Fish Barrier and Diversion Infrastructure Upgrade To Benefit Native Fish Species in Roan Creek

The upper portion of Roan Creek contains a unique native fish assemblage comprised of Colorado River cutthroat trout, bluehead sucker, Paiute sculpin, and speckled dace.  In addition to these native species, portions of the watershed contain non-native brook trout, rainbow trout, and cutbow (hybrids between rainbow trout and cutthroat trout).  Rainbow trout can hybridize with native cutthroat trout as well as compete with them and the other native fish for habitat and food resources.  Brook trout outcompete native fish leading to their reduction in numbers or extirpation if left unabated.  

Natural barriers like waterfalls or artificial constructed barriers protect unique and important populations of native fish species. Following the isolation of native populations, resource managers remove non-native fish from the isolation reaches.  These management actions allow native fish to thrive in their historic habitats without the threat of competition or hybridization.

A fish barrier created in 1993 by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) isolate native species populations in the headwaters of the Roan Creek drainage basin.  In 2010 sampling efforts detected nonnative trout had moved past the failed barrier. Mechanical removal of the nonnative trout has been occurring in areas for the past several years to reduce the abundance and slow the upstream spread of these species.  

The Roan Creek Fish Barrier & Diversion Infrastructure Project was developed through a collaboration of the Middle Colorado Watershed Council, Garfield County, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the land owner, and the water rights holder. The project will construct a fish barrier that effectively eliminates the upstream movement of non-native fish.

The project will also benefit the water rights owner by providing water diversion enhancements that make water delivery more efficient and less impactful to water quality by eliminating the need to construct a pushup dam each year.

In November 2023, MCWC was notified by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) that a $746,412 WaterSMART grant was being awarded to fund the creation of a new fish barrier along with the irrigation infrastructure update. The Colorado River District funded the last remaining gap of $41,000. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has made a verbal commitment to contribute $125,000 to construction materials for the project, and the Colorado Basin Roundtable and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) approved a match request with Water Supply Reserve Funds for $84,754 earlier in 2023.

Project work starts with a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review this spring prior to construction currently planned for late summer 2024.