© 2024 Aspen Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

River Temperatures Threaten Fish; Voluntary Fishing Restrictions In Place

www.instagram.com/packywestfeldt

Low water levels and high temperatures are causing stress to fish in the Roaring Fork Valley, so experts are asking anglers to stop fishing in the mid-afternoon.

 

Data collected through the Roaring Fork Conservancy shows that temperatures on the lower Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers are reaching levels that can stress fish to the point where they can’t recover if anglers pull them out of the water. This happens as water warms through the mid-60s. Because of low flows during this drought, recent temperatures on the Colorado have been as high as 75 degrees.

So the Roaring Fork Conservancy has teamed up with local fishing groups and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to ask all anglers to stop fishing between 2 p.m. and midnight, when temperatures peak. If temperatures continue to rise, CPW could close fishing access to some streams and rivers.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
Related Content