FLOOD05417

• County: Mesa
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Title: Sixteenth Annual Report - Colorado River Storage Project and Participating Projects for Fiscal Year 1972
• Date: 1/1/1972
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

North, and Steillaker in Utah; and Fon-
leO!~lIt! in Wyoming.

Not all CRSP fislll~ries. nuwevpr. have
improved. Some dowllstrt1am fishing
has diminished. Cold water, dUt' to a
ttll'rmal stratificatiun and dt~epeninK of
tlw mservoir behind Flaming Gorge and
Navujo nums, has impaired spawning
and gro.....th of the fish in tailwater
streams. Studies arc undt~rway (0 ascer-
tain if outlet facilities can be altl'red so
that waler temperalures can be adjusted
fordownstream fisheries. Drouth cOlldi-
lions in the southHrn part of the Upper
Colorado River Basin have led to
mdrenmly Inw streamflows in the post-
runoff seasons. Fish habitat has been
consith~rab]y damilgt!d. wtWrtl Storage
Project reservoirs exist. hnwever,
minimulll streamflows hav!l lwen con-
sisltmtly rTlaintained.

Fish havt! lmen stocked in the new water
of Silver lack Reservoir in Colorado.
Bollle Hollow and Starvation Reservoirs
in Utah. and Meeks Cabin Reservoir in
Wyoming. r-.1ost of the recently stucked
fish came from the two national fish
hatchl'lries at Jones Hnle and Hotchkiss
lhat were dpveloped with Colorado
River Storagt! Projed Act funds.

One national wildlife refugrl. Slled.

skadee National Wildlife Refuge in
Wyoming. and three waterfowl areas
under State administration are being
developed in connection with the
Colorado River Storage Project. The
Browns Park Waterfowl Management
Area headquarters in the vicinity of the
Utah-Colorado state line has btlcn com-
pleted. A $110,000 construction con-
tract was awardlld to develop 120 acres
of pond-marsh habitat in addition to 450
acres of land adjoining an upstream
water unit. Resident and migratory
game bird populations make consistent
use of the area. It also is increasing in
public popularity as a fishing and hunt-
ing site.

A study in the nearly complete Miller
Mesa Waterfcw"" Area just soulh of the
Colorado-New Mexico state line
indicates that birds from agricultural
and other resting areas in the San Juan
Valley are using the site with increasing
frequency.

At the Desert Lake Waterfowl Manage-
ment Area in eastern Utah, the historic
Desert Lake Dike was rehabilitated and
five additional areas below the existing
impoundment were diked,

Design data were completed for
rehabilitation of seven sl1\all private

irrigation impoundments in the hnad-
waters of the Lowry Creek and Seely
Creek drainagt'li in the Emery County
Project, Utah. Stabilization of these
existing reservoirs to create trout fishing
lakes will improvtl management and
public use possibilities.

Final segl1lf'nts of the joint fishery inves-
tigations of Lake Powell by the Arizona
and Utah Fish and Game Departmnnls
and of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir by
the Utah and Wyoming departments
were completed.

ThH fifth segment of the study of the
Curecanti Unit was compl!lted by the
Colorado Division of Wildlife. Principal
game fish species within the Blue Mesa
and Morrow Point Restlrvoirs inc1udt!
rainbow trout. brown troul. kokanee
and cono salmon. Management of the
last two spocies is directly tied 10 pro-
duction of fish from nearby Roaring
Judy Hatchery on the Lake Fork of the
Gunnison River.

The first segmnnt of the fishery study
of Heron Reservoir. San Juan-Chilma
Project, was completed by the New
Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
This study will be useful in developing
appropriate fishery management plans
for the initial years of operation.

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