<\/p>\n
A short stretch of the Mancos River is now more fish-friendly after extensive work by the Mancos Conservation District.<\/p>\n
The district received $120,000 to improve four diversions and increase habitat diversity along 2.4 miles of the river from the Western Excelsior Plant to the Road J bridge, said Russell Klatt, the natural resource technician for the district.<\/p>\n
Before the work was started, an unusually large number of pure bluehead suckers was found in the river by an electro-fishing survey by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. A total of 45 suckers was found in about 1,000 feet of river. The survey also found brown and rainbow trout.<\/p>\n
In many other parts of the Colorado, the bluehead sucker has crossbred with non-native suckers, said Jim White, an aquatic biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who did the survey.<\/p>\n
It is also rare to find the suckers in habitats that are affected by a lot of irrigation like the Mancos, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA bluehead sucker is kind of like a cow \u2013 they graze in shallow rippling water,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
But during the day the fish, which range from 3 to 7 inches in the Mancos River, like to hide in pools under tree branches. When the water gets warmer in summer, the fish head upstream for cooler streams.<\/p>\n
So downstream from the Road J bridge, the district installed several weirs to eliminate a sharp drop of several feet that created a barrier for the small fish.<\/p>\n
Other weirs were created to slow the water down and create pools for fish to live in during the day and when the river is low.<\/p>\n
The project was completed in September and October on private land.<\/p>\n
White said that combining habitat improvement with irrigation improvement was important in Colorado for projects to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really got to have that public-private spirit of working together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The grant also funded the replacement of two unstable cobble diversions with permanent weirs.<\/p>\n
These weirs are made out boulders about a cubic yard in size and make it easier for local farmers to receive a good flow of water in the spring.<\/p>\n
Klatt said he plans to improve two more diversions with the grant funding this winter or after irrigation season in the fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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