BOARD00836

• Board Meeting Date: 9/6/1956
• Description: Minutes and Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

469

- 14 -

It is our duty as representative of the
fishermen to see that they have been
considered.

I

.
The Rio Grande, of course, is an excellent
fishing stream-one of the most important
streams. That is why we want to try and keep
all we can from this proposed construction.
The proposed construction of Wagon Wheel Gap
will have many adverse'effects upon our
stream fisheries in the Rio Grande. It will
adversely affect 77 miles of the river. This
~ill not be replaced by fluctuating reservoirs.
We estimate these probably will be dry three
out of ten years. We know that productivity is
gre9,tly reduced in a res'eryoir over a stream.
We have a criterion of one fish per hour which
is considered very good, at least normal, for
streams. We also have figures that show on
fluctuating reservoirs the catch will be
down to 25~. It will take four times as
long to catch the same number of fish. And
we expect a reduction of at least one-third on
the use of the stream. On a dollars and cents
value, losing fishermen's expenditures alone,
we expect a minus value of $l80,000 a year.
Evidently, the Bureau feels that this minimum
value, or request is out of line.

What we would like to do is determine just
what minimum flows would be required. Actually
we have very few figures on what effect reducing
the flow of the river will have on the fishing.

We don't know exactly what the present
pools are that are established in the stream;
what they will maintain in the way of fish life
for the winter, and what we would like to offer
is an alternative.

It is possible the Fish and Wil~ife can be I
granted some funds through the Bureau of
R~clamation to make further studies of this
stream, and possible other waters, where we have
minimum flow-release in the winter, and go in -
there and find out approximately just what
will be required in the way of flow-release
to protect our fisheries.