The
TROUT TALE
The official newsletter of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited Volume 3, Issue 2
Winter 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: WYTU’s own Dave Sweet inducted into Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame ..................Page 3
Fish screen recently installed at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge The hard-working crew behind the installed screen at the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Wyoming. Once the coffer dam is removed, the screen will be half-to fully-submerged depending on the level of the Green River. Pictured from left to right: Theron Myers and Brett Carlson with Flare Construction; Ty McCarthy with Intake Screens Inc.; Craig Huhta with One Fish Engineering; Ron Swanson and Gene Smith with Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge; and Joseph Lucas with Intake Screens Inc. COURTESY PHOTO/USFWS
By NICK WALRATH Trout Unlimited Green River Project Manager
F
isheries managers have become increasingly aware that some irrigation ditches may be trapping fish in them. The Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) uses ditches to fill an extensive wetland system next to the Green River. Fish that enter the wetlands and labyrinth of ditches are destined to become food for the wetland wildlife on the refuge. After entering a ditch, fish face no good options. Either they go down to the large wetland where water temperatures will sky rocket in the summer or stay in the ditch where the water will be shut off in the fall. To determine how many fish were being trapped in the ditch system on Seedskadee NWR and to return the fish to the river, volunteers from the local Trout Unlimited chapter, Seedskadee Trout Unlimited (STU),
Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) staff and Seedskadee NWR staff electroshocked a small section of the largest ditch on the refuge — the Hamp II ditch — for one day in the fall of 2012. “The first year we saved over 700 trout in a short amount of time with a small crew,” said Pete Hallberg, STU volunteer. “That first year really opened our eyes to the problem.” Most of the fish saved were small age one brown trout. The Green River within this section is known for its trophy wild brown trout population. The large number and fact that most of the fish salvaged were small brown trout was very concerning to all. Project partners stepped up their fish salvage efforts the following year. For one day in the fall of 2013, over 40 volunteers from three Trout Unlimited chapters in southwest Wyoming (Upper Bear River, Popo Agie Anglers and Seedskadee), along with WGFD and Seedskadee NWR staff gathered to save fish in the Hamp II ditch and to determine if this was happening in the two other ditches on Seedskadee NWR.
See FISH SCREEN page 3