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Show Wednesday, May 14, 2008 B9 1 Vernal Express 9 A T i r r . i. C ,4 "?1 ! I ( 1 r fi - I - 1 vT .V -. - k v 1 H i a 2500 WEST CONSTRUCTION Construction crews prepare the road base for repaving along 2500 West. For several weeks, the street has been closed between be-tween Measer Comer at 500 North to U.S. Highway 40 as heavy trucks have hauled away the existing asphalt and brought in new road base. Expected for completion in late summer, crews will completely rebuild the road along more than two miles. Taking advantage of the repaving project, several utility lines and drainage culverts are also being replaced. Biologists hope barrier will stop spread of whirling disease Biologists are hoping their construction of a fish barrier and removing the fish from one and a half miles of the West Fork of the Duchesne River will stop or at least slow the spread of whirling disease. "We don't know if we can completely stop the spread of : whirling disease," said Roger Schneidervin, regional aquatics -manager for the Utah Division o Wildlife Resources. "But we would sure like to slow it down for a very long time." "We've constructed a small "barrier dam above the Vat Diversion to stop the natural movement of fish upstream," :Schneidervin said. "We then treated the stream between the new barrier and the Vat Diversion Diver-sion to remove all of the fish. Our 'goal is twofold: to keep fish from moving above the new barrier to the upper reaches of the West ;Fork and to keep fish from moving mov-ing down the diversion tunnel system, which transfers waters from the West Fork to Current Creek Reservoir to Strawberry Reservoir and eventually to the Wasatch Front via Diamond Fork." In the late fall of 2006, whirling whirl-ing disease was discovered in r.the main stem of the Duchesne : River. "After the first discovery we ; checked to see just how far it had r spread," Schneidervin said. "Our ' original surveys indicated it had not made it very far above the : confluence between the North ; Fork and the West Fork." ": The biologists felt a series of : beaver dams had stopped the upstream spread offish into the West Fork. The sample taken a : mile below the Vat Diversion was ::negative. "With high hopes to contain : it at that point, we began the process to get funding and clear-: clear-: ance to place a barrier on the West Fork," Schneidervin said. "The barrier was to protect a valuable pure strain population . of Colorado River cutthroat trout "and to stop the possible spread 'through the Vat Diversion." : As the paperwork and finding find-ing funding sources progressed, DWR continued to sample the stream. "In June 2007, after the spring runoff, we checked the stream : again," Schneidervin said. "We : were quite surprised to find fish positive with the disease had moved upstream. Cutthroat : trout are spring spawners and : in their drive to find places to reproduce, defeated the exten-: exten-: sive complex of beaver dams." : By the end of summer, every-: every-: thing was all lined up and ready ' to go. The biologists decided to do : one more sample. They sampled : above and below the proposed -barrier site. "They came back positive," Schneidervin said. "We cancelled the construction of the barrier. We then looked above the Vat Diver sion. One fish from a sample of 54 came back positive. That really sparked a discussion." "The group felt with only one fish testing positive there was still a chance to slow down the spread of whirling disease upstream or through the diversion. diver-sion. The proposed barrier site was moved about one and a half miles above the diversion to a narrow spot upstream. We also decided to remove fish between the two structures once the new barrier was completed. As a final measure, sentinel fish in cages were placed in the stream at the Vat Diversion and near the new barrier site to verify the single positive fish from the sample," Schneidervin said. "The results were negative on the 120 fish tested in the fall and the 66 tested in the spring. With only one fish in 240 tested, there is a good possibility that the disease may not be spreading into this upper section of stream." To beat the spring floods, DWR heavy equipment crews plowed through several feet of snow and cleared some massive drifts to open the road. Then they moved huge rocks into place to construct the fishbarrier. Aweek later, crews went in and treated the stream with rotenone and removed fish between the two barriers. "We didn't want to leave any fish carcasses injthe, stream as, one fish could carry hundreds ' of thousands of whirling disease dis-ease spores just in its head," Schneidervin said. "It's likely that's how the disease got to the Duchesne River in the first place. Research indicates the disease is likely being moved around by someone taking a fish from contaminated water and after cleaning it, throwing the head and guts into another stream or lake." The future of the spread of whirling disease will depend on many factors, few of which are in the UDWR's control. "We've put the structures in place, now slowing the spread of disease depends a bit on luck and cooperation from other factors, especially anglers," Schneidervin said. "The experts generally agree most of the recent spread of whirling disease has to be from anglers." He continued, "Some spread is likely from anglers not cleaning their gear, such as waders, after fishing a contaminated stream. A greater threat is anglers moving mov-ing fish and fish parts from one place to another. Anglers are very mobile while fishing, walking or driving fish around natural and man-made barriers, and even more mobile by catching fish in one place and then transporting them to another water to clean and cook it." Schneidervin emphasized the need for anglers to be mindful of waterborne threats to wildlife. "With the new exotic threats to our waters such as whirling disease, quagga mussels, zebra (Long hair will be charged extra) May 17, 2008 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life '1 6 U tf F . V. . y .(. - .. .:'V. ' ...: .. " -m- ' -..fawi iv. .4 M . -- - ., ; - - y- rJi. v I .-V Y r 1 Treatment of the West Fork of the Duchesne River is hoped to slow down the spread of whirling disease. snails and even plants, anglers need to learn a whole new way of dealing with their catch and equipment. All equipment needs to be cleaned and thoroughly dried after every use. And fish cannot be transported and cleaned in a water somewhere else, not even farther along the same stream. The best solution is to clean the fish and dispose of parts, especially the head, in a landfill. The next best solution is to clean the fish and dispose of the parts by burying them deep, a long way away from a water." "Fishing is a great sport and can supply an excellent meal," Schneidervin said. "We just need to develop a new way of thinking 1" -a. rim V. 4. X f and dealing with some new, seri- Biolog ist work to construct a fish barrier to remove fish from about one and a half miles of the West ous threats to our recreation." Fork of the Duchesne. v. K. SUN5UKST TLKKACL XeA X) Come See Vernal s fastest selling New Home Community!! Over P5 - Hurry only 25 homes left to sell!! x Starting at only $159,950 (includes the lot)!! 100 Fin. avail. Builder pays closing costs!! 6 fixed rate 30 year loan!! 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