Steve Wyant releases a brown trout he caught in the Yampa River in March just below Stagecoach Reservoir. (Photo by Dylan Anderson)
With multiple area agricultural reservoirs at extreme lows and some predicted to drop to only streams running through reservoir basins by fall, some fish populations could be threatened during this time of drought.
“If reservoir levels get very low, fish survival may come into question, and fish loss could occur,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife aquatic biologist Bill Atkinson.
Fish in agricultural reservoirs may escape downstream through outlets as water levels drop, and fish may survive in lower-level waters remaining in reservoirs, Atkinson said.
Fish survival in question in some shrinking area agricultural reservoirs
steamboatpilot.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from steamboatpilot.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An emotional reunion gets cross-Canada walk to restore wilderness back on track
fftimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fftimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
All of the water in Yamcolo Reservoir near the Flat Tops Wilderness Area is used in Routt County. Seen here on May 28, the reservoir is significantly lower now and has run out of water for agricultural users. (Photo by Dylan Anderson)
In Colorado, much of the water is already spoken for, and it’s been that way for years. In these over-appropriated basins, water is put under administration to ensure senior water rights holders are getting the water they are owed.
In the Yampa River Basin, water management has generally been easier than in other parts of the state, said Andy Rossi, general manager of the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, in a presentation to the Board of Routt County Commissioners on Monday.