STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — With high water temperature and low flow on the Yampa River near Steamboat Springs, anglers have been asked to stop fishing in the area until further notice.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) made the request on Thursday.
The voluntary closure, which runs from the top of Sarvis Creek State Wildlife Area downstream to Stagecoach Reservoir, begins Friday. This section is about 1.7 miles, CPW said.
Denver7 reached out to CPW to learn more about what defines a voluntary closure. Northwest Region Public Information Officer Rachael Gonzales provided an explanation.
"Anglers are not required to stop fishing that stretch of the Yampa, but we are asking them to help do their part to protect the resource and find another location to fish," she said. "When closures, voluntary or mandatory, are implemented, it means river conditions have met a threshold where fish health is impacted."
In addition to this voluntary closure, a mandatory one is in place on the Yampa River from the Stagecoach State Park dam downstream to the lowest part of the park boundary. This stretch is about 0.6 miles. Click here for a list of all fishing closures in the state.
CPW Aquatic Biologist Marisa Eley said these closures will protect several species of fish, but CPW is particularly concerned about the mountain whitefish in this area. Mountain whitefish are one of only two native sport fish in the state, CPW said. The other is the cutthroat trout.
"This species is especially vulnerable to high temperatures, low dissolved oxygen levels, and increased angling mortality," she said. "Implementing this closure allows CPW to continue protecting this important native species."
Colorado's mountain whitefish population has been declining over the past few years, CPW said. During a severe drought in 2002, the state recorded "a dramatic decrease" in their numbers.
With a historic drought this year, CPW said it expects additional closures in the next few weeks.
Northwest Region Senior Aquatic Biologist Ben Felt explained that voluntary closures are only put in place when a river's conditions meet a certain threshold and fish health has been impacted. The conditions include a daily maximum water temperature above 71 degrees, streamflow that is 50% or less of the daily average, visible signs of stress and fungus on fish, and a low level of daily minimum dissolved oxygen.
These conditions already take a toll on fish and they will struggle to recover if they are caught and released, CPW said.
The Yampa River runs from the Flat Top Mountains south of Steamboat Springs west nearly 300 miles to the Dinosaur National Monument near the Utah border.
Back in July 2021, Denver7 reported on similar mandatory and voluntary full-day closures that were in place on the Yampa River within Stagecoach Reservoir Park.
Last summer, the river temporarily closed to all recreation in the Steamboat Springs area due to low flow and high water temperatures.
