A few pics from my latest fishing trip

[mtnman]

As many of you know, I work with endangered fish in the Grand Canyon -- just outside of the National Park on Navajo reservation land. From my camp, it is a 9KM walk to the Colorado River (inside the park boundary). Spring is a very special time in the desert at the bottom of the canyon. While processing over 400 fish a day, I managed a few pics. FYI, I work about 60 air miles from the south rim visitor's center.

The last 3 pics are a boulder that had rolled/bounced down the slope and across our trail. It happened since the last rain, as there was dirt and smashed vegetation on the boulder as well as some pulverized rock where it smashed a softer rock on its path of destruction.

[jim_mex]

Hi Jim - you sure do have beauty all around you on your excursions into the canyon. Thanks for sharing some of it with us. Congratulations also on the lizard shot. Its not so often those critters stand still long enough to pose for you!

[scrolling_grandma]

Those are some really nice pictures Jim. Thanks for sharing. The lizard was a great shot!

[Hobbyhorse]

Thanks Jim ..... that boulder would give you cause to think a bit!!!!

Rhys

[scrolling_grandma]

I love the pictures. Thanks for sharing. These are somethings most of us may never see and your pictures allow us to enjoy the sights too.

[Fran1942]

Beautiful pictures, Jim. Thanks for posting them
Fran

[mtnman]

Thanks for the comments! Jim & Tammy, here are a couple more shots of that lizard. The bright color brought out my camera.

Rhys -- Rock falls are relatively common. This trip, the camp upstream from my camp had a lot of rockfall. One of the biologists was close and was surrounded by the dust. It turned his black hair a dusty gray. I saw rocks fall while working a couple of years ago, and very close to my camp, a rockfall happened between the September and October trips. About 40 tons of rock completely buried 2 mesquite trees. The place should be condemned, as it is falling apart.

[martzy]

Great pictures Jim. Would you mind if I snagged a copy of them to show my class. We talk about weathering and erosion during the school year and your pictures would help to get the point across. I think I've asked before but what are some of the causes of the fish being endangered?

[Wood Dog]

Wow Jim those are some beautiful photos, thanks for posting them.
That lizard would have me on the run for sure, but he/she is beautiful, with those "yellowheart" legs & feet, and "walnut" stripes on its back.......

[mtnman]

Keith -- Please use the pics to help your class learn about weathering & erosion. And if you have need of other shots, let me know and I can dig more out. I have lots more of the boulder and its path of destruction along with loads of canyon pics. The fish are endangered due to a wide variety of factors. One major factors are building of dams which dramatically alters the nature of the Colorado River making it colder and clearer than it was pre-dam. Dams also regulate the flow, eliminating the spring floods and the low flows in late summer. The other factor is the introduction of other species of fish. The native fish had few predators, and now there are many other species that love to eat the natives.

WD -- Using woods to describe the colors of the lizard is something I'd expect from you. LOL.

[wood-n-things]

Great pics as always. Glad none of snakes this trip though....

[martzy]

What do you do with your findings?

[mtnman]

Keith -- We compile a number of reports & some publications from our work. The reports are housed at the Grand Canyon Monitoring & Research Center at the USGS office in Flagstaff. The current monitoring project has been going on for 10+ years, so we are starting to get some good longitudinal data. The ultimate goal is to get the fish to the point where they can be removed from the endangered species list. We are also working to get some populations established & breeding in other tributaries -- a key element to de-listing them.

[woodsman]

Thanks for sharing the pictures Jim. Nice way of viewing some of mother nature's beauty.
Nice job on taking the pic's too, they turned out very nice.

[ubgoofy2003]

Jim, your trips into the Canyon are really nice for us, as well as your findings. Your pictures are really pleasing to the eye & you do a fine job of photographing your subjects. I enjoy seeing your beautiful suroundings as you work in the Canyon. Pictures are not what can be experienced by the naked eye, but, they sure are beautiful sights to see. Thanks for your extra efforts as you work. Thanks Take Care