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Show MAY 23, 2008 PAGE A7 Summit County News Long Winter Claims Fish in Crouse and Calder Reservoirs North Summit School District cordially invites you to attend the Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the North Summit Swimming Pool Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 6:30-9:0O PM. 53 South 100 East Coalville, Utah 84017 Tour the Renovation of the "Pool" Free Swimming for Everyone. New slide & diving board. Door Prizes. Refreshments will be served. Two popular fisheries in northeastern Utah have suffered major winter fish kills. Biologists with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources have confirmed major fish die-offs in Calder Reservoir and Crouse Reservoir. “It’s likely a complete winterkill in Crouse Reservoir,” says Ed Johnson, UDWR fisheries biologist. “Calder also had a major die-off, and it may also be a complete kill. “We will know more after we can set a few nets. But that won’t be for a little while. We need the water to warm up so the fish are more active.” Johnson says biologists do not expect to find a winter fish kill at Matt Warner Reservoir, another popular fishery in northeastern Utah. “Matt Warner is much larger and deeper, so there is more water to hold oxygen,” Johnson says. “Unlike the other reservoirs, it has not had a winterkill since its dam was remodeled.” Biologists tried to reach Matt Warner recently to survey it, but a large snowdrift blocked the road leading to the reservoir. Matt Warner is the third and highest reservoir on the Pot Creek drainage. “Crouse Reservoir wasn’t much of a surprise,” says Roger Schneidervin, regional aquatics manager. “The water level in Crouse was quite low because Diamond Mountain has been in a severe drought for years. Because Crouse is the lowest reservoir in the drainage, it doesn’t get the water. “Calder is much more of a surprise,” he says. “There has been only one other time in the last 18 years [that fish died in the winter], and the reservoir was lower that year than it was this time. Schneidervin says the kill at Calder might be an incomplete kill. “The two biologists who checked the reservoir each saw or heard something they [thought might] be a fish jumping,” he says. “We are hoping some of the fish made it through the long winter.” Winterkill happens when fish die from either a lack of oxygen or a build up of lethal chemicals in the fish. Both of these things can happen when ice on the surface of the water doesn’t allow oxygen to be exchanged between the water and the air. Fish and other aquatic animal life use oxygen. When ice covers the surface of the water, most of the plants die. The plant decomposition process uses oxygen. The decomposing plant material can also give off toxic chemicals. Sometimes other toxic chemicals are released from the mud at the bottom of the water. Other natural or human-made sources can also cause toxic chemicals to be in the water. “Some lakes and reservoirs survive long winters because streams bring in a supply of dissolved oxygen,” Johnson says, “but in the case of Calder and Crouse, no waters were flowing in. “Water depth and total water volume also play a role in winterkill,” he says. “Small, shallow lakes cool down quicker. “That causes them to freeze earlier, which makes them more likely to winterkill. Larger, deep lakes also have the advantage of holding more dissolved oxygen to begin with.” UDWR aquatic managers are checking other reservoirs in Utah to see if they may have suffered a similar fate. The managers will likely readjust fish-stocking schedules to provide catchablesized fish to restart or enhance these fisheries. That should make these waters good places to fish in 2008. Go Classifieds! It Pays! 336-5501 NORTH SUMMIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE OF JOB OPPORTUNITY "TEMPORARY" SUMMER PAINTERS North Summit School District is accepting applications for 3 temporary summer painters. Position will be 8 hours per day, 5 days a week. Positions will begin May 27, 2008, until August 15, 2008. Beginning pay is $9.8l per hour. No benefits are Included in these positions. Applicants must be 18 years or older. Applications are available at North Summit School District Office. You may also call 435-336-5654 for more information. Positions open until filled. DISCOV ER EASTE RN SUMM IT COUNTY NORTH SUMMIT SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER with Your Local Real Estate Professionals We Live Here! Serving: Woodland, Francis, Kamas, Marion, Oakley, Peoa, Wanship, Hoytsville, Coalville F eat ure d P r op e rti e s OAKLEY NORTH BENCH FARMS OU NH OPE SES Live Where You Play! 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