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Show ft Sports & recreation SBettSBS 0c4jiii) Thft, v!i!fliD Q3g5ggajg?(gF Green River fishery faces some changes By LAYNE MILLER Soorts editor The blue ribbon trout fishery located below Flaming Gorge Dam may be damaged because ofa new management plan for the Green River. The new plan was created to help the survival of the threatened and endangered fish present in the river. Steve Brayton, project leader for the Division of Wildlife Resources, worries the mandated higher flows and warmer water temperatures could seriously damage the habitat for trout and the insects the trout eat. The new flow pattern was mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the recovery and protection of four native endangered fish the Colorado River squaw fLh, humpback chub, raorback sucker and bonytail chub. "Spring flows could negatively impact juvenile trout recruitment, Brayton said. A press release from the DWR says squawfish prefer temperatures around 75 degrees. Trout prefer much colder temperatures, doing the best .n waters with temperatures in the 50s. The higher flows could also hurt recently stocked fish as well as juvenile brown and brook trout, which prefer shallow water near the bank. The worst damage could come in unusually wet years. During the high water years of 1983 and 1984, considerable damage was done to the trout and endangered fish populations. The high flows moved boulders, scoured the vegetation off the bottom and flooded downstream reaches with cold water. Biologists figure most of the two or three age classes of endangered fish and at least one age class of trout were lost entirely during the floods. The releases were considerably higher and much longer than the releases proposed now. One DWR biologist familiar with the dilemma says the management of Utahs lakes and streams has been made much more complicated by the presence of threatened and endangered species. Previously, when DWR officials managed Utahs waters strictly for recreation, keeping anglers happy was easy. Now that T and E Club. The tournament is an 18-hol- e, four-perso- n scramble. The first shotgun start is 8 a.m., and the second n is 1 p.m. The entry fee also includes a luncheon. Team restrictions restrict four-perso- bar-beq- ue ?'' '' 'lif 72 '"Offkih i J vl (threatened and endangered) restrictions have been added, their jobs are much more difficult. To illustrate his point, the official pointed to the management problems with the striper population in Lake Powell, lie said fisheries biologists could easily improve striper populations immediately by adding rainbow smelt into Lake Powell, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials are concerned the smelt could be released into the downstream waters and hurt the threatened and endangered fish present there. I know it would dramatically help the striper populations, the official said. Special Olympics golf tournament planned A Special Olympics golf tournament is scheduled for May 30 at the Carbon Country Softball action each team to one A player and one B player or two B players. Each team must have two C players. A players are defined as handicaps from 0 to 8. B players are from 9 to 15. C players are 16 and above. For more information, contact Kris Abegglen. All proceeds go to benefit the Special Olympics. Don Gressmen, Carbon softball coach, said good defense like this being played by first baseman Amando Olsen was going to be the key to Wednesdays game. Bassmasters qualify for tourney Castle Country Bassmasters of Carbon and Emery counties qualified three members to fish in the BASS Western Regional Tournament to be held at Elephant Butte, N.M., on May John Turner 16-2- 2. of Castle Dale qualified for the Utah state team with impressive finishes at state tournaments held at Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge last year. John made the team with only three years of BASS Federation Tournament fishing, which is a remarkable accomplishment. Terry Howell of Helper also qualified for the state team. Terry has been tournament fishing for 10 years and has now been on the state team seven times. He has placed first on the state team four times out of six. Terry finished in the Wrangler BASS National Championships in 1990. John Semkens, formerly of memPrice, was a first-yea- r ber of Castle Country when he qualified for the state team. John has been a bass fisherman since he was Bass-maste- rs a kid in California, but has only two years of tournament fishing. Nine states send a n team to the BASS Western Regional Tournament. Only one fisherman from each state will advance to next years Wrangler BASS National 12-ma- Championship. From the Wrangler tournament, only five (one from each division, western, central, southern, eastern and northern) will go on to the Bassmasters Classic to compete with the Professional Bass Anglers. |