Study finds manmade whitewater parks in Colorado may inhibit fish migration

A new research by Colorado Parks and Wildlife researchers suggests man-made whitewater parks that create play waves for kayakers and other recreationists are having a negative impact on fish passage Colorado s rivers are well-loved by both whitewater enthusiasts and anglers Yet as whitewater parks have been constructed throughout the state researchers say the prospective impacts on fish and anglers have not inevitably been taken into consideration Related Articles Colorado lake named among best places for ice fishing in U S Colorado land board agrees to sell acres in San Luis Valley despite worries about federal initiative Colorado society lands deal faces unexpected scrutiny after years of planning and reason is unclear A billionaire a land swap gold medal fishing dinosaur trout and a permit proposal anglers are calling a bait and switch in Colorado Mines grad s app helps solve access question for selected of Colorado s acres of inaccessible community lands Essentially they re kind of at odds noted Eric Richer an aquatic research scientist with the state wildlife agency and one of the lead authors of the survey Fish want slow deep water and whitewater parks to create the hydraulic wave are constricting water into a steep chute or drop often over a surface that has been grouted to try to make it as smooth as viable to get those velocities elevated The state wildlife agency first began looking into the impacts of white water parks on fish passage a number of years ago after one scientist who is an avid angler was fishing near the white water park on the Arkansas River near Buena Vista Richer reported The researcher noticed that he was catching more fish downstream of the man-made structure than he was as he worked his way upstream through the structure Researchers identified more than white water parks across Colorado that are either already built or are in the planning stages There are whitewater parks on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs the Roaring Fork near Basalt the Ten Mile Creek in Frisco the Pumphouse in Gore Canyon near Kremmling and dozens of other locations Read the full story from our partner at vaildail com Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter