Wall canyon sucker barrier projectthe wall canyon sucker catostomus SP

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $200,000 Project Grant under the National Fish Habitat Partnership (CFDA 15.686) program to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) for the Wall Canyon Sucker Barrier Project. The overarching goal of this multi-year project is to permanently exclude non-native salmonid species, including brown and rainbow trout, from the upper reaches of Wall Creek in northern Washoe County, Nevada, in order to protect the population and occupied habitat of the unique, narrow endemic Wall Canyon sucker (Catostomus sp.). The grant funding will be used for the contractual design, permitting, and environmental compliance requirements necessary to construct a new, more structurally sound fish barrier to replace the failing existing barrier. Additional funding will be sought for the actual construction of the permanent barrier structure.

Is an undescribed unique castonomid native to wall creek and mountain view creek in northern washoe county nevada. The species is a narrow endemic and found no where else on earth. The overarching goal of this multiyear project is to permanently exclude nonnative salmonids including brown and rainbow trout from the upper reaches of wall creek where they threaten the population of and occupied habitat for this rare native species. Previous protective measures including a rock gabion barrier structure had been effective however time erosion and episodic periods of high flows and flooding have allowed the competitive and predatory nonnative salmonid species to encroach back into the wall canyon sucker occupied habitat. IT is imperative that the failing barrier be replaced with an updated and more structurally sound exclusionary feature in order to protect the sucker. The nevada department of wildlife has applied for and is requesting partial funding from the desert fishes habitat partnership to protect the wall canyon sucker population in wall creek from encroachment by nonnative trout through achieving objectives specific to the design permitting funding and eventual construction of a new permanent fish barrier. The entirety of the funds requested at this time will be used for contractual needs to design the barrier and complete necessary permitting and environmental compliance. Additional funds will be sought and secured for the construction of the barrier structure.