Endangered Species
WRA and The Nature Conservancy participate in a collaborative multi-state and multi-agency effort to improve conditions for four species of endangered fishes in the Colorado River and its major tributaries.
A Big Win for the Fish:
Bureau of Reclamation Finalizes Decision to Change Releases from Flaming Gorge Dam
Utah- Early in 2006, the Bureau of Reclamation put the finishing touches on a multi-year effort to find a new way to operate Flaming Gorge dam and reservoir. For several years, WRA, along with partners at The Nature Conservancy, have been part of a collaborative multi-state and multi-agency effort finding ways to improve conditions for several species of endangered fishes in the Colorado River and its major tributaries.
The re-operation of Flaming Gorge will increase peak flows, especially in wet years, and improve temperatures in several hundred miles of the Green River, including Dinosaur National Monument. This effort, linked to many others in the Endangered Species Recovery Program, aim to pull four species of warm water fish back from the brink of extinction.
WRA is involved in a similar effort on the Gunnison River, where re-operation of the 3-dam Aspinall Unit will improve river flows and other habitat in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and reaches of the Gunnison River and Colorado River downstream. The process has been complicated and slow, but will result in long-term protection for fish that have called the Colorado River basin their home for centuries.
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