In anticipation of an early and profuse runoff, the dates for the Superfly competition fly-fishing event on the Conejos River has been changed.
The contest now will be April 11-13. Organizer Jon Harp at the Conejos River Anglers fly shop said snowpack in the drainage has reached 160 percent of average. The change caused Harp to cap the entry list and no positions remain.
Deer feeding expanded.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife will begin feeding deer in the upper Eagle River Valley while continuing to monitor the condition of animals in other parts of northwest Colorado.
The Eagle effort, with a potential of 20 feeding sites, is likely to require $120,000 in feed in addition to extensive manpower from DOW personnel and volunteers. Persons from the Eagle area who wish to help with the project can contact coordinator Linda Edwards at linda.edwards@state.co.us. Volunteers are not being solicited from outside the area at this time.
DOW officials are closely monitoring deer herds in Middle Park to determine whether feeding will be required.
At the same time, the agency has begun to bait large elk herds away from private hay reserves on ranches near Steamboat Springs and Maybell.
In some cases, DOW pays landowners for agricultural losses resulting from big-game animals. The agency also provides materials to keep animals away from domestic feed supplies.
Colorado River blowout.
The Bureau of Reclamation is planning a March release of 42,000 cubic feet per second from the Glenn Canyon Dam at Lake Powell, an experimental event that almost certainly will prove destructive to a rebuilding trout habitat in the prized recreation section of the Colorado River above Lees Ferry.
BOR is allowing a narrow-window period for public comment ending Friday at . Anglers who wish to protect the trout-fishing resource should urge the No Action Alternative.
