Emergency fish salvage in place on Huck Finn Pond behind Durango hatchery

John Livingston
Southwest Region Public Information Officer
970-759-9590 / [email protected]
@CPW_SW

An emergency public fish salvage is in place for the Huck Finn Pond behind the Durango Fish Hatchery through Oct. 15, 2023. The pond will be dredged beginning the week of Oct. 16.

DURANGO, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife will dredge the Huck Finn Pond behind the Durango Fish Hatchery beginning the week of Oct. 16. To prepare for the construction work, an emergency public fish salvage has been authorized.

All current bag and possession limits for all species will be removed for the Huck Finn Pond from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15. The pond is stocked with catchable size rainbow trout.

Fish may be taken by any lawful angling method. Anglers must have a valid Colorado fishing license, and commercial angling is not allowed.

“We encourage the public to come catch and harvest the rainbow trout in the pond so there is no waste before dredging begins,” said Durango Fish Hatchery Manager Toby Mourning.

The public will notice the dredging project in Huck Finn Pond beginning Oct. 16 and running at least through Nov. 8.

The pond will be closed to the public during this time with a temporary construction fence running from the Animas River up to the trail around the Huck Finn Pond on both sides.

The Animas River Trail will remain open, but flaggers will be on site to stop trail traffic when needed for trucks to safely cross the trail.

Routine dredging of the Huck Finn Pond is required to remove built up sediment. The pond was last dredged 13 years ago. The project will help keep the pond water clean and clear and will deepen the pool by removing the sediment.

CPW would like to remind the public that there is no parking behind the Durango Fish Hatchery building along the Animas River Trail. The parking lot located next to the hatchery building is for authorized CPW vehicles only.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.

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