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Show r "";'' ' 'y , imnMinmn.il ' ' mm mm " -t ' .' "wu.,,. . V . v " " c-Yi -V A M I V V- ' - i V S , 1 U V V The Divisional Wildlife Resources and the Utah Museum of Natural History ma a$.ort;hi,mi a t .;-; the fishes ot Utah The Virgin River chub (atwvei. as well as more rtn;ojnttativ umc.-es hho i uttfn.rtt trout, will b3 on display at the Museum following collodion and atriioquinq DWR prepare Fish Collection During the next few years, Division of Wildlife Resources fisheries biologists will be collecting specimens of all Utah fish species. The fish will be cataloged and displayed at the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City. According to Jim Lawton, curator of exhibits at the museum, this will be the first complete collection of Utah fish in the country. Lawton said the collection will consist of preserved specimens for use by the scientific community and fiberglass casts for general viewing. Rod Stone, assistant chief of Fisheries Management with the Division of Wildlife Resources, feels the collection will be useful to a wide range of people. He said it will be valuable to the general public and to fisheries biologists who are interested in topics such as the subtle distinctions between subspecies. Besides game species known well to Utah sportsmen, sport-smen, the museum will also display the unfamiliar, often rare, species hidden in many of the state's drainages. The Virgin ftiver chub, for example, has been listed by the DWR in their 1978 fishing proclamation as a protected fish. Its range is limted and numbers are declining. It cannot be taken without written permission from the Division. Lawton hopes that the museum collection will encourage more interest in species such as the chub. "This is an exciting project for museum personnel," said Lawton. We feel the collection will make significant contributions to the state." |