As the saga around the Lower Blue River in Colorado continues to unfold, some conservation groups have been accused of pushing for permitted and limited float trips through the lower sections.
Friends of the Lower Blue River recently told Josh Bergan that, despite reports to the contrary, the group isn’t pushing for a limited permit system that would allow only angler boats (no guide trips) on the Lower Blue River (FOBLR) in response to trout population and health struggles.
“We have never said that we’re fully in support of a permitting system, and we don’t see ourselves ever implementing one,” Nick Zomer, FOBLR treasurer, told Bergan. “We’re just a non-profit. But if that group of stakeholders comes to the conclusion that we should be working with a governmental agency to look at what a permitting system could be, I think we’d be open to that.”
Zomer went on to say that permitting and limiting floats through the Lower Blue River is something that’s being discussed at meetings, but there hasn’t been a formal recommendation that it’s the best solution for the river’s problems.
Lower Blue Woes
The Lower Blue River is facing problems with its trout populations. The fish aren’t healthy, and the brown trout population is in decline. Biologists from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) have identified gill lice infestations and an over-reliance on artificial food as the main contributors to the decline of brown trout in this prized stretch of river.
All rainbow trout surveyed by CPW were infested with gill lice, which is indicative of trout in this portion of the river being susceptible to spreading and succumbing to disease. Fish numbers, particularly of rainbow trout, are artificially high thanks to a fish-feeding program on a ranch that the Lower Blue River flows through. That abundance of artificial food has inflated the trout population, making it easier to transmit disease, and making the fish less reliant on natural food sources.
You can learn more about the problems facing the Blue River here.
And CPW knows about this and not NOT doing anything about it? Interesting.