Threatened fish return after two-decade-long Wyoming conservation project
Last month, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) celebrated a rebound of native fish in the Big Sandy water basin after 20 years of planning and treatment. The project aimed to restore populations of flannelmouth suckers and bluehead suckers, which are listed as species of greatest conservation need in Wyoming and the Colorado River Basin. … When the dams were built in the 1950s, they trapped some of the large river species that were upstream from returning to the Colorado River. As most Colorado River tributaries were dammed, these species struggled to reproduce, which resulted in declining populations throughout the mountain states. … This project focused on removing illegally introduced burbot, which were eating the smaller native suckers, and invasive suckers, which were hybridizing with the native suckers.
Other Colorado River Basin news:
- Inside Climate News: New stream gauges and weather stations poised to help Wyoming tribes endure flooding and drought
- WBUR (Boston, Mass.): Podcast: Wyoming’s cloud seeding program loses funding
- KNPR (Las Vegas, Nev.): Manure runoff is polluting drinking water supplies across the Mountain West, report finds
- Journal-Advocate (Sterling, Colo.): Small Colorado towns cry foul as state seeks to clean up their wastewater
- CBS Colorado: Colorado snowpack tumbles to 74%, down 15% in 7 days
- El País English (Spain): The 1944 treaty under which Trump accuses Mexico of stealing water from Texas
