Virgin River Program
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The Virgin River Program works to help native and endangered species in the Virgin River basin while insuring that water development can meet human needs.
Its Fishy Friday - wanted to continue to keep people updated on the success of our Woundfin propagation up at the Utah Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center in Logan. Back in April Woundfin started spawning. Biologists initially spawned about 30 fish at a time. Woundfin are batch spawners, meaning that females release a group of eggs for fertilization then have to wait for more to mature before releasing again. This may take a couple of weeks and is dependent on environmental conditions. Here is a short video of some of the early spawned woundfin.
06/02/2026
We had great participation in the fundraiser for the Andrew Barnum Museum of Natural History on Saturday. We had quite a few tables where people could learn about different entities. Thanks to all of them for showing up as well as all of the groups and individuals who donated prizes for the ducky race and the silent auction. Had a few photos of the race.
05/28/2026
Come join us at Fossil Falls Park in St. George this Saturday. We will be participating in a rubber duck race to benefit the Andrew Barnum Museum of Natural History at Utah Tech. Booths with folks to talk to and at 11 am the duck race starts.
04/29/2026
This is the last week for high school students to apply for the Color Country Natural Resource Camp. The Virgin River Program helps to fund this program along with many other partners. It is a great opportunity for students who are interested in natural resources.
Here are a few reasons students should apply:
• All high school students are eligible who are currently enrolled in 9th – 12th grade.
• A college scholarship will be awarded to a camp participant.
• Students that attend will receive ¼ credit of high school science.
• Students receive hands-on experience in natural resource career fields including fisheries, wildlife management, and archeology. Experience such as this is important when applying for a position in natural resources.
• Students experience a variety of outdoor recreation activities, such as hiking, shooting, archery, and horseback riding.
For more information, or to apply, visit the Color Country Natural Resources Camp Website.
https://extension.usu.edu/washington/4h/natural-resource-camp
So now that some Woundfin reproduction is out of the way, lets get on to the outcomes. The spawning from the first 32 adults resulted in about 250 larvae, the next set of 32 produced about the same. Here are some videos of those two sets of larvae. First the older group then the second group where you can see them eating as Utah product, Brine Shrimp from the GSL.
So it has been a couple of weeks since we posted about the Woundfin production up at Utah Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center in Logan and there is a lot to discuss. First, we have always thought that Woundfin are batch spawners, meaning that they will lay one group of eggs, take a break while more eggs mature and then lay those. This was confirmed at AAHRC as after the first 32 woundfin were taken from the spawning chamber and placed back in an aquarium. They waited there until biologists started noticing chasing behavior and they were put back into the spawning chamber where they immediately began spawning again. Folks at AAHRC are going to see how long this reproduction may occur. Attached is a video of woundfin activity in the spawning chamber.
To follow up from the last Woundfin post, ultimately about 2,500 eggs were laid amongst 32 adults (s*x ratio undetermined). Eggs that developed to the eyeing stage were about 30%. Currently there are about 200 larvae buzzing about. New trials to begin next week. Video below shows a couple of the larvae.
03/30/2026
Have had some great news from the Utah Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center up in Logan late last week. The woundfin we moved up there in November 2025 have begun to spawn. As of Friday we have nearly 1,000 eggs. Now to see how many hatch! In the photos below you can see the eggs on the rocks. Also a microscope shot of an egg showing that it has been fertilized and is viable!
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