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<br />F. hkl('klll~ for a home In tht:
<br />IS colJ W3tt'f:' of Colorado's high
<br />mountJ.ln ;.tn:am~ ,liT ha\1ng
<br />a louf,h tlm~. espt'cially In the v.inta
<br />Howen'f. oJ:' nn:r re<.:rl'.\U~'1l and flshmg
<br />OeCllOll' more imp..'r\;lnl tllthl' t"nmomy
<br />and hfc.">Lyle 01 mountain ..:,lmmunities,
<br />rehahtlit<llhlO proJCtlS to impron' fish
<br />h;Jblt;lI dre mcre3smgly popular \Vhat
<br />propont'nts have f,mnd 15 that design-
<br />Ing nWT habItat to hdp hsh lhr\lugh tht'
<br />lon~ Wlnler m"nth" IS ~o(ld !,IT tnl' (TOU!.
<br />;tnd !-iood for bUSlnt.SS
<br />Winter IS a k.m tlrn\.' IN Colorado":'
<br />ri,"cr:. .md streams flows Jnd (c:m-
<br />I.wralllrt's dr,-'p tll the It'W.:"l levels oj lhe
<br />year .150 the WJ.lt':r supply IS loch:d up In
<br />the det:pt'mng snow 1'.1.:1.; Groundwater
<br />scrpmg qua:dy IllW tht" nn:rh<-d may
<br />,lifer Ih\' "nly ...llun:". III repkmsnmem
<br />to the slream Only spnng '.\.111 haald
<br />the rdt';l~' Ilf bUill-up stlln~s when snow
<br />m.:lts ,md th.: It'ud Vl'l>':l' llf Colorados'
<br />n\'.:r~ rl'turns
<br />Y.:t wlIlln hit' Illr fJ"h and aquJ.tll
<br />lfl~l!s IS nt't ,b uHe ,I., II may ~Tm
<br />Adaplt'u o\'er tfll'U.,;\O(b of ~l"ars to thc
<br />annual lyril' III spnn~ n(\ods and wlntt'r
<br />jpws, m.ltly cllld-w,lll-r rlVl'r rCSldl'l1l~
<br />thn\"(- In thIS KY cn\"ln'nmcnl
<br />L"lUlfliUdy. !ish sut>i\'alul the wlllter
<br />stream ut'pends not S\l much on \\ata
<br />temperatures_ hut on the l'llmplextty Jnd
<br />dl\TNty 01 rhelr SlreJm hahltat .md rh.:
<br />shape and \;mallOll DI the rivcr channel
<br />Deep pools where the water runs slower
<br />and where thert' is abundant protec-
<br />ll\'t' co\'er from stre;lffi hank Ye,l!;etatllln
<br />pro\'ide idea! \\1nter hsh hahual And
<br />dt'Splte the cold, lllseCI fo...xl fllr the fish
<br />I~ oftl'n Jbundantthrou~hout the w1nter
<br />h"h behaVIOr III cold-w;ller streams also
<br />chan~es They become less termonal
<br />and more greganous, g.uhenng IUgether
<br />and resting in the decpcr pvuls,
<br />Howe\"Cr, habl!at degradation .md
<br />low now Condltl(lnS 111 the stream can
<br />make winter a dIfficult tlm\' for hsh and
<br />ILL",,'cb. Many of Colnrados high CCluntry
<br />streams have been damaged by human
<br />aCIl\111es, past and present. Runoff from
<br />mmmg, agnculture_ highways and dt"\'cl-
<br />opment can fill the riVf'r's pools and nrne:;
<br />with sediment. DlVersrons of walCf out of
<br />the stream fOf sno\\TIUkrng, Imganon, or
<br />drinking water, for example, c.an reduce
<br />lhe high-velocity flows necessary (() C~-
<br />are the deep pools and open channels
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<br />f.Soh need to sun1\'e Diverstons have also
<br />dlmrnlShed the total volume of water m
<br />Cl)lorado n\"Crs at certam umes of the
<br />y.:ar. Before reser....olrs and di\-ersions,
<br />nwr channels were wider to accommo.
<br />d.lte fk...xb and greater surges of water
<br />But III modem-da\' nvers wllh lower
<br />flows, in wm.: GI".cs the resuh l.S a dis-
<br />prrsed shallow nv-er wuh lew pockets of
<br />deep habllat to hold over-\\1ntenng fish
<br />In degraded river channels, tmprtw-
<br />Illg ftsh habnat during wmtemme low
<br />flow condItions can be cntical to the
<br />year-round health of the fishery. Recent
<br />nver restoratlon projects on the Blue
<br />RIver through the town of Silverthorne
<br />focuSt':d on re-woling shallow ,gravell)'
<br />channels to pro\"lde more deep pools
<br />llllked by fast flowmg nffies
<br />_-\lthough releases of cold water
<br />Irom the bollom of Dillon Re5CrvOlr
<br />helpt'd tUrn the Blue River into a Gold
<br />\kdal fishery, low nows---panicularly
<br />dunng drou,ght-were slowly degrad-
<br />mg the resource
<br />To moblli.:e a restoration effort, Trout
<br />L:nlrmlted, the \0wn of Silverthorne,
<br />Dt'nn'r \Vata and many other agcnnes
<br />worked together to raise m~lney and
<br />rl.;;i'urct'S- Andy G<:lllry. presldcnt of thc
<br />Gore Range Chapter of Trout L:nhmaed,
<br />W;IS im.truml'nLJl In building momen~
<br />tum for the pWJcn "It was a bro.ld-
<br />ba~d lommunttr dfort,- h.: .:xpbms.
<br />Everyone recognl:ed the import.mcc
<br />of the n\'er and pllched m. from all
<br />the go\'t'mmcntal agenoes to non-prof-
<br />II ,lrgJl1I:atlons and pm.ate bUSiness
<br />Thats what made It such a success ~
<br />Collectively the community raised
<br />o\'er $lJO.OOO to match a 594,750 gram
<br />from Ihe Nallonal Forest Foundation.
<br />The town of Silverthorne organized
<br />thc vanous partner" .md develuped J
<br />rcstoration plan Denver \Vater pro.
<br />vided additional funding Jnd access to
<br />key porllom. of the nWf for the resto-
<br />ration work.
<br />urge boulders wert' used 10 \'af')' the
<br />depth and smuos.it)' of the new channel.
<br />The old wide r1wrbecl was then left as
<br />floodplam, where high flows can spread
<br />OUI, dlsslpallng energy and watenng the
<br />newly planted ripanan vegetation
<br />Accordmg to Troy Thompson of
<br />Ecological Resource COn5UhalllS, Inc_,
<br />who led the design and construCl1on
<br />of the Blue River project, ~As more and
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<br />more people look at dOlllg projects like
<br />these they are realizmg the importance
<br />of planning and bUlldmg for \\inter
<br />habllaL~ He adds that many high coun-
<br />tf'). streams are challcnged to mamtam
<br />ecologICal balance because "the reduced
<br />now of today is struggling \\1thin a
<br />channel made by the much larger flows
<br />of the past ~
<br />Wlllter Hshmg had always been pret-
<br />ty good on the Blue River below the
<br />dam, but the resl.oranon work "definne-
<br />ly tmproved the hshery: according to
<br />Barry KIrkpatrick of Cutthroat Anglers
<br />in Silverthorne
<br />Despltc commOn misperceptions
<br />about barren wImer streams, fishing IS
<br />a year-round acm-Ity III Colorado and
<br />rivers like the Blue RIver beli)\\, Dillon
<br />Reservoir are often open throughout
<br />the wimer. And despite the cold tem-
<br />peratures, many ~lIgh-country fly ftsh-
<br />ing shops and guides remain busy
<br />throughout the winter,
<br />Bill Perry of Fl). Fishmg Outfitters m
<br />Avon opened hIS shop 10 years ago as a
<br />year-round ny flsh10g SlOrc, one of the
<br />first 10 Colorado to do so "Lots of peo-
<br />ple \.\'ho come out to ski are surpnsed 10
<br />fmd out that Col~'rado has year.round
<br />fishing,- says Pl'rry. who adds that hc
<br />has guidcs on the n\-er with (hems cvery
<br />Jay of the year "\Ia)'he tht,y can't g\l
<br />skllng. 50 they gu flshmg BeSides, thcre
<br />aren't many other fL"hcnnen out 5<.) It's a
<br />grcatl1mc to go,
<br />Helplllg the m-ers ,md th.: fish dur-
<br />ing lhe lean w1nter months also helps
<br />Colorado's economy Fishing alone was
<br />worth S 1.6 bIllIOn do11ars ,\Onu;1l1y and
<br />employed o\'er is,lXX) people In Colorado
<br />m 2001, accordmg to a study by the
<br />American Sponfishing ASSOCIation,
<br />Low flow conditions, whether caused
<br />by' droughl, dlvcrslOn or both, are now
<br />fauly common m the head\\.-<Itcrnvers
<br />and streams of Colorado. At the s.lme
<br />ume, the value of our nvcrs for fbh-
<br />ing and recreallon is mcreasmg. Ri\.cr
<br />rehabilitation projects like those on the
<br />Blue River are working 10 meet not only
<br />the ch.mgmg ecological needs of these
<br />unique streams, but also the changlllg
<br />SOCIal and economic demands of the
<br />commullIues they support. ':l
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<br />EdiWfS,\,'ott': K..'IlNnJll.(h..-rLSllv:wes..tslope
<br />OI};:aniZtT for G1lamdo Trow l 'nlimjrrd
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