7266

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7266
• Author: Pearson, W. D.
• Title: Distribution of Macroinvertebrates in the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam, 1965-1973.
• USFW Year: 1967.
• USFW - Doc Type: Utah State University,
• Copyright Material: NO

•
INTRODUCTION
Construction of high dams in the Western United States has often
had far-reaching effects on the rivers impounded. The river environ-
ment is changed in the impounded segment and water drawn from deep in
a large reservoir into the tailwaters is usually clearer and colder
than before. Other changes in water quality may be associated with
the chemical limnology of the reservoir. Severe fluctuations in water
level may occur in both the reservoir and tailwaters.
The Colorado River Storage Project is a long-range program by the
United States Bureau of Reclamation to develop the water resources of
the upper Colorado River drainage of which Flaming Gorge Dam and Reser-
voir are a part. Flaming Gorge Dam is an arch-type concrete structure
455 feet high located on the Green River in the northeastern corner of
Utah. Power production and water storage are the primary purposes of
the structure. Total hydro&lectric capacity of 108,000 KW is produced
by three generators each of which is supplied with water by a 10-foot-
diameter penstock. Water may also be passed through the lower outlets
or over the spillway. Since impoundment, however, most of the water
has been released through the penstocks.
Before the dam was closed in November of 1962, a large scale fish
eradication program was conducted on the Green River to suppress un-
desirable fish populations to allow establishment of a trout sport fish-
ery in the reservoir and tailwaters. This was a joint action by the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife service and the states of Wyoming and Utah. Approxi-
mately 21,495 gallons of an emulsified rotenone formulation, Chem-Fish