of the fish are placed in lakeside rearing ponds around Lake Mohave to continue to grow and learn how to forage for food. When the fish reach the minimum stocking size of at least 12 inches, they are microchip tagged and released back into the lower Colorado River or adjacent floodplain backwaters.

The project is part of Reclamation’s continuing collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona State University and the Nevada Department of Wildlife. The LCR MSCP is a multi-agency effort to accommodate current and present water and power needs while conserving species and their habitats along the river. More information about razorback sucker conservation efforts is available at http://www.lcrmscp.gov/fish/razorback_sucker.html.

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