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Conservation Fisheries, Inc. (CFI), a non-profit organization dedicated
to the conservation of rare fishes, conducted surveys that indicated that
boulder darters are restricted to short stretches of the Elk River that
contain suitable habitat.
CFI is currently propagating boulder darters for future releases into the
Elk River.
Approximately 3.5 tons of limestone slabrock were placed in the Elk River
to provide natural spawning substrate for the species.
This past summer (August-September 2000), personnel with CFI initiated a
study to mark captive-bred boulder darters before releases into the Elk
River. This marking effort will enable the Service to determine the
effectiveness of restocking efforts.
Juvenile boulder darters were marked with a red Elastomer tag that
enables researchers to differentiate released fish from wild fish. In August
2000, marked boulder darters were released at two sites on the Elk River.
Personnel with CFI subsequently surveyed the two release sites. The
majority of the boulder darters observed at one site were utilizing the
slabrocks that were placed in 1999. The slabrocks were also being utilized
by several other darter species as well as madtoms.
Because of the success of this recovery effort, additional slabrock will
be placed in the Elk River in 2001.
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