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Press Release
Endangered fish water releases from Ruedi help flush mud from Fryingpan River
BASALT -- It's a case of the endangered fish in the Colorado River by Grand Junction helping out the trout in the Fryingpan River below Ruedi Reservoir, near Basalt.
Sediment from the Seven Castles Creek flood on Aug. 6 continues to clog the Fryingpan River downstream of the blowout. Anglers in the Gold Medal trout stream are forced to go elsewhere while the mud sticking to the stones in the river degrades critical bug habitat.
The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and reservoir managers on the Colorado River think they can help the trout in the course of releasing water needed by the endangered fish in the 15-Mile Critical Reach in the Grand Valley. As of Friday, August 10, the Recovery Program asked the Bureau of Reclamation to release more endangered fish water from Ruedi Reservoir, increasing total flows in the Fryinypan to 300 cubic feet per second (cfs).
This flow is close to the perceived threshold above which anglers believe flows are too high for good fishing. Still, the opportunity exists to increase flows further for a short time to help further flush the damaged reach of the Fryingpan of sediment so that bugs can re-establish themselves before winter.
Water managers from the Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado River District are working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to determine if the higher flow would provide a good long-term benefit for the trout.
Ruedi Reservoir is an important source of water releases for the benefit of endangered fish habitat, as are Green Mountain Reservoir, Wolford Mountain Reservoir and Williams Fork Reservoir. The ability to increase flows from one reservoir over the others is an important flexibility in the Recovery Program that can be exercised to achieve other benefits. That same flexibility is a tool being used to bolster flows in the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon to help sustain the rafting industry while the Shoshone Hydroelectric Plant is down for repairs.
For more information contact Jim Pokrandt 970-945-8522, ext. 236
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