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37 <br />WILL OUTLET MODIFICATION OF FLAMING GORGE DAM HELP THE COLORADO <br />SQUAWFISH? <br />Paul B. Holden, BIO/WEST, Inc., Logan, Utah <br />Flaming Gorge Dam was closed in 1962 and in the following <br />4-5 years an excellent tailwater trout fishery was established. <br />During this same period, Colorado squawfish were eliminated for <br />65 miles below the dam, to the mouth of. the Yampa River.. Below. <br />this point, squawfish were fairly common and reproduced success- <br />fully. The tailwater trout fishery started to decline in 1968-69, <br />at the same time that Colorado squawfish reproduction stopped in <br />the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument. Cold tailwater <br />temperatures were blamed for both declines. An analysis of <br />temperature and flow data from the Green River indicates that <br />tailwater temperatures were reduced more due to high flows than <br />actual release temperatures. The Bureau of Reclamation installed <br />outlet modifications in 1978 to warm the tailwater temperatures <br />and, hopefully, improve the trout fishery. BIO/WEST is <br />conducting a study below the trout habitat portion to determine <br />effects of the modifications on distribution and reproduction <br />of warm water fishes. The study is designed to last 3 years <br />and compare pre- and post-modification conditions. Data collected <br />to date suggests native species will successfully reproduce in <br />portions of the river previously too cold for reproduction.