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There was one malfunction involving the mine water - treat - rnent plant south of Mintum last year-during which water with ele- vated zinc .levels leaked into the river, but no fish kills'were report- ed, said Caroline Bradford of the Eagle River Watershed Council, a local preservation group. Up to this point the river cleanup has been a major suc- cess, but the river hasn't com- pletely healed and all the sources of pollution haven't been shut off. There are still traces of dissolved zinc — toxic to fish — in the river at certain times of the year. That zinc can harm the fish, accord- ing to scientists. Zinc link Woodling singled out a tagged brown trout near Minturn that has been repeatedly caught and released to illustrate what's going on in the restored stretch of the Eagle River. Trout P.-67 has lived in the Eagle River near Mintum .for the Past seven years and is living proof of the success of the cleanup. of the river. It's also. proof that things aren't completely restored. P -67 is just over 10 inches long — underweight and small for a 7- year -old fish — but it appears healthy. It hatched from an egg in 1997, about a decade after untreated tailings, from the mine killed virtually all . aquatic life in a seven mile stretch of river between the mine and Dowd Junction. THE VAIL DAILY 970.949.0555 /va 1daily.com Thursday, April 8, 2004 - P. TROUT IN TROUBLE: Fish survey reports decline Prom page A2 - P -67 has been caught, measured and weighed four years in a row. . The trout and thousands like him have repopulated the restored stretches of the Eagle River in *increasing numbers. Today there's approximately 200 pounds of fish per surface acre in the river (an area about the size of a football field), according to wildlife experts who tally fish numbers. That's nearly the same as stretches of the river that were not affected by the mine. But P67 also illustrates perfectly the remaining chal- lenges for the Eagle River He's shorter and weighs less than similar-aged fish found in stretches of the river that weren't destroyed by the mine's pollution. Zinc, according to wildlife offi- cials, is the culprit . In the '17 years since mil- lions of gallons of contami- nated water from the Eagle Mine spilled into the river, the subsequent cleanup of the river is one of only •two successful„ restoration proj- ects across the country, Woodling said. The other is Idaho's Clark's Fork. The Eagle River is close to being cleaned up — how close is subjective — but it still contains slightly elevat- ed levels of zinc from the mine. Zinc is stunting the growth of the fish in the restored part of the river because it creates what Woodling calls, "a physio- logical cost." Fish can become tolerant of elevated zinc — levels of . 250 parts or more per billion — but they don't grow as fast It's-looking like last year's fish (hatched last year) are basically not there." Bill Heicher FISH SHOCKING VOLUNTEER as fish who aren't exposed to zinc. That's the approximate iinc con- centration in the river,dwing; low. flow months in the early spring when it's at it highest But it's still a far cleaner river than it was when the mine's pollution colored the river orange. "It's a lot different than 1990," said Woodling- In 1990, Viacom, the mine owner, under pressure from state and federal govem- ments, began a $70 million cleanup of metals - contaminated tailings and mine water. "Now there are fishermen. That's a far cry from what was going on in 1990," Woodling said Late last month, Woodling pre- sented a "state of the,— iW! address ,. to the attendees of tl'�ag.le River Watershed Councll- :`ztionilzly Waterwise Wednesday meeting that outlined the 'success of the restoration- It preceded the new data showing the decline offilsh in the river that was collected'1'h: day and Friday- Good grades "me Eagle River still gets an 'A;"" , Woodling . said. -But -'he. called the growth level of-the fish in the restored stretch :of the river' "pathetic. i5 Part of the reason is the enviroi�tnent of the river. it's cold and has a S' iOrt-• "gl owing•. season" foil fish, Woodling said. Fish are': an indicator species that functi6ii like the canary min- ers brouglit.. into coal..miries to--.. wain them of poisonous gasses: The Eagle Mine >Superfund cleanup was a . compromise forged` not in a laboratory, but in-court by lawyers and environmental experts, from Viacom; the U.S. Environmental . Protection . Agency, the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the. state Department of Public Health and Environment They settled on using the hardier brown trout as a a key indicator species that could be used to judge the recovery of the river and its ability to sustain a diversified biological community. See Trout in trouble, page AIO Vail Daily /Bret Hartman The remains of the old Eagle Mine at Belden next to the:,, .Eagle River is where millions of gallons of contaminated water spilled into the river 27 years ago. The cleanup is only one of two successful cleanups in the country.