Nearly all fish in the North Sterling State Park reservoir are dead — victims of the drought, which has forced farmers to draw heavily from the reservoir to irrigate crops.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say the die-off happened over the past week.
North Sterling Park employees first saw dead fish floating on top of the reservoir last Saturday. Three days later, south and east shorelines were littered: wiper, walleye, saugeye, channel catfish, crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, freshwater drum, common carp, and gizzard shad.
The primary purpose of the reservoir is to store water for farmers who use it to irrigate crops. Fish died because oxygen levels in the water were too low, state biologists said Friday. The water was drawn down so low that fish were confined in a relatively small pool.
Recent winds across the pool churned water from the bottom of the pool to the top. The water at the bottom was lowest in oxygen due to decaying organic matter. The mixing of waters drove down the overall oxygen levels.
The water levels nearby in the Jumbo, Prewitt and Jackson reservoirs also are low. State officials said people trying to fish in northeastern Colorado should try Jumbo Annex Reservoir or Stalker Lake.
The state officials said they hope to start work to re-establish the fishery in North Sterling State Park next spring – if conditions improve.
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, or bfinley@denverpost.com
