In order to keep water from spilling over an Idaho dam, the Bureau of Reclamation has actually informed Wyoming authorities that it prepares to cut drain of Jackson Lake Dam to what might be fish-killing levels downstream.
The bureau’s Upper Snake Field Office alerted the state the releases would be cut for 6 to 8 weeks beginning May 10 to avoid water from topping Milner Dam, which lies east of Twin Falls, Idaho. The firm pointed out issues about above-average snowpack, according to a Wyoming Game and Fish Department news release.
The Snake River drain presently has a snowpack 124% of typical. Milner Lake had a water elevation of 10 feet. Since the aged dam was rebuilded to produce hydropower, the greatest lake level was 11.5 feet in 2021.
According to WGFD, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to decrease water circulations from 280 cubic feet per 2nd to 50 cfs. The minimum circulation needed to keep the fishery listed below the dam and keep water within the world-famous Oxbow Bend is 280 cfs.
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The 4.5-mile stretch of river listed below the dam is crucial environment for Snake River aggressive trout, coast birds, wildlife and the bluehead sucker — a types of biggest preservation requirement. Any decrease of water circulation listed below 280 cfs in this location will hurt the community and adversely impact outside leisure, tourist and angler opportunities, Wyoming Game and Fish said in its news release.
The BOR’s Snake River Office did not react to an ask for details in time for this story.
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, Wyoming Water Development Office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department have actually been dealing with BOR in an effort to discover affordable options to keep circulations at levels that will not be damaging to native wildlife, WGFD composed. The BOR has actually not started a decrease of circulation to this magnitude in years.
“This drastic change in water operations by the Bureau of Reclamation with extremely short notice has made this situation particularly challenging,” said Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik. “To this point and through many discussions with the BOR, we have not been able to find long-term solutions, however we continue to maintain hope we can buy some time to find mutually agreeable ways forward.”
Water storage was acquired by the state of Wyoming in the early 1990s. BOR is requiring that Wyoming utilize its available water storage to supplement water streams to keep fisheries. This requirement is worrying to Game and Fish, especially given that there is above-average water overflow forecasted in the Snake River drain. The state of Wyoming is prepared to use its available water storage in an effort to keep water circulations, however present forecasts approximate the account will be tired prior to completion of the duration BOR plans to decrease circulations.
“This decision by BOR has the potential to impact spawning native fish, anglers and recreational users and visitors at Wyoming’s beloved Grand Teton National Park,” Nesvik said. “Reducing flows during a year when we have significantly more water available than normal is hard to comprehend and Wyoming cannot support this reduction. The state of Wyoming is calling on BOR to develop alternative solutions quickly to keep flow rates at the minimum level to conserve wildlife.”
The State Engineer’s Office, Wyoming Water Development Office and Game and Fish stay dedicated to dealing with BOR to keep circulations at levels that will prevent negative effects to the fishery. State leaders are likewise operating in good faith with senior authorities in the Department of Interior to discover an equally reasonable course forward that secures crucial wildlife environments.
Volunteers learn a channel of the Madison River on Wednesday early morning with a Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologist as they work to save trapped fish in areas that have actually been cut off from the primary river circulation. The river started to dry up after a breakdown happened at a gate on the dam at Hebgen Lake. (Meagan Thompson, The Montana Standard)
