Font ResizeFour species of endangered fish in the Green River will have enough water during the winter and spring under proposed water-allocation changes, according to Utah officials.
Regulations already protect them in the summer and fall along the stretch of water in northeast Utah between the Flaming Gorge reservoir and the spot where the Duchesne River meets the Green River in Carbon County.
Matt Lindon, Utah's assistant state engineer, said a new policy expected to be signed Sept. 21 will help guarantee year-round flows for the fish -- and means any new requests for water in that area won't be granted at the expense of the endangered species.
The change is part of ongoing efforts to protect four endangered species: the humpback chub, the Colorado pikeminnow, the razorback sucker and the bonytail.
All four live in the Green River, where flows beneath Flaming Gorge are regulated by the dam in northeastern Utah.
In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said flows coming out of the dam were too low at times and likely to jeopardize the existence of the fish. The agency made a series of recommendations about how much water -- and at what temperature -- would be needed to make sure the fish survive.
Two years later, flow changes were made for summer and fall to help the fish. Years of studies and discussions are now culminating in setting similar standards for the rest of the year.
Although there isn't much development
"We're just making sure there's water for fish and water for water rights," he said.
Jana Mohrman, a hydrologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Denver, said the new policy will become especially important in years of low water, when the strain on the river is at its greatest. The fish would retain a "senior" water right and others who sought water in a new application after Sept. 21 would be subordinate to that.
A public meeting on the change is scheduled for Aug. 20 in Vernal.
