The Southern Leatherside Chub (Leatherside; Lepidomeda aliciae) is a small fish endemic to streams within the southern portion of the Bonneville Basin, and is considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources because of population and range declines. Recent evidence indicates the Southern Leatherside is one of two taxa formerly known as Leatherside Chub (Gila copei) and qualifies as a unique species (Johnson and Jordan 2000, Dowling et al. 2002, Belk et al. 2005, Johnson et al. 2004). The need for conservation actions to address the decline of Leatherside was evaluated for the entire historical range of the species and conservation needs are now assessed for each species within their range. In 2010, the State of Utah initiated the Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Leatherside. The goal of this agreement is to ensure the long-term persistence of Leatherside within its historical range and support development of statewide conservation efforts (UDWR 2010). In order to achieve the goals outlined in the Conservation Agreement and Strategy, the Washington County Field Office of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources proposes to continue implementing conservation activities for Leatherside in the East Fork Sevier River, Middle Sevier River, and Upper Beaver River HUCs in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). Planned activities include evaluating the success of recent reintroductions of Leatherside into former habitats (including Clear Creek, Shingle Creek, and Blubber Creek). A current habitat restoration project funded by the Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) includes the area surrounding Bear Creek (WRI Project 5638). This project aims to improve sagebrush steppe as well as spring and riparian areas. Evaluating the current status of Leatherside in Bear Creek is vital for establishing a pre-project baseline to understand if restoration activities will have benefits or negative impacts on the population. Also planned are inventory surveys of historic habitat where the current population status is unknown (Beaver River and tributaries). Leatherside have not been documented in the Beaver River since 1949. The last comprehensive surveys of the Beaver River drainage were in 1995; Leatherside were not encountered.

1) Post-translocation surveys in Middle Sevier River tributary of Clear Creek and Shingle Creek, and E.F. Sevier River tributary Blubber Creek, to determine success of fall 2020 translocations and determine if additional supplementation is needed. 2) Conduct population surveys for Leatherside in Bear Creek (tributary of the Middle Sevier River) to determine baseline status prior to riparian restoration. 3) Conduct population inventories in tributaries historically occupied by Leatherside. Emphasis will be focused in FY23 on the mainstem Beaver River and tributaries upstream of Minersville Reservoir.

Identifying Leatherside presence/ absence within each HUC helps managers to evaluate and mitigate threats and restore Leatherside to historic habitats.

Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Southern Leatherside Chub (Lepidomeda aliciae) in the State of Utah (2010) This project would fulfill goals outlined in the Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Leatherside, specifically: Objective 1) Determine the existing range of the species. Objective 2) Maintain and monitor the currently known and newly discovered or established Leatherside populations and their habitat. Objective 3) Identify, prioritize, and implement actions to reduce threats to Leatherside populations and habitat and evaluate the effectiveness of these actions. Objective 4) Restore populations in selected localities within the historical range, Objective 5) Augment selected populations if necessary. Objective 6) Maintain genetic diversity and integrity. Ensure persistence of genetically distinct populations. Utah Wildlife Action Plan (Utah Wildlife Action Plan joint team 2015): The goal of the Wildlife Action Plan is "to manage native wildlife species and their habitats, sufficient to prevent additional listings under the Endangered Species Act." Many of the habitat restoration actions that have been implemented were outlined in the Wildlife Action Plan, and restoration of Leatherside into its historic range addresses threats outlined in the Wildlife Action Plan.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

These activities are conducted under authority of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to manage wildlife populations.

Population inventories are conducted within a designated reach of tributaries historically occupied by Leatherside. Translocation surveys will be conducted in tributaries where reintrodcution efforts occurred during 2020. Electroshocking will be used to conduct qualitative sampling at stations distributed throughout the tributary/ reintroduction reach to determine abundance and distribution of Leatherside.

Monitoring is conducted at long-term stations in the East Fork, Upper, and Middle Sevier River HUCs. Tributaries are inventoried on a rotational basis throughout historic range as identified through Conservation Team recommendations. These are completed with the cooperation of partner agencies.

Partners in this project include the Southern Leatherside Chub Conservation Team, U.S. Forest Service (Dixie National Forest and Fishlake National Forest), and Bureau of Land Management. All partners support the objectives of this project.

A combination of long-term monitoring, inventory surveys, and conservation activities (e.g., reintroductions, stream restoration, etc.) will direct management actions and decisions in the most cost efficient and ecologically effective manner. Future evaluation of these translocations/ reintroductions would increase efficiency and success of future efforts by UDWR and partners to restore Leatherside within its historic range.

Not applicable.

10/11/2022

06/30/2023

2023

1) Population surveys were conducted using electroshocking in Bear Creek to determine the baseline status of native fish prior to planned restoration work by BLM in fall 2023. Stations (n=11) were established from the upstream known extent of Leatherside on the USFS, downstream through private and BLM parcels. Habitat parameters, discharge, and photos were measured/recorded at each of the stations. 2) Population inventories using electroshocking were conducted in tributaries historically occupied by Leatherside in the Beaver River Drainage. Habitat parameters and photos were collected at each of the stations.

1) Sampling was conducted by UDWR and BLM throughout Bear Creek. Leatherside were captured at 10 of the 11 stations; no Leatherside were captured in the station located upstream of their known extent on the USFS. All work was conducted jointly with BLM. 2) Sampling was conducted by UDWR and USFS in Beaver River tributaries (n=14) upstream of Minersville Reservoir. No Leatherside were captured in any of the tributaries sampled and native fish abundance was low or absent in most locations. Flows were still elevated due to above average spring runoff, therefore efficacy of sampling was reduced for many of the locations sampled and some of the planned tributaries were not sampleable or accessible.

Ongoing ESMF support is necessary for Southern Leatherside Chub management. Future actions specific to these projects funded in FY23 include: 1) Coordinate with BLM on restoration efforts in Bear Creek and conduct post-restoration monitoring in spring 2024 to assess native fish distribution and abundance. 2) Coordinate with USFS to sample Beaver River tributaries that were not accessible during 2023 and coordinate with landowners for access to sample the mainstem Beaver River upstream of Minersville Reservoir.