CPW to host open house in Salida to discuss with public its plans for removing low-head dam on Arkansas River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Bill Vogrin
Southeast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927 / [email protected]

Jan. 18, 2022

CPW to host open house meetings to discuss removal of a ‘low-head dam’ on Arkansas River near Salida

SALIDA, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife is inviting the public to a pair of open house meetings scheduled Feb. 1 in Salida to discuss its plans to remove a “low-head dam” on the Arkansas River located 1.5 miles upstream from the Mount Shavano State Fish Hatchery.

CPW will host the open houses at 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and again at 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, to explain plans for dam removal and to solicit public feedback. The meetings will take place in the Scout Hut, 210 E. Sackett Ave., Salida.

Removal of the dam – first built around 1956 to collect water for the hatchery downstream and then rebuilt in 1988 with an adjacent boat ramp – will eliminate a deadly threat to the thousands who boat on the Arkansas River each year. Water spilling over the dam churns at the bottom, creating a powerful suction that can capsize and trap boaters or swimmers.

Removing the dam would further benefit the Gold Medal river’s fish – brown trout, rainbow trout and native white suckers – by opening about 85 miles of river upstream to fish migration. Barriers like the dam limit genetic diversity by essentially dividing the population into two segments. The ability of fish to move freely in a river also helps to prevent overpopulation by balancing the amount of habitat and forage with the number of fish it can support.

"This project will ensure that the aquatic species that live in the river will have the ability to move freely up and down the river corridor as they are meant to do,” said Tom Waters, park manager for CPW’s Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) which encompasses 152 miles of the Arkansas River from Leadville to Pueblo. “It will also provide safer passage for recreational users in this popular stretch of river. The environment, the river enthusiasts and the community will benefit from the removal of this low head dam.”

The dam has not been used as a water supply for the fish hatchery since 2000 after whirling disease was detected in the Arkansas River a few years earlier. Whirling disease is caused by a parasite that infects rainbow trout, leaving them deformed and swimming in circles before it quickly kills the youngest fish. CPW spent $1.5 million at the hatchery to convert it to clean spring water to raise its fish.

“Spring water provides the hatchery with clean water at a constant temperature year-round and is optimal for raising trout,” said Bryan Johnson, CPW hatchery manager. He noted the hatchery still needs supplemental water and may someday take water from the river again. But the dam is no longer needed to access it. 

“We are not completely abandoning the idea of using river water,” Johnson said. “The hatchery still needs additional water to return to its full production levels from the 1990s. But a large diversion dam is no longer needed.”

The plan to remove the dam would be welcome by the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA), a Salida nonprofit outdoor advocacy group.

“As a child growing up in Salida, I remember at least one tragic death of a kayaker who went over the dam,” said Dominique Naccarato, GARNA executive director. “I am excited about the removal of the low-head dam. Removing the low head dam today will likely save a life in the future.”

Construction on the $1.8 million project, to be partially funded by grants, is planned to take place after the end of the whitewater boating season, generally after Aug. 15, and prior to fish spawning season Oct. 1-Nov. 15.

DETAILS:

What: Open House Meetings to discuss removal of a low-head dam on the Arkansas River about 3 miles northwest of downtown Salida.

Where: Scout Hut, 210 E Sackett Ave, Salida, Colo. 81201

When: Tuesday, Feb. 1

Times: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:

The "low-head dam" and adjacent boat ramp on the Arkansas River are seen in a Google Earth image.

Construction workers are seen on the dam as it was being rebuilt in 1988. The boat ramp constructed at the time is just beyond them. Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

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