Where Have They Been Sighted ?

2024 Palisade High School graduates Kale Potter and Kiera Stephen working and interning with U.S Fish and Wildlife Service collecting information on captured endangered razorback sucker while conducting native fish surveys on the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colorado (June, 2024). Every razorback sucker released from the PHS Fish Hatchery has a Passive Integrated Transponder “PIT” tag inserted into it so fish biologists (and future fish biologists) can track their movement for the entire life of the fish. The razorback in the left photo was cultured by Palisade High School students (released May 2024) and was recaptured roughly 65 miles down river near Cisco, Utah near speculated razorback spawning grounds! The razorback in the middle was released in May 2025 by Palisade students, then captured by Kale Potter while electroshocking in the Colorado River 1/4 mile downriver of the high school (July, 2025). Photo by Justin Howard.

Project Background

•  Beginning in 2018, Palisade High School students raised an impressive $40,000 through various fundraising events and community donations to upgrade an old storage building at the edge of campus, equipping it with all the essentials needed to facilitate the indoor aquaculture operation.
• The 100% water-reuse aquaculture system itself was purchased by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and Bureau of Reclamation, and consists of three 235 gallon circular tanks, dual bag filters, ultraviolet filter, auxiliary biofilter and a 150 gallon sump tank. 
• Each year, roughly 250 one-inch endangered razorback suckers are transferred to Palisade High School from Ouray National Fish Hatchery-Grand Valley Unit in Grand Junction Colorado. For about a year, students care for the fish at the PHS hatchery before releasing them into the Colorado River near the school.
• Now in the fifth year of operation at the student lead program, over 1250 endangered razorback suckers cultured at the PHS Fish Hatchery have been released into the Colorado River in Palisade, Colorado. While this is not the only endangered fish hatchery operated by high school students, it is one of a very small handful in the United States. 
• The partnership provides the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program a unique opportunity to interact with local community stakeholders all the while helping to inspire the next generation of potential fisheries scientists, as well as boost populations of these rare fish in the upper Colorado River. This unique grassroots partnership can serve as a blueprint for other communities to follow.

PHS Fish Hatchery Podcasts

2026

• KJCT 8 News 
• The Grand Junction Daily sentinel May 1st, 2026
• KKCO NBC11 News- Grand Junction

Professional Work After High School

The Palisade Fish Hatchery provides opportunities for the entire student body to be involved and be part of something much more than just one kissed fish. Every year select students are entrusted to carry out daily tasks to care for the fish. When they graduate, they take what they learned from the hatchery program with them into their careers. Some students take their communication and collaboration skills into business and customer service jobs. But for students truly dedicated to a future in fisheries, the hatchery experience has led to jobs and opportunities to continue what they started. The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program through American Fish Society (AFS) is an amazing opportunity for aquatic and marine biology driven juniors and seniors across America. It is “A summer internship program for high school students, to engage and inspire the next, more diverse, generation of fisheries professionals” (AFS)

Student Success Stories

A Graduate of 2024, Keria Stephen applied and was awarded the scholarship and worked with her mentor Mike Gross with United States Fish and Wildlife Services. Also a 2024 graduate, Kale Potter, volunteered his time at the U.S.F.W.S during that same summer. During this time Kale and Keria worked on various projects such as endangered fish and non-native fish monitoring and removal over the course of 8-weeks. Due to both of these individuals’ past experiences and their passion for aquatic biology, they were offered a job the next summer as a seasonal worker. Then, 2025 graduate, Annmarie Barnes was also awarded the Hutton Internship and followed the same path that Keria had with Mike Gross as her Mentor. All three are studying a biology and environmental based degree at college. Not only does the Palisade Fish Hatchery increase the numbers of the endangered Razorback Suckers, but it changes the lives of students involved, paving the way for their future careers in science and conservation.

Relevant Research For Students and Supporters

Gross, Michael.. Palisade High School Fish Hatchery photo timeline 2018-2024

Haderlie, I,, Hawkins K.,, Hoaglund, D.,  Soria, J,, Steele, P., and Levi Van Pelt.   Palisade High School 2019. Palisade High School Fish Hatchery Prospectus

Zelasko, Koreen A, and Kevin R Bestgen. vol. 159, Colorado State University Larval Fish Laboratory, Fort Collins, Colorado, 2009, pp. 4–87, Survival Rate Estimation and Movement of Hatchery-Reared Razorback Suckers Xyrauchen Texanus in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Utah and Colorado.

Bestgen, Kevin R. Colorado State University Larval Fish Laboratory, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1990, pp. 5–96, 1990 Status Review of the Razorback Sucker, Xyrauchen Texanus.

Mueller, G.A., 2006, Ecology of bonytail and razorback sucker and the role of off-channel habitats in their recovery: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5065, 64 p.

GREAT VIDEO!!! How the West Was Watered – A History of the Grand Valley Diversion Dam

GREAT VIDEO!!! Grand River Diversion Dam Celebrating 100 Years Video

GREAT PHOTOS AND FISH STORIES!! – Historical Accounts of the Upper Colorado River

Upper Colroado River Endanger Fish Recovery Program –“Upper Colorado” Website

Upper Colorado and San Juan River Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Website

STReaMS Fish Database

Thank You Sponsors!!!

Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
Mesa County Valley School District 51
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Alpine Bank
Grand Junction Lions Club
Palisade Sunrise Rotary Club
Western Colorado Community Foundation
SGM
High Country Gas and Supply
Clifton Water
Whitewater Hill Vineyards
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Grand Junction Jackalopes Baseball

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!