Wyoming Water Strategy

11/20/2017

Fish passage coordinator Nick Scribner led efforts last week to replace a screen on an irrigation diversion off Bear Creek on the Commission's Spence & Moriarty Wildlife Management Area. The previous drum screen was undersized and was replaced with a paddle wheel-driven larger screen. Now the Department can better balance water diversion for growing hay for wildlife and keeping water in Bear Creek for Yellowstone Cutthroat trout.

The screen keeps cutthroat trout and other fish species out of the ditch. The original project included a new diversion structure in addition to the screen and was funded by a variety of partners. The Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust was a substantial project partner along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Design was by One Fish Engineering, the screen was from Hendrick Screen Company, and Wyoming Fabrication and Machine out of Evanston constructed the paddle wheel and the frame that holds the drum.

09/29/2017

Construction is occurring right now on Medicine Lodge Creek. Some local students have been tracking this project for over a year and learning about bank erosion and stream restoration along the way.

This project is possible due to a large grant from WWNRT along with additional funding and support from local irrigators, WGFD, DEQ, EPA, State Parks and the East Yellowstone Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

09/09/2017

Friends, some of you may be interested...

A team of state agencies have worked together to develop an interactive map of stream restoration and fish passage projects in Wyoming.

09/08/2017

Check out this link to learn more about stream restoration: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/News/State-agencies-work-together-On-Wyoming-stream-res

A team of state agencies have worked together to develop an interactive map of stream restoration and fish passage projects in Wyoming.

09/08/2017

Check out this new bottomless culvert installed on Canyon Creek, in the Bighorns. Trout Unlimited's Tommy Thompson and Forest Service's Chris Williams led the effort to open up passage for brook and rainbow trout. The previous pair of 6' diameter perched culverts were replaced with this 17' wide by 72 foot long beauty.

Peterson Construction out of Sheridan are wrapping up their good work including four vanes along the stream bed under the culvert. Additional partners include WWNRT, Jed Smith of Sage Engineering, and support from national highway funds.

08/31/2017

Recently a few WGFD aquatic habitat biologists counted logs in the channel of Dry Fork Little Bighorn Creek in the Big Horn Mountains. This remote stream has tons of logs in the channel from blow downs and natural forest succession.

All those logs are believed to boost trout habitat. The idea behind collecting the measurements was to use this stream as a reference for the high end of the scale if ever we desire to add wood to a similar channel to boost trout production.

08/31/2017

State Line Diversion on Little Snake River. So often projects are all about creating and enhancing passage connections so fish can move around and reach all the habitats they need to thrive.

Sometimes, like at State Line, we want to limit fish movement. This work was done to keep Northern Pike from coming upstream from below and preying on native fish in the Little Snake River from Baggs on upstream.

The Little Snake River Conservation District led this effort with lots of partners including WWNRT, Water Development Commission, WGFD, and surely others I'm missing.

08/30/2017

This used to be a huge eroding bank on the Ryan Ranch. Now it's growing willows and fish!

12/02/2016

These before and after photos show a diversion structure on the Tongue River near Dayton. As part of a multi project block grant with the Sheridan County Conservation District, the shifted cross vane structure serving the Hanover Diversion was converted to a roughened ramp to improve fish passage. Trout will find their way over a ramp much more readily than negotiating a large boulder or block vane.

Additional work is planned to retrofit the check board sluiceway with a smaller-sized lift gate to improve the function of the irrigation diversion and long-term stability of the ramped vane. Other cooperators included the NRCS, WWNRT and ditch company.

11/22/2016

Logs and log jams provide great fish habitat and are important elements to try to add back to streams during restoration. The team in this photo measured logs in the Wood River to serve as a reference condition for designing stream restoration projects.

Restoration work is occurring on streams across Wyoming. To see a map and list of stream restoration "hotspots", see https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Habitat/Aquatic-Habitat/Water-Strategy
These hotspots are streams where restoration work may be in full swing, may be proposed, or was recently completed. Work in all of these places will benefit fisheries and wildlife resources and water quality, in addition to other values.

11/17/2016

Road crossings can be a real headache for fish trying to move around. In the LaBarge Creek drainage in the Wyoming Range, WGFD has been working with Trout Unlimited and the Forest Service to replace old narrow culverts with wide crossings that Colorado River Cutthroat trout can easily navigate.

When cutthroat can freely move around, their numbers are sure to rise! They find places to overwinter, spawn and feed. For more information about fish passage see:

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Habitat/Aquatic-Habitat/Water-Strategy

And here is a link to the Trout Unlimited Wyoming Water Project web page:

http://wyomingtu.org/category/wyoming-water-project/

10/19/2016

The Darrell Mumm Fishway was constructed a few years ago on Bitter Creek, near Powell, to allow brown trout access to spawning headwaters. Brown trout born here help maintain a vibrant sport fishery in the Shoshone River downstream.

To learn more about focus areas for fish passage across the state, visit https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Habitat/Aquatic-Habitat/Water-Strategy